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Charter Commission Page 2 August 1, 1989 <br /> • I have the followingsuggestions for charter changes : <br /> g9 <br /> 1 . Give the voters a definite choice between the present system <br /> and council/county manager system with most of the council <br /> members elected by districts . I would prefer seven members as <br /> the old Board of Supervisors but nine might be more palatable . <br /> I believe it should be non-partisan for party politics should <br /> not play a part in planning, zoning, roads, parks, sewers or <br /> any of the services the county provides but this is not a <br /> major problem. Counties do not have major tax or statutory <br /> decision powers. <br /> My suggestion is that the head of the county be a Mayor who <br /> runs at large for the council and is both chair of the council <br /> and performs ceremonial functions of the Mayor but that <br /> management of the County be in the hands of a county manager <br /> who must have majored in administration and have five years <br /> experience and appointed by the council and responsible to the <br /> council. The manager should serve at the pleasure of the <br /> council but once appointed should be dismissed only with <br /> cause. This can be refined. The mayor should be the one with <br /> the highest vote among at-large council candidates or should <br /> run island-wide for the position. The county manager would <br /> • appoint all department heads now appointed by the mayor with <br /> confirmation by the council. <br /> 2 . The corporation counsel should be elected . Under the Board of <br /> Supervisors our county attorney was both prosecutor and <br /> corporation counsel . There has been conflict in the past <br /> between the administration and council and the only way, in my <br /> opinion, to solve such problems is to have an independent <br /> attorney. The solution of having the council hire its own <br /> attorney could mean having major decisions decided by the <br /> court. This would not be necessary under a council/manager <br /> system. <br /> 3 . The Planning Commission should be advisory only and each of <br /> the council districts should have its own citizen advisory <br /> planning committee. In Honolulu they have elected <br /> neighborhood boards. <br /> I favor this system but perhaps we are not quite ready for the <br /> expense. However, if planning and zoning decisions were <br /> reviewed by a local committee I suggest the heads of the <br /> committees could form the Planning Commission which would act <br /> as an appeal board for contested local decisions. <br /> • 464 <br />