Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 065 Draft 01 2024-2026 AN ORDINANCE TO INITIATE AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES VI AND VII OF THE CHARTER OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I (2024 EDITION), RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I: SECTION 1. Article VI, chapter 2, of the Charter of the County of Hawai‘i (2024 Edition) is hereby repealed as follows: “[CHAPTER 2 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Section 6-2.1. Organization. There shall be a department of public works consisting of a director and the necessary staff. Section 6-2.2. Director. The director of public works shall be appointed by the mayor, confirmed by the council and may be removed by the mayor. The director shall be a registered professional engineer. The director shall have had a minimum of five years of experience in an administrative capacity. Section 6-2.3. Organization. The powers, duties and functions of the department of public works shall be prescribed by ordinance and shall be exercised and performed by the department.]” SECTION 2. Article VII of the Charter of the County of Hawai‘i (2024 Edition) is amended by adding a chapter to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows: “CHAPTER 5 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Section 7-5.1. Organization. There shall be a department of public works consisting of a public works commission, a director of public works, a deputy director of public works and the necessary staff. Section 7-5.2. Public Works Commission. (a) The public works commission shall consist of nine members. Each member shall be a legal resident and a registered voter of the county. Each member shall have background or experience in either engineering, architecture, construction, or another field related to the duties of the department of public works. The members shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council in the manner prescribed in Section 13-4. (b) The public works commission shall: (1) Adopt such rules as it may consider necessary for the conduct of its business and the regulation of the matters committed to its charge and may review the rules and regulations of the department. (2) Review the annual budget prepared by the director of public works and may make recommendations thereon to the mayor and managing director. (3) Submit an annual report to the mayor, managing director and the council. (4) Review the department’s operations, as deemed necessary, for the purpose of recommending improvements to the director and the managing director. (5) Evaluate at least annually the performance of the director of public works and submit a report to the mayor, managing director and the council. (c) Except for purposes of inquiry, neither the commission nor its members shall interfere in any way with the administrative affairs of the department. Section 7-5.3. Director of Public Works and Deputy. (a) The director of public works shall be appointed by the public works commission and may be disciplined or removed by the public works commission at its sole discretion. (b) Any motion for discipline or removal of the director of public works must contain a statement of reasons, and the commission shall not vote to discipline or remove the director unless the director has been given an opportunity to respond to the statement of reasons at a hearing before the commission. (c) The deputy shall be appointed by the director of public works with the confirmation of the commission and may be removed by the director with the approval of the commission, with or without cause being stated. (d) The director of public works shall be a registered professional engineer. The director shall have had a minimum of five years of experience in an administrative capacity. Section 7-5.4. Powers, Duties and Functions. The director of public works shall be the administrative head of the department of public works and shall have the powers, duties and functions as prescribed by statute or ordinance. Section 7-5.5. Administrative Supervision. The department of public works shall come under the general supervision and control of the mayor, through the managing director.” SECTION 3. Charter material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New charter material is underscored. When revising, compiling, or printing these charter provisions for inclusion in the Charter of the County of Hawai‘i, the revisor need not include the brackets, bracketed and stricken material, and underscoring. SECTION 4. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable. SECTION 5. Upon adoption of this ordinance, the Council, by appropriate resolution, shall provide that this charter amendment be submitted to the electorate of the County of Hawai‘i for approval in the 2026 general election. SECTION 6. The charter amendment proposed in this ordinance shall take effect upon its approval by a majority of voters voting on this legislation in the 2026 general election, as duly certified. INTRODUCED BY: _______________________________________ COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I _______________, Hawai‘i Date of Introduction: Date of 1st Reading: Date of 2nd Reading: Date of 3rd Reading: Effective Date: