HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0279.126 2022-2024 P / Counc,il
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COMM.9.1
From: Donald Rudny
Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2023 12:23 PM
To: Council Testimony;; Kimball, Heather; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Evans, Cynthia F,.W.; Gajmba,
Y' Y
Michelle M.; Inaba, Holeka; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt Lee Loy, Sue;Villeg'g, Re(*eq;
Kagiwada,Jennifer
Cc: Roth, Mitch D u':=
Subject: Bill 48 (Opposed) Resend w :
A
Aloha Honorable Council Members,
I have been following Bill 48 since it emerged a short time ago,and have given comment testimony on two prior occasions. I did get
a chance to watch the achieved video of the Council discussion on the bill at the last full Council meeting. Not sure how all of you
thought the discussion went,but it was apparent to me that there was significant confusion on a number of issues about the bill. It
was also clear to me that this bill is being rushed through and needs significant clarification. I agree with CM Evans that the OSCER
efforts and objectives would best be served and met by staffing R&D as the budget calls for now. Even after clarification by the R&D
and Finance directors, I'm not sure how and where those positions are funded. Creating an additional layer of government should
only be done so with great care and analysis. I get the sense that this legislation was crafted to create the office without sufficient
analysis and evaluation to determine if the office is even needed. I believe it is not.
Another disappointment to me was the lack of community outreach to inform the public and give opportunity for feedback. I still
doubt many citizens are aware of this government expansion. Perhaps I simply just missed those efforts. This is what I would
propose moving forward:
The Charter does an excellent job of defining our County government structure and specifically outlining the duties of the
department directors. The Department of Research and Development is shown below.
Section 6-8.3. Powers, Duties and Functions.
The director of research and development shall :
(a) Collect and develop data necessary o:
making and program and policy-making.
(b)
In collaboration and coordination with ff
private sector., advance public and private
plans, that enhance and improve the count
and economic sustainability and resilience
Reading this raises the question of redundancy with the newly proposed office. I believe a better approach would be to allow the
Director of R&D to hire an OSCER coordinator. Perhaps he/she should be called the SCER coordinator. The position should allow
coordination among all departments of the administration. Seems to be the whole purpose of R&D. This more streamline approach
will be easier and faster to implement. It will avoid redundancy and conflicts which are certain to happen with a separate
department doing similar things. a,1110
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I had a chuckle when CM Kierkiewicz said that a million dollars is a drop in the bucket. It reminded me of my late great Senator from
Illinois, Everett Dirksen,who famously once said,"A billion here, a billion there,and pretty soon you're talking about real money."
I strongly urge the County Council members to vote no on this bill. Move on to utilize the resources you already have and focus on
immediate needs of our communities. There are many.
Mahalo for your time and consideration.
Don Rudny
P.O. Box 106
Pepeekeo, HI 96783-0106
312-209-5870
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