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HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSIONPage 23 of 51
<br />than the creation of a division through a Charter Amendment.
<br />GOLDSTEIN: You want me to comment on that? I think that might be possible but because, essentially,
<br />your Corporation Counsel, your Finance Director and the Planning Director serve not just the Mayor,
<br />but also County Council, if you did something like that, I would have to say that I think that it might be
<br />good to have confirmation of that kind of a change through the County Council because this is the body
<br />that serves both rather than just one, and that’s my comment.
<br />RAY: Other comments?
<br />SUMADA: Not really, other than I think that allowing greater flexibility for any administrator is a
<br />benefit in that they can be more responsive as the needs of the public change. And I say that because
<br />when I first got here, I started working with Public Works, I never had realized how the public’s
<br />demands do change, and they have changed from the time I started until now. For example, they are
<br />demanding greater accountability and more responsibility by the Department Heads for the programs we
<br />run. If you watch the Council on TV, there’s a greater scrutiny that is being gone into, and that’s a good
<br />thing. But we need to be able to respond to that and the only time we can do that, because there’s a
<br />Charter rule, or the Charter spells it out so specifically, that it limits that flexibility, then you leave it up
<br />to something that has to go on a two-year cycle to be considered, and for a Mayor to try and make
<br />change, or be flexible, to accommodate the needs of the changing public, then it kind of hampers that.
<br />RAY: Marni.
<br />HERKES: As you, no doubt, heard, the Planning Commission is not in favor of this, and one of their
<br />problems is that the Public Works Department does not have policies. That was one of their stated
<br />reasons, and I know why we don’t have an impact fee. I don’t know why we don’t have policies, and
<br />program reviews, and measurements and outcomes, and those kinds of things as far as County
<br />Departments. That’s how business runs. You set a goal and you reach it, and I wondered why you don’t
<br />have policies, and if the Planning Department has policies.
<br />SUMADA: Is that what we’re moving towards, road standards? I think in the broad perspective of
<br />things, I don’t know why the department has not undertaken overall administrative rules. We do have
<br />some, at least, for example, in the Solid Waste Division, we do have administrative rules. Possibly, how
<br />specific the County Code is, provides that level of guidance or direction that’s needed for us to operate
<br />under, and I can only guess that the creation of even more bureaucracy, by creating more rules to follow,
<br />was viewed as not a positive thing. But, again, like I mentioned just earlier, if that’s the will of the
<br />public, or the community, that these policies, or type of rules, be established, I think the department
<br />would be more than willing to consider them.
<br />HERKES: It’s not really County Charter, but I was curious because we’ve heard testimony against this
<br />move because of that.
<br />SUMADA: No, I’m sure the Planning Commission had their reasons why they voted that way, or took
<br />that position. I’m not too sure. I wasn’t at that discussion, and maybe the nature of the things that they
<br />do, require these policies to be in place. Again, the implementation of the subdivision code, as the
<br />Planning Director has mentioned, is pretty much done, or taken care of, by our department, and it is
<br />appropriate that that type of function be transferred, so I guess, if we need to establish new policy or
<br />admin rules to govern that, we would undertake that, but I can’t explain why there’s not any anyplace
<br />now.
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