Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN GOREDC 2022/05/17 2020-2022 Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations, and Economic Development 27th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai i May 17, 2022 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations, Relations, ORDER: and Economic Development was called to order at 2:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair (came in later) Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member (came in later) Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (came in later) Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member (came in later) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: (There were none.) CHR. KIMBALL: Mr. Clerk, we're going to take things out of order and take the Charter amendment, Bill 168 first, please. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the of Business: following item was taken out of order: BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 Bill 168: INITIATES AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XIV, SECTION 14-5 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER (2020 EDITION), RELATING TO THE BOARD OF ETHICS Increases the membership of the board from five to seven members. Reference: Comm. 783 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 168 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Inaba. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. For my colleagues, this bill is being advanced kind of in collaboration with the Board of Ethics. And so today, we have Deputy Corporation Counsel "Cody" (Dakota) Frenz here to walk us through this, what is just some small edits to increase their membership from five to seven. So Ms. Frenz, please, walk us through this bill. (Note: At this time, Deputy Corporation Counsel Dakota"Cody" Frenz came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. FRENZ: Alright thank you. Good afternoon everyone, Deputy Corporation Cody Frenz on behalf of the Board of Ethics. I'm the attorney for Board of Ethics, specifically, in this case. So at our meeting previously, the board discussed, you know, some of the complications at times. And granted the specific situation was created by a COVID dilemma, but we didn't have quorum. With a board of five members, it created a complication when you have too many people out. So there was discussion raised by one of our members that maybe this would be the appropriate time to consider an amendment to the Charter to increase the number of members to avoid situations such as that. And that's how we got here. The board was on the fence trying to decide what was the appropriate increase? We don't have a fiscal impact statement yet. I have conferred with Director Sako that would obviously be done according to the Charter prior to this proposed amendment being put on the ballot. However, I did take a look at the line item for budget purposes for Board of Ethics. And if we look at—realistically for Board of Ethics, we have an interesting makeup throughout the island of our members. So we realistically need to cover mileage and/or meals for those meetings. Page 2 GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 Realistically right now, based on the line item at five members, which is our current membership, we have approximately $1,064 total annually. We don't have nor do I see an increase in the budget for Board of Ethics. If we increase to seven, which is the current proposed amendment, that line item would equate to $760 per board member. I can answer any questions you may have, concerns you may have regarding this proposed amendment. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Ms. Frenz. Just for a little bit more color and texture, I had staff look into our Board of Ethics and its comparison to Mau i County, City and County of Honolulu, and Kaua`i. And we're five. Whereas everyone else is either seven or nine. And considering the size of our island, the size of our employees in comparison. Some of the conversation that was had during the Board of Ethics was just kind of matching up nicely with the amount of employees. You know, Ms. Frenz could probably describe a little better about the workload for that particular board, but this really is being advanced by them at their suggestion. So I do request the rest of my colleagues' support. Thank you Chair, I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Lee Loy. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Great. Thank you for bringing this forward. This is logical, and is in alignment with a precedent. It sounds like in the other municipalities in the State. When it comes to the budget line item then, as this passes through Council, then we would need to put forth an amendment to the budget to increase the amount budgeted for this commission or board? MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, definitely taking the temperature of this body, but it does go on the ballot. And then it takes effect thereafter. And so yeah, we have a little bit of time, but it's a good way to help forecast not only for Ms. Frenz but the entire boards and commissions that kind of serve the entire public. Whether it's this one or all the others. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you. I forgot that this would be a Charter amendment, not necessarily something that just moves forward. In my mind that's manini money. And so in its ability to support and more efficiently manage this board, I see a lot of wisdom in this. So,thank you for bringing this forward and I'll be supporting it today. CHR. KIMBALL: Council Member Kierkiewicz. Page 3 GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Mahalo nui, Ms. Lee Loy for bringing this forward. I just wanted to dig a little deeper into, you know, why we landed on seven versus nine. There are nine Council districts, and I think about the different boards and commissions, and typically, there is a member that resides in that particular district that's elevated to serve on a board or commission. I think about, you know, Planning Commissions, where there is the Judicial District,just to insure that there is cross-representation of members serving around the island. So again, going to be supporting this, but just curious around why seven, why nine? You mentioned there being some kind of ratio of board members related to County employees. So maybe, a bit more information about that would be helpful too. MS. LEE LOY: Well, I'll let Ms. Frenz kind of take the bulk of this answer. Based on working with the Board of Ethics and sitting on their meetings, they landed on seven because it was all about trying to make quorum. And Ms. Frenz could actually describe the makeup of that board, because it is really unique with a unique skillset, similar to that of Board of Appeals. And so, you know, I'll let Cody kind of walk us through those two meetings that they had the discussions on. MS. FRENZ: So just to clarify, I actually wasn't present at the first meeting. I was out of town. However, they were unable to agree on the specific number at that first meeting. So I was present for the second meeting. And that was the very issue, right? Is it seven, is it nine; is it greater than that, for example? Board of Ethics is made, according the Charter, a little bit differently than it would be as far as having it represented from every venue, for example, or every district specifically. So we don't have that same sort of makeup according to the Charter. There was thought that seven would definitely decrease the potential for there to be quorum issues, specifically. But I don't know that they would be opposed if this Council were to determine that nine would be more appropriate and then include some language that would make those requirements more specific. We just don't have that at this time. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, and then are there attached rules that talk about specific skillsets, capacities, each member should possess in order to serve? I couldn't recall. MS. FRENZ: Not in our Rules of Practice and Procedure under the Board of Ethics. So that's more in-line with Ms. Bartolome's job in finding appropriate board members, commission members, for example. And vetting out who would be an appropriate fit for that position, should we have any openings. Page 4 GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, thanks for the information. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. Ms. Frenz, thank you for being here today. In your review of other municipalities, did you see requirements that were in that Charter? If you did, were there requirements, if any, that kind of clearly specified like what Ms. Kierkiewicz is asking, what the members of the committee would have as a background; as a job, position, district-wise? I mean, what did you see when you reviewed these different municipalities? MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, thank you for that question. I actually did the research. I didn't look at specific qualifications. I just took the number of employees for that municipality and then compared to the number of members that they had on the Board of Ethics. And so that's how the rationale kind of came out. Of course, in the end it was their business decision to settle on seven, because with five members, you needed three to make a quorum and then with seven, you needed four. And they felt very confidently, and Ms. Frenz you can help me with this, they felt confident that they could at least guarantee four all the time; five, might have been a stretch if we went to eight or nine. So that's how they kind of came up with seven being comfortable for them. MS. FRENZ: That's correct. My understanding of our current makeup now without disclosing any specifics, is that we have three on the west side and two from the east side. If that helps provide some additional guidance? MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I mean, given what they do. They review, for the most part, County personnel; you know, government officials for ethical, moral behavior; violations of. Code of Ethics, correct. And so having that, I think the point of this body, not this body, that body, is to be very fair but have a good strong ethical background and making good decisions. So really, I mean it may be worthwhile in at least looking at the requirements that we set forth for the Board of Ethics members, so that we can really ensure that when folks come in front of this, the Ethics Commission. The Ethics Commission then, there's a good fair discussion for whoever's on the other end of the dais. MS. FRENZ: I can have a conversation with Pomai to see what criteria, if any they're using, but that's outside of my purview far as my role with the board. So I've always allowed that to just take its process appropriately with you guys when they come before you. Page 5 GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Maybe more so for the maker of the bill, Charter amendment. It's just worthwhile to look at the other municipalities to see if they've actually incorporated requirements for the Ethics Commissioners. I think that may be worthwhile. That's my two cents. But thank you for bringing this forward. I like the additional members, especially if they're able to get quorum more often than not, and help along the process. So thank you for your time. I yield Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Chair David. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair. And Ms. Lee Loy, thank you for bringing this up. I think you have solved an ongoing issue with, not only this commission, but sometimes other commissions on meeting quorum. So, I really thank you for that. And also, Ms. Frenz, your estimate of, about what, $760 per commission member? MS. FRENZ: If we're at seven, yes. MS. DAVID: If we're at seven, right? That kind of breaks down to about $5,000 some-odd dollars for that service. And mind you, I'm thinking $5,000 is not much because of the distance that these people have to travel either way, on the west side, east side. And it covers mileage and meals, and I think it's a very reasonable amount. And so, I really support this, and thank you, Ms. Lee Loy for bringing this forward and solving one of our longstanding issues. Thank you. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair David. Anyone else? Alright seeing no further comments, thank you, Council Member Lee Loy for bringing this forward. Happy to support this as well. I think all of my questions have been asked. All of those in favor or moving Bill 168 to Council with a favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 168: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 168 on first (Approved) reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 6 GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 CHR. KIMBALL: Alright Mr. Clerk, moving on to the top of the agenda. MR. BROWN: If you don't mind, Madam Chair, could we take a brief recess? I think there is an amendment that we're waiting on. CHR. KIMBALL: Yes. Just for my colleagues' benefit, there was supposed to be an amendment to the budget that is coming up as the next resolution. If you don't mind, it somehow got lost in the shuffle the last couple days, but we'll print it out real quick and disperse it. So we'll recess for five minutes. MR. BROWN: Ten minutes or so. CHR. KIMBALL: Ten minutes. Okay, we'll reconvene at five to three. MR. BROWN: Okay, thank you, Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Recess: At 2:45 p.m., the Chair called for a recess. Reconvene: The meeting reconvened at 2:54 p.m. CHR. KIMBALL: Mr. Clerk, if you could read in the resolution on the agenda, please? Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business. of Business: ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order RESOLUTIONS: of Resolutions. Res. 397-22: APPROVES THE FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023 PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE HAWAII STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES Reference: Comm. 772 Intr. by: Ms. Kimball Motion to Approve: Mr. Richards moved to recommend adoption of Res. 397-22. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KIMBALL: I will go ahead and just comment on this quickly. Available for any questions. This, of course is the Operating Budget for the Hawaii State Association of Counties. I'm going to ask Council Member Villegas if you could make a motion to make an amendment please. Page 7 GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 Motion to Amend: Ms. Villegas moved to amend Res. 397-22 with the contents of Comm. 772.1. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. KIMBALL: Any discussion on the amendment? Seeing none, we'll move forward with the vote. All of those in favor of amending? Vote on Motion: The motion to amend Res. 397-22 with the contents of to Amend Comm. 772.1 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Chung and Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—2. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Back to the main motion. Any discussion on the budget? Alright, seeing none, all those in favor? You're looking at me, quizzically, did you have any comments about the budget. MR. RICHARDS: No, I was just going to ask if you had any comments on the budget. CHR. KIMBALL: I don't have any comments on the budget. It's pretty straight forward. I think the main change from this year to previous years is, we actually broke out the NACo membership and sent that. That is now being paid by the counties rather than being paid by HSAC. And it's being prorated by County population size. So, Oahu is paying a large portion of that. We did reduce the Travel; we're keeping our Executive Director, Mahealani, who's fabulous. And really no other comments beyond that. MR. RICHARDS: Those were the comments I was looking for. I wanted you to touch on the membership and how things got rearranged. And it's actually a really good move. So, alright, I don't think I ever had the floor, so I'm not going to yield it. CHR. KIMBALL: Okay. We're just kind of going all off the charts here. Alright, back to the vote. All of those in favor of moving Resolution 397-22 to the Council with a favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Page 8 GOREDC-27 May 17,2022 Vote on Res. 397-22: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 397-22, (Draft 2) as amended to Draft 2, was carried by the following (Approved) voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Chung and Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—2. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Can I have a motion to adjourn? ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 2:57 p.m., Mr. Inaba moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members David, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, Villegas, and Chair Kimball—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Chung and Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—2. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: We are adjourned. Thank you everyone. Approved: "Ms. Heather L. K ball, Chair (Date) Government Operations, Relations, and Economic Development Committee HK/dt Page 9