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minutes 03-08-00Page 15 of 35
<br />HENRY: Right. The other thing is if we want to put this on website, you need to tell me when it’s at the place that you feel
<br />comfortable putting it on, and then I’ll need the diskette or to retype it.
<br />RAY: Okay.
<br />HERKES: I would feel comfortable putting it on now. We’re going to take it to public hearing on Saturday. I mean, what’s
<br />the difference?
<br />IRVINE: I agree.
<br />RAY: Chris, what do you think?
<br />YUEN: Actually, I think maybe we should decide that after we go through it right now, and we see how close we are,
<br />because there are a few things in here, and I’ve tried to highlight them at the top, where the Commission has not actually
<br />voted on it, and usually it involved a fairly fine point, but still I tried to point out where things had been changed. And so,
<br />that’s why I’m a little cautious about putting this out, as being official. To be honest with you, I think the summary really
<br />does state the important points pretty well, and cover it, and there are people who want to see exactly what’s, and I don’t
<br />blame them, and I agree with that, and certainly in the end, we’ve got to have something. But at this point, let’s go through it,
<br />and without necessarily this being the exact language, if there are things that people do have concerns about in the language
<br />being what the Commission wants to do, then let’s not put it out yet. Maybe we’d not put out some of them if that is a
<br />problem.
<br />RAY: Okay, let’s keep going. 4. The Fire Commission.
<br />YUEN: Maybe it’d be helpful if I pointed out a couple of things on these as we go through.
<br />RAY: Okay.
<br />YUEN: The Fire Commission, what I have here, follows very closely Gary’s draft which the Commission voted on and there
<br />was all that language in there. What is different here from that draft, and was done because there was a discussion about
<br />doing this by the Commission, was change the language as far as the removal of the Chief, and the net effect of this change in
<br />language is it makes it easier to remove the Fire Chief than the language in the Honolulu Charter. Instead of saying a
<br />statement of charges, it says a ‘statement of reasons’ and then it says ‘the fire chief must be allowed to respond’ actually
<br />before they vote to remove the chief, and the difference in the Honolulu Charter, it says that opportunity for a hearing before
<br />they remove, and I think that creates a bigger procedure, a more difficult procedure. And I thought the sense of the
<br />Commission was to try to streamline it a little bit at the last meeting, but the Commission has not actually voted on this
<br />particular language that I have in here on removing the chief.
<br />The second thing that I added, and I changed a little bit from Gary’s draft, was the transition, on what happens between now
<br />and then. And it’s to make it clear, first of all, and I think this was just something that was understood in the previous draft,
<br />was that this takes effect when there’s a changeover in the composition of the County government in December. So, in other
<br />words, the Mayor that comes in appoints the new Fire Commission in December. I think that was understood that it wouldn’t
<br />be the Mayor in the last month of the term appointing the Fire Commission. The chief who is in office immediately before
<br />the turnover, would remain as the chief until the Fire Commission appointed a new chief.
<br />HIGASHI: And confirmed by the Council or appointment by the Fire Commission, does he become interim or acting chief?
<br />YUEN: Under the procedure on Gary’s draft, and in the Honolulu Charter, there is no confirmation of the Fire Chief by the
<br />Council. The Fire Chief is simply appointed by the Fire Commission, so that’s it. Once the Fire Commission appoints the
<br />chief - Are you talking about the interim Fire Chief?
<br />HIGASHI: Without looking at this in detail, is there a confirmation of the Fire Chief?
<br />YUEN: Today there is, yes.
<br />HIGASHI: Under the proposal?
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