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Moving on to Section 3 -16, Mandatory Program Review, is there any discussion on this section? MS. JARMAN: Mr. Clerk. I wish Colleen were here. To your knowledge, has the Council ever adopted procedures and details to implement this section? Could you explain to us how the Council has interpreted this provision? MR. GOODENOW: Basically, the Council is part of the budget review process. They look at every department. They have the director and all the staff come in and ask them questions. They consider that as complying with this section. We have adopted procedures in that our rules might reflect the program reviews. It is part of our calendar. I guess that's all my comments on that. That's all we do. MR. ASHIDA: Mr. Chairman, may I add something to that? CHR. HAITSUKA: Yes. MR. ASHIDA: Thank you. He's absolutely correct. This was a section of the Charter that was actually - -- Curtis Tyler, when he served on the Council, he brought it up often. He said that his contention was that the County was not doing this. He looked at the terms "critically review" and he was --- Mr. Tyler's belief was that you would almost need a performance and a financial audit every four years. Actually, in practicality, what happens, as Mr. Goodenow says, is because the Council participates in that budget process, they review, and I will attest to my personal experience, "critically" review the budget as submitted by the Administration. The reason that I think that is compliant with the section as it is written, is if you look at the language that says, "...and unless the council shall favorably authorize its continuation at current or modified levels, the program shall be terminated." The way the Council does that is by effectively de- funding any program, any position, anything that they feel in the Administration's budget that they don't want anymore. That is their power; that is their authority. They express - -- perhaps the single most important power that the Council has in our government is the ability to- - -they hold the purse strings. They express their policy though the passage of ordinances, which the budget is also an ordinance. So I think it comfortably fits the language as it is. I think there was a lot of wisdom in whoever crafted this language, because it recognizes both the extent of the authority as well as the limitation of the Council's authority. Primarily, it has to do with the funding mechanism. So that's my point, counterpoint, and here comes Goodenow. He probably wants to say something. MR. GOODENOW: No, I agree 100 percent with that analysis. CHR. HAITSUKA: Mr. Nahale -a. MR. NAHALE -A: I'll go on record saying that I'd be inclined to propose when we get to that part of our work, to omit this section. I think if that's the interpretation, which I think is 13