Comm No 0001.07 - CC Response - Authority to Discipline Fire Chief and Personnel

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Honorable Douglass Shipman Adams Chairman and Members of the Hawaii County Charter Commission September 28, 2018 Page 3 of 3 However, state law mandates that matters concerning the discipline of public employees shall be through the collective bargaining agreements and in compliance with other relevant state statutes. See Chapters 76 (Civil Service Law), 78 (Public Service) 89 (Collective Bargaining in Public Employment). State law does not authorize the Mayor or Fire Commission to investigate and impose discipline on personnel in the HFD. Authority to Remove Should include the Authority to Discipline While the Mayor is the head of the executive branch and has certain supervisory authority over the Fire Chief, the pertinent Charter provisions places the Fire Commission between the Fire Chief and the Mayor as to the issue whether the Fire Commission, rather than Mayor, has the authority to discipline the Fire Chief. The Mayor has the power, among other things, to appoint members to the Fire Commission with the confirmation of the County Council. But the Charter gives the Fire Commission the power to appoint and remove. Within the Fire Commission's power to remove should be the implied power to suspend and/or otherwise discipline the Fire Chief. See Kauai Police Com'n ex rel. Iona v. Carvalho, 138 Hawaii 287, 378 P.3d 1003 (2016) (Intermediate Court of Appeals of Hawaii held that the County Charter vested the police commission, rather than mayor, with authority to suspend or otherwise discipline the police chief). Despite our office's legal opinion that the authority to remove should include the authority to discipline, we would recommend that a provision is added to Section 7-4.3, HCC, that states: The fire chief may be disciplined by the fire commission. Any motion to discipline the fire chief must contain a statement of reasons, and the commission shall not vote to discipline the fire chief unless the fire chief has been given an opportunity to respond to the statement of reasons at a hearing before the commission. Should you have any further questions about our office, please contact me or Assistant Corporation Counsel, Renee Schoen. Respectfully submitted, JOSEPH K. KAMELAMELA Corporation Counsel JKK:clf