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IIPP"F .ate. RUSSELL S.KOKUBUN , o�� oFq�i9'. Chairman&Presiding Officer - v•_- &b/•� y i * lK r(:*1 •''�TF•6-,•‘;00 -.-- ' COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawaii Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo,Hawaii 96720 July 20 , 1989 Mr . Robert Bethea, Chairman and Members, Hawaii County Charter Commission 25 Aupuni St . Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Mr . Chairman and Members of the Second Charter Review Commission. Thank you for this opportunity to participate in the second ten-year review of the County Charter . The original Charter, which became effective on January 2, 1969, provided the basic framework by which our county government would organize and operate. This Charter provided for a mandatory review every ten years . In 1979, the First Charter Review Commission concluded its assignment when ten of thirteen proposed revisions were adopted by the electorate at a special election held on November 3, 1979 . That First Charter Review Commission mandated that another review be conducted in 1989 and every tenth year thereafter . Today, Mr . Chairman and members of the Second Charter Review Commission, you are charged with the awesome and challenging task of reviewing our Charter and determining what revision, if any, are warranted . Since the last charter review, changes have occurred that directly affect county government . Many challenges have tested this basic government structure created by the charter doctrine. These challenges have exposed certain strengths and weaknesses, and there is now an opportunity to address those areas which need I clarification. Since 1969, the year our initial charter went into effect, annual operating expenditures have grown from $13 . 5 million to $39 . 2 million in 1979 and to expenditures of $94 million recently adopted for 1989 . These figures are presented to illustrate the degree of growth being experienced by the County. Growth is not confined to monetary expenditures alone, and as you are well aware, that growth is reflected in the complexity' of government operations . 460 EXHIBIT A (3 pages)