HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0334.013 2024-2026Date: July 9, 2025
TO: County Council Members
FROM: Eileen O'Hara, Ph.D
RE: TESTIMONY ON BILL 64
Aloha Esteemed Council Members,
COUNTY CLERK
COUM OF HAWAI' I
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It was with great chagrin that I watched the discussion at the Committee level on Bill 64
on July 8th. I had watched the previous discussion on this bill two weeks prior and at the
conclusion of that discussion Councilmember Heather Kimball asked that Bill 64 be
deferred until the July 22"d committee meeting. Thus, I was taken by surprise that the
item was on the July 8th agenda. I had worked with Mr. Aaron Chung on the wording for
this proposed County Charter amendment which really needs to be addressed as the
current language is no longer clear in terms of the qualifications and education related
to engineering.
Hawaii County Charter. -
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.
This language is archaic. It doesn't identify what type of engineer qualifies. Depending
on the State, the list of engineers who are eligible to be certified as a professional
engineer depending on the State regulations is on the second page of this
communication. These engineering specializations also reflect the 4-year degree
programs available to train engineers. Thus, the current language in the Charter acts
as an impediment to attracting appropriate talent to act as the top administrator of the
Department of Public Works.
The number of years of administrative experience is really the key to the position.
Engineering experience (e.g. working with registered professional engineers) is an
important qualification. That experience, along with knowledge of public administration
and public policy creation would bring the best people forward to be candidates for this
position.
The same holds true for the Department of Environmental Management Director where
the current language reads:
Hawaii County Charter:
Section 6-10.3. Director. The director of environmental management shall be appointed
by the mayor, confirmed by the council, and may be removed by the mayor. The
director shall have had a minimum of five years of administrative experience in a related
field and an engineering degree or a degree in a related field.
The public of the County of Hawaii would be better served if the position descriptions for
both Director of Public Works and the Director of the Environmental Management
Comm. N
Ref. To:
Ref. Dote 2
Departments were changed to attract a wider array of candidates for these appointed
positions. I was surpdsed�,toft4,, ear that at least one councilmember wasn't aware of the
difference in HR= regUh*ments9.Fm.Fxivil servant positions within these two departments
versus the position r9&1k%►"r-bnts for Cabinet level appointments as addressed in the
Hawaii County-C-I:tartev.---------em-
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Recommendations-,include-reducing`tii6'experience qualifications to three years instead
of five, and giving examples of "related fields" as mentioned in Section 6-10.3 of the
County Charter.
ENGINEER PROFESSIONAL LICENSES (varies state to state)
• Agricultural
• Aeronautical
• Chemical
• Civil
• Computer
• Control Systems
• Electrical
• Environmental
• Fire Protection
• Industrial
• Mechanical
• Metallurgical
• Mining and Mineral
• Naval Architecture
• Nuclear
• Petroleum
• Safety
• Sanitary
• Software
• Structural
• Traffic
Sincerely,
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