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• this county very long, certainly not enough to say that I've been through the history <br />here or anything but I do know the structure of what is a municipal corporation which <br />would be the county government and if we continue to have that power struggle that <br />goes on between elected officials, there will continue to be a significant log jam. I think <br />that if we had a structure that said we elect nine County Council people, that we have a <br />Managing Director who is accountable to someone which is the County Council then <br />we could create a lot more efficiency in government and get a lot more bang for our <br />buck. It's a very much well accepted way to go about county government. I do this <br />professionally but it also happens to have become a habit of mine, whatever, but other <br />rural places, Wyoming, Kansas, other places that I know of, it just always remains the <br />same. County structures usually aren't large enough to carry their own separate <br />elected Executive Department and the issue is accountability. <br />And the other thing that I would like to talk about, I guess I have a whole list here but <br />when the County talks about creating new commissions and you say you're going to <br />create a Fire Commission, I just would ask you to really look at what those <br />commissions do that are separate from what already is being done. Every time we <br />create a bureaucratic body, every time we create a new layer of bureaucracy, we are <br />withdrawing money from services to the people because the pie is the same size and if <br />you continue to divide it up into smaller pieces, everyone loses just a little bit. <br />And my questions have to do with - In the County Charter, where is the Mass Transit <br />Department located? Under what area? Anybody know? <br />RAY: It's not. <br />LAWSON: It's not? Okay. That's my point. <br />? What Mass Transit? <br />LAWSON: Well, this is a separate issue and I think that some people - Mass Transit <br />is what the County is naming their Department of Transportation and they call it Mass <br />Transit. We are stuck in, here on this side of the island anyway and I'm not sure about <br />Hilo, with what's called a commuter mode of transportation so that keeps this county <br />from applying for or being even eligible for extra Federal funding like para -transit <br />money which would transport people with disabilities or the elderly because right now <br />we have coordinated services. We have money going to a non profit and I can see you <br />are getting anxious so it's just that I think transportation -- something needs to be done. <br />I'm not sure it belongs in the auspices of this commission. With that I'II close my <br />remarks and thank you very much. <br />RAY: Okay. Any questions? George? <br />• <br />