HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0334.042 2024-2026P /CoundI
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From:
Georjean Adams
CD c-)
Sent:
Monday, October 6, 2025 2:18 PM
h
Z CD
To:
Council Testimony
-
Subject:
Proposed Bills 64 and 72 Testimony for Oct 8, 2025
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Submitted below is testimony regarding Bills 64 and 72 to be heard at the October 8, 2025, County
Council Meeting:
Bill 72 re Director of Environmental Management Section 6-10.3
1 oppose the proposed Bill 72 Amendment to Article VI Ch 10 Section 6-10.3 of the Hawaii County
Charter to change the hiring criteria for the Director of the Department of Environmental Management
(DEM) as below:
"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 o
f experience in engineering, solid waste management, wastewater treatment, environmental policy
and regulatory compliance, public administration, business administration, or a related
field, at least two years of which shall have been in a responsible administrative capacity."
Given the small number of county DEM staff, we need to have a hands-on, technical expert who is
both degreed and experienced in the environmental field (waste and/or wastewater preferred), as well
as someone who has managerial experience in working with employees, contractors and policy -
makers to implement environmental regulations. The Director position is not simply an administrative
job, especially when it comes to recommending long term environmental priorities and solutions and
managing multi -million dollar engineering contracts to comply with government regulations.
My ideal would be something like:
"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 managerial experience and an engineering degree applicable to environmental sciences."
(Notsure if5 years is the magic number, but certainly require someone who has a record of
successfully managing a large number of staff and significant budgets and contributing to an
organization's strategic planning over a couple of years.)
Bill 64 re Director of Public Works Section 6-2.2. Director and Deputy.
1 offer comments on Draft 2 of Bill 64:
1 am not as familiar with the duties of the DPW Director and the operations of DPW. My bias is toward
having senior county managers with technical backgrounds. I do not believe this is strictly an
administrative position and that it does require relevant managerial experience. I do not agree that
general business, public administration or any and all areas of law prepare someone to manage a
specialized area such as public works infrastructure management.
Nevertheless,with a staff of —3,000 personnel, I would hope there is a strong professional resource to
rely on, unlike at DEM, so perhaps there isn't as high a reliance on the director to be technically expert.
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My understanding is that there is a need for Professional Engineer sign -off and would support the option
for the deputy director PE requirement. The deputy would also bean advisor on recommendations from
Division chiefs.
I know it's difficult to recruit directors to County positions. Nevertheless, do not short the County by
"making do" with unqualified leaders for these technical positions.
Georjean Adams,
(former chair, Hawaii County Environmental Management Commission)
Kamuela, Hawaii