CHC 1979-05-01 PH - Laserfiche WebLink

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MR. SANTOS: Mr. Chairman and members of the Charter Review Commission. My name is Robert J! Santos and I am the Vice President of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of its legislative committee. We have made an indepth study of the Charter of the County of Hawaii with an';eye toward possible revision. Our legislative committee in conjunction with similar committees of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Hilo Contractor' s Association held a series of nine meetings on the subject. Input' was received from the mayor, the director of finance, the corporation counsel , the manager of the department of water supply, the chief of police, the director of personnel services and the director of the department of liquor control. A report of our legislative committee on the charter was presented to our board of directors and it was the unanimous decision of the board of directors that we pass on these recommendations to you. The recommendations are attached. (Communication #45 , May 8 Agenda) These proposed amendments are of vital concern to us and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss these recommendations further with you any time in the future you may be considering them in your deliberations. Please feel free to call on us. With your permission now, Mr. Chairman , I would like to proceed with the various recommendations. The first item has to do with Article III , Section 3-2 which deals with the composition and terms of the county council . It is recommended that the charter be amended to provide that five councilmen be elected by districts exactly as we elect ourr members of the State House of Representatives. Each to be elected for a term of two years. Two councilmen to be elected at-large for a term of four years. There would be a total of seven councilmen. Our second proposal is in Article V and deals with Chapter 4, the planning department and Chapter 5 , the research and development. It is recommended that these two departments be combined into a single department similar to the state ' s department of planning and economic development. The revision should provide that the head of this department need not be one whose education and/or work background is in planning. The next recommendation deals with Article VI , Section 6-2.2 and deals with the department of public works and its chief engineer. It is recommended that the title of the head of this department be changed to director and a requirement that he be a registered professional engineer be deleted. It is felt that this is a position requiring administrative ability rather than engineering skills. The next recommendation deals with Article VIII , department of water supply. We feel that this department should no longer be the semi-autonomous body it now is. It should be -14-