COMM. 029.1 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

of fir isdiction throughout thipnited States particularly in l • forni:a. They do have t is kind of a structure which seems to work quite well. . So in this area, the basic organization, I would like to have the Charter Commission consider not only the council-mayor form, . . . : but also the council-manager form, even if the senti- ment of the Charter Commission itself may be one of rather limited interest in this area here. I recognize • : in the council-manager form several members of the Board have expressed to me in discussion that although this may be a good form of government, this may be a very difficult form to sell to the people, simply because time is Of the essence here and this is an entirely new' concept in the State of Hawaii as far . as putting it into practice . But I think the great success of many of the smaller county jurisdictions throughout the United States and as far as theory, this • system seems to be quite attractive . My personal request is to have the Charter Commission look into this matter of a council-manager as well as the council- _ mayor. • In terms of the terms of office, maybe I should go on it backwards . The members of the department .heads in the •county government are almost unanimous in recommending a four-year term and •they have aeveral reasons for this . One is that they feel it has a • sense of continuity. Programs can be thought about, . developed, initiated, implemented, completed and even evaluated in a four-year period of term, but they , claim that in a two-year period, continuity is quite short and that the develo.pment •of- a program is interrupted by the political elective season. They • point out too that in the four-year term you have an . easier time in recruiting competent. people into the county government and appointive positions and that • they will have an easier time doing this because the person would be more likely to take the insecurity of a political appointment for a period of four years ' rather than for a period of two years . I think these are valid considerations but there. is one strong consideration to .be given for a two. year term and this is the fact of responsiveness to the people . This is not to say that if they have four years they are • going to be non-responsive, but -I think in balancsng , the considerations for a two or four year term, I would like to have .the Charter Commission balance it and look very seriously into the two-year term as versus the four year term because I believe the factor of 'responsiveness is of great importance in this kind of . a representative form of government . I grant you a two-year term has many disadvantages , disadvantage of . a short period of time. One practical consideration • of elected officials obviously is the high cost of seeking election; the problem of recruitment; the other problem of continuity and the other problem that makes us politicians and prevents us from becoming statesmen . in the two-year term. ', But in 'the four-year term, I • think you will 'see more of us politicians becoming • statesmen rather than remaining politicians . In terms of the terms of office too, I would like to recommend very strongly as •I did to the second commission, that the executive whether it be a mayor system, that the • executive be limited to terms . I believe the factor here again, the effectiveness of responsiveness to the people . Having new ideas and new leadership exerted periodically is a good thing. Up to this time, . we have depended on the political pendulum which . swings back and forth to be the device 'by which we • -• 18 - .