HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0662.000 1998-2000 ~Y OIN
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Stephen K. Yamashiro Harry A. Takahashi
Mnyor Dlrecmr
County of Hawaii
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE ~ ~ S.K. Schulte
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25 Aupuni Street, Room 118 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4252 C" - ~ ~ De u
(808)961-8234 Fax (808)961-8248 ~ t
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February 14, 2000
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The Honorable James Y. Arakaki
Council Chair
Hawaii County Council
Hilo, Hawaii
Re: Ordinance Amending Hawaii County Code Pertaining to Bonding of Officers and
Employees.
Enclosed is a bill which authorizes the director of finance to set the bonding amount and
which officers are to be covered. We are proposing to amend section 2-2 of the Hawaii
County Code which identifies officers and employees and specifies the bond amount for
each position. This section of the Code has not been looked at for a while and in fact the
"cashier" has since been changed.
The proposed bill provides the finance director with the responsibility in deciding which
officers and employees should be bonded and the amount. We expect that the finance
director will review which positions have money handling responsibilities and then a
determination of bonding requirements will be made.
Should you have any questions please feel free to call.
Sincerelyn
V1 I G~~ .
Harry Taka ashi
Financ Director
Comm. No. 2
File No. ~ CC ADM
Ref. To: _ ~T~
RRf. Date_FEB 1 5 2000
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Stephen K. Yamashiro Richard Wurdeman
Mayor Corporation Counsel
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OFFICE OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL
(0I Aupuni Street, Suite J25 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720.4262 • (808) 961-825L • Fax (808) 961.8622
February 10, 2000
TO: Harry A. Takahashi, Finance Director ~ ,,~J
FROM: Frederick Giannini, Deputy Corporation Counsel „11 /
RE: Bonding for Public Officials v~~
This is in response to your January 26, 2000 memorandum to this office asking
about the proper level of bonding for county officials. The County of Hawaii's level of
bonding is below those of Maui County and the City and County of Honolulu. At the
present time, §2-2 of the Hawaii County Code sets the Mayor's and Director of Finance's
bonds at $25,000, the bonds of the Prosecuting Attorney, the Corporation Counsel, the
Controller, the Deputy Director of Finance, and the Treasurer at $20,000, the County
Clerk's bond at $15,000 and those of the Purchasing Agent, the Cashier, and each
• Councilmember at $10,000. The County Council would have to amend §2-2 in order to
increase those bond amounts.
The levels of bonding for the City and County of Honolulu are set by §5-1.2 of the
Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, and requires that all officers and employees, except for
the Board of Water Supply be covered by a public employees's "faithful blanket position
bond" of $25,000, with "excess indemnity coverage" of $225,000 for the Director and
Deputy Director of the Department of Finance ,and the Chief and Assistant Chief of the
Treasury, $75,000 coverage for the Treasury's Head Teller, the Director of Auditoriums
and his Deputy, the Auditoriums Fiscal Officer, and the Auditoriums Accountant V, and
$25,000 coverage for the Auditoriums Box Office Manager and the Auditoriums Box
Office Accountant.
Hany A. Takahashi, Finance Director
February 10, 2000
Page 2
Maui County Code §2.44.040 has an overall bonding requirement of $50,000 for
all department heads and elected officials, as well as employees concerned with the
"receipt, collection, custody or disbursement of public funds." The County of Kauai
handles the situation differently. Kauai County Charter § 19.17, entitled "Surety Bonds,"
states:
Except as otherwise provided, the council shall determine which officers and
employees shall be required to furnish surety bonds and determine the kind and
amount of each individual or blanket bond. All officers concerned with the
receipt, collection, custody, or disbursement of public funds shall be bonded. The
director of finance shall procure all such surety bonds from companies licensed to
do business in the State. All such bonds shall be in favor of and the premiums
thereon shall be paid by the County.
At the present time, the Kauai council has not set a requirement for surety bonds, since
the employees are covered as part of the county's insurance policy. The policy includes
$1,000,000 coverage with $10,000 deductible for acts of Public Employee Dishonesty,
Forgery or Alteration Coverage, and Thefr, Disappearance, and Destruction.
In comparison with the other counties, the County of Hawaii's officers appear to
be at the low level of coverage. The County of Hawaii should be at least at the level of
Maui as far as bonding is concerned. The concern is especially about the bonding of
people responsible for the handling of money. This office has drafted a bill which would
amend §2-2 to require that all officers and employees who are responsible for the
collection, custody and disbursement of county funds be bonded, with the amount of the
bond to be set by the Finance Director, who would also determine what other County of
Hawaii officers and employees are to be bonded. This draft will be sent to you for your
consideration.
Please contact this office if there are any questions.
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