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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN GOEAC 2026/05/19 (2024-2026) DRAFT Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs 34th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii May 19, 2026 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations and ORDER: External Affairs was called to order at 9:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Chair Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. James E. Hustace,Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba,Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay, let's go ahead and get started. We'll just go right down the row there,Communication 895, please. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 895: NOMINATION OF GEORGE APPLEGATE TO THE BANYAN DRIVE HAWAI`I REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY From Mayor C. Kimo Alameda, dated April 30, 2026, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. CHR. KAGIWADA: Mr. Alameda, would you please introduce the Mayor's nominee. GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Micah Alameda and the nominee came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Vote on Comm. 895: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend confirmation of the nomination (Approved) of Mr. George Applegate to the Banyan Drive Hawaii Redevelopment Agency. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kimball, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair,Kagiwada-9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Mr. Alameda provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members,spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Mr. Applegate. Communication 896 please. Comm. 896: NOMINATION OF JACOB K:ANDREWS TO THE LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION From Mayor C.-Kimo Alameda,,dated April 30, 2026, requesting the Council's review,;and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: June 13, 2026 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Micah Alameda and the nominee (via Zoom) came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Vote on Comm. 896: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend confirmation of the nomination (Approved) of Mr. Jacob K. Andrews to the Leeward Planning Commission. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kimball, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—9. Page 2 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Mr. Alameda provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Mr. Andrews. Communication 897 please. Comm. 897: NOMINATION OF BOBBY JEAN AKANE LEITHEAD TODD TO THE BOARD OF ETHICS From Mayor C. Kimo Alameda, dated April 30, 2026,requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: - June 13 2026 (Section 13-4(k), Hawai`i County Charter) (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Micah Alameda and the nominee came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Vote on Comm. 897: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved,Io recommend confirmation of the nomination (Approved) of NMs.Bobby Jean Akane Leithead Todd to the Board of Ethics. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kimball, Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Onishi,'Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada-9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Mr.'Alameda provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. We will move on to Comm. 898, please. Comm. 898: NOMINATION OF JIM MONK TO THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION From Mayor C. Kimo Alameda, dated April 30, 2026, requesting the Council's review and confirmation. Page 3 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 Requires Council Confirmation by: June 13, 2026 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) Page 4 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Micah Alameda and the nominee came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Vote on Comm. 898: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend confirmation of the nomination (Approved) of Mr. James (Jim) Monk to the Cost of Government Commission. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba,Eustace, Inaba, Kimball, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Mr. Alameda provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you very much: We will move on to Comm. 899. Comm. 899: NOMINATION OF NICK RIZIYK TO THE WATER BOARD From Mayor C. Kimo Alameda, dated 'April 30, 2026, requesting the Duncil's review'and confirmation. Requires Council Confirmation by: June 13, 2026 (Section 13-4(k), Hawaii County Charter) (Notes At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Micah Alameda sand the nominee came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Vote on Comm. 899: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend confirmation of the nomination (Approved) of Mr. Nick Riznyk to the Water Board. Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 5 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 Mr. Alameda provided a brief narrative of the nominee's background and experience. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you very much, Mr. Riznyk. And we will go on to Resolution 556-26. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 556-26: AUTHORIZES THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE FOR POSTAL INSPECTOR TASK FORCE OFFICERS Allows certain Hawaii Police Department( PD) officers to be designated as Postal Inspector Task Force Officers, with the authority to investigate mail-related criminal matters. Reference: Comm. 872 Intr. by: CounciI Member Kagiwada(B/R) Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustacermoved to recommend adoption of Res. 556-26. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR KAGIWADA: I believe we have Captain Buyten over there in Kona. Thank you for joining us, Captain: Would you like to give us a little brief overview on this resolution'please. (Note: At this time, Police Captain Edwin Buyten came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. BUYTEN: Absolutely: Good morning, thank you for having me. The Postal Inspection Service is a top tour agency. And to be able to be able to collaborate with them at that level is huge for our community. Because we can put'a stop to drugs,we can put a stop to firearms; lot of human traffickingq and/or exploitation of children. So, to have officers have limited authority to operate with them really puts us in a position of advantage. So, thank you for hearing it and considering CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, and thanks for being here. We'll see if anybody has any questions from the dais here. Any comments or questions? Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Captain. Do we have any of these Task Force Officers already within our Police Department at the moment? Page 6 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 MR. BUYTEN: We do not. This is actually the first time for us to enter into a potential MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with them. This has been about three years in the making. They're such a top tour agency. I know I already said that. But they really handle their business at a high level. So, to be considered, we're going to hand-choose the right officer or detective to participate in this. It's the first time. MR. HUSTACE: So, it'll be one detective; one individual that you're looking to start it off, or there are a couple? MR. BUYTEN: We're looking at one for now; possibly two. You know, it's new to us. We do have other task force officers with other agencies as you already know. But entering this one, we're'really going to do it from a quality perspective. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you. And some of the language in the MOU speaks to reimbursements and stipends. So, those will be coming from the United States Postal Service to the department. Then to reimburse, cost of vehicle and overtime salaries, correct? MR. BUYTEN: That is correct: MR. HUSTACE: Okay, thank you. Appreciate the time. Thanks Chair. CR. KAGIWADA: Okay, seeing no other lights. I'll just say for the record, that I did have constituents reach out with a question and a concern making sure that this new task force with the Federal Government with the postal service`would not pose any risk to our immigrant community. And I did run it by the Hawaii Coalition for immigrant rights folks, and they didn't see any issues here. So, I just want to put that out there that this does not seem to be any kind of concern for them, anyway. So, with that, all those in favor of approving Resolution 556-26 and sending it to the full Council with a favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Any opposed` Vote on Res. 556-26: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 556-26 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Kierkiewicz , Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Page 7 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. Thank you, Captain. Thank you for being here. MR. BUYTEN: My pleasure. Thank you. CHR KAGIWADA: Can we please go on to Bill 156. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the.next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 156: AMENDS CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 25, SECTION 2-137, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED),RELATING TO APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS°'I'O NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Requires a nonprofit organization applying for County grant funds to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the organization has internal policies relating to management, audits, fiscal procedures, nepotism, and conflicts of interest. Reference: Comm. 873 Intr. by: Council Member Inaba Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend,passage of Bill 156 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Hbstace. CHR. KAGIWADA: Please go,ahead, Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA Thank you. This is a bill that I worked on with the Finance Department,closely, especially, as it relates to our Waiwai Grant Program. Right now; the current process is that Finance gets all the applications and has to'gp'through the bylaws, the conflict of interest policies, and the nepotism policies to confirm that they meet the standards required by our Code, which takes a lot of work. Then in some cases, there have been perhaps some confusion or disagreement as to whether language provided by these organizations do, in fact, meet our requirements. So, what this bill does is replace the need for any department to have to go in and look at these bylaws, and these conflict of interest, and these nepotism policies. And instead receive a certification by the organization that they do have those policies. If we choose to request them, the last section in the bill, Section (b) allows us to get copies of those documents. But again, it's really to simplify and not put whether it be the department or the Office of the Corporation Counsel in a place of drawing a line that could be gray, depending on who's reading the Page 8 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 language. So, Corporation Counsel with Deputy Finance Director; Lisa Tada from Budget and Ted Schrey as well. If anyone has any questions. But ask for your support and perhaps with a nod of the head, you folks are in support of this bill. Okay, let the record reflect all those names, do support the bill. Thank you. I'll be taking any questions. CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you, Council Member. Anybody else. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Completely support this bill. I've been watching intently; watching the nonprofits play in and out of the media, but mostly on the side of being at caution if the nonprofits were to stop functioning the way that they do. And in that light,what Iwsee is a tremendous amount of tax-based resources being applied to nonprofits, which is good,when they do something for the community. But on the back end of that, there's a,tremendous amount of tax money from State, Federal, and County sources being applied directly to nonprofits to the point where they're competing with staff for the County; they're competing with staff across the board. 401(k), retirement plans, brand new vehicles. But the feedback that I'm looking for is what the return on investment for the State, the County, and the Federal money that's being applied to the nonprofits is back to the community. They do what we can't,but they also run on the funds that are prodded by taxpayers. So,'this kind of bill begins to create the backbone of really make sure the nonprofits aren't outside of the box and are playing by the same rules that we all played by,and are doing the utmost for the community with the tax bases that they are receiving. So,I appreciate the bill coming forward, Mr. Inaba. Thank you very much. And I'll be working on a slight amendment to this to add another section; And I'll work with you on that. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: As we're on the topic of nonprofits and public funding, and we are in campaign season, I want to put out a PSA (Public Service Annoucement) to all the nonprofits that work with County, and in general, as a 501(c)(3). It jeopardizes your 501(c)(3) status to in any way align yourself and promote a candidate for a political office. I'm not sure if everybody knows that. It's something that they all should know. But as we continue to navigate our way through the Waiwai process again. I just want to put that out therefor, unless you have a 501(c)(6). I believe that's the only nonprofits status that allows for you to align yourself with a candidate. But be very careful, because the work of our nonprofits is very important and Page 9 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 funding them is something really heartwarming that we get to do in our roles. So, don't jeopardize your status by making unfortunate or unwise decisions during a campaign cycle. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL: I just want to mahalo Council Member Inaba. I think it's an important sort of streamlining of the process. Just a,quick question. I presume that the intent is that nonprofit would file this declaration at one point and that would be used for Waiwai and CRF (Contingency Relief Fund) or grants through R&D (Research and Development). You know, for that calendar year or something along that line. MR. INABA: Yes, as Finance works on the new Grant Management system, finding a way to make that a reality is a priority. MS. KIMBALL: I'd love to set it up., This is just an idea for Finance. So, you know, similarly to the State procurement lirocess where they have a time period at the beginning of every year where folks can submit their calls for bidding on projects. We could do' the same for the nonprofits where they would have this timeframe where they would have the opportunity to 'submit their calls or these declarations, and then it would be available for any grantmaking that happens within that particular fiscal or calendar year. Thanks. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Anybody else? Alright. So, I just want to clarify with the maker of this bill, kind of the first issue has to do with documentation and staff time and all that. It's not necessarily that we're doubting there that they had bylaws or something. But it was just sometimes cumbersome to dig through all the paperwork to document it.--Is that some of it I'm understanding here? MR. INABA: Yes. CHR KAGIWADA: Okay, thank you so much. I do appreciate that. And then, I justhad a question on Section 2-137(F) says, "Any County officer or employee with oversight of the grant, if known." And then it says, can require additional documentation. So, can you just us a little bit more about who that might be. MR. INABA: Sure. That isn't a part that is being amended in this bill. So, that's current language in the Code. But a real example for myself, my mother being the Executive Director for La`i`6pua 2020. If they submit an application for the Waiwai program, which is a Council overseeing grant program, they should be disclosing that I'm on the Council as part of their application. Page 10 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 CHR. KAGIWADA: Okay. I guess I'm wondering because it says, "In determining the eligibility of organizations under this section, the County may require additional documentation or take appropriate action if a material misrepresentation is discovered." Just based on what another Council Member said, can one Council Member go after a nonprofit if they have concerns about that nonprofit or is this really working through Department of Finance and the body? I just want to make sure we're not opening this up for individuals to go after individual organizations without some checks and balances. MR. INABA: I'm going to defer to the Corporation Counsel on this. I think there might be some language as to inspection,of documents and facilities by members of the Council in the agreements, but I don't want to misstate anything. (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Renne Schoen came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SCHOEN: Gooctmorning, Renee Schoen, Corporation Counsel. So, if I understand your question correctly, so this entire section would affect the eligibility of nonprofits for whatever type of grant: So, that existing provision (F) would speak toI think I'll find in,R&D,you know, they might have an employee that is responsible for that particular grant. So, that particular relationship ith a nonprofitorganization would have to be disclosed. As Io your second question. You know, it's really regarding eligibility. And my understanding is there's either a permitted interaction group or working with the Finance Department that determines the initial eligibility. So, I don't Believe that the situation you're speaking of would come to play. CHR.KAGIWAA- Okay, thank you very much. That's just, I wanted to double check that. I appreciate that. Thank you. I'm in full support. Seems like a really great step forward for us. And thank you, Council Member Inaba, for bringing this forward. With that, all those in favor of sending Bill 156 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Any opposed? Vote on Bill 156: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 156 on first reading (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Kierkiewicz, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Page 11 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 Excused: None. CHR. KAGIWADA: The motion carries. Thank you so much. Can we go on to Bill 158. I do believe we do have testimony. STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public. PUBLIC ON BILL 158 The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called COMM. 890): by the Chair: Debbie Hecht: Comment...: Bill 158: INITIATES AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES III, IV, V,,,VI, VII, VIII, X, XIII, AND XVI, OF THE CHARTER OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAIJ (2024 EDITION), RELATING TO THE STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY Converts the County's government to a hybrid council-manager system, in which certain County departments and operations are overseen by an appointed County Manager and others are overseen by an elected Mayor. Reference: Comm. 890 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball Motion to Approve: Ms. Kimball moved to recommend passage of Bill 158 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Villegas. CHR. KAGIWADA: Council Member Kimball, please take it away. MS. KIMBAL: Yes, thank you. So, I think I just want to just, the elephant in the room, first of all. I think there's an obvious assumption that bill was in some way a referendum on the current administration. I want to just state unequivocally thal'it is not. This is actually something that I have been contemplating and thinking about before I was even elected to Council Office. I have been sitting on it here for a while and decided to bring it forward for the purpose of discussion, really for two reasons. The first is that some of the constituents that I first talked about this with was Ron Thiel, who used to work for DPW and his wife Barbara Franklin, who passed away recently. And she was all about good governance and transparency, and all of that. So, at her memorial service, I promised Ron that I would bring this forward in her honor. The second aspect is really just the conversations that we had during budget, which was, many of the folks sitting on this dais now have experienced the Page 12 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 transition between mayors; some, three different mayors, and just how disruptive that process is. Especially, when we talked about the fiscal aspect. The fifth solution is one of many, but it's one that I wanted to put forward for discussion in that context. We are, of course, a fairly young county, and I just want to note that between the early 1900's; 1968 we had a board of supervisors. The County was led by the Chair of that board of supervisors. It was only until 1968, so not even 60 years that we have been under the model that we are right now. The State Constitution, under Article VIII, gives us the Council, broad authority to establish the organization of our government. And something I was sharing with Chair Inaba yesterday, is that I think we're always presumed that there has to be a separation of powers within the County,between the Executive and Legislative branch. That is actually not the case. We are an entity of the State. And so, they are required to have separation of powers but we are not. Furthermore, we're not actually required to have a Mayor. It is something that we have again'through Chapter 46 and through the HRS, the ability to construct the organization of our County government. As Debbie said, across the country when you look at mid-size counties, so between 100,000 and 500,000; 45 percentof them have this common manager model where there is a higher professional manager that runs county operations. Only 28 percent have actually had an elected chief official; and the remainder have purely a board of supervisors arrangement. They don't actually have any sort of CEO (Chief Executive Officer). So, this would not be extraordinary or unusual. You knowthere is this sortof balance, this tradeoff that comes with changing this,model. F'irstof all, with a County Manager, you have sort of this insulation from political decision-making. When it comes to Finance,you have that—it changes that sort of short-term thinking that's tied to electoral cycles. The flipside is that you don't have that electoral responsiveness to the voters thdfyou would have under a mayoral model. So, those need to be taken into consideration. So, with this proposal, it's actually a hyper model. So, the County Manager is brought in and replaces the Managing Director. And that person is hired by the Council and the Mayor together, and approved by the full Council. They're hired for a term of six years and can be renewed based on performance. We retain the Mayor as the key spokesperson for the County. The person that deals with intergovernmental relations; continues to appoint boards and Page 13 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 commissions. And so, we're balancing that. The Mayor really is the policy guide; the light post, if you will for the County; determines what we do. The County Manager is the more professional side; addresses the issues that shouldn't be political and determines how we do them; how we implement them on a day-to-day basis. The benefits of having a County Manager, you know,there's two kind of areas on the fiscal side. So, typically, through the research, the County Manager model tends to have a higher bond rating. And that is going to be pretty significant to us as we have a higher and higher debt service, the ability to borrow money. The other thing that is typical with the County Manager model is a higher or better reserve management. So, the rainy-day funds, those emergency funds, that debt service. The other aspect is improved management of contracting. So, because you have that continuity"between administrations,,you depoliticize some of the Capital Improvement spending. There's a 10 percent efficiency bonus;they call if because you have more consistent contract management under the County Manager model. It's really hard to distinguish, and I did spend some time researching this about—it's hard to pull out the improvements in terms of service delivery because every county measures success and effectiveness of service delivery in different ways. But generally speaking, one thing that can be said about a County Manager model versus an elected official model is that they're better able to coordinate challenging problems that require integration of multiple entities within the organization. So, that is one of the other benefits. You know, as you grow in size; as you mature as a County,you have more of these sort of wicked problems that require the coordination of multiple departments. You're better able to do that under a County Manager model. As I said, this is a hybrid proposal. So,you would still retain the Mayor that sets the strategic policy agenda that handles Emergency Management. The proposal that I put before you also changes the Public Works Department, Information Technology, Corporation Counsel, Finance, Environmental Management; those departments under this County Manager. So, those departments heads would also be hired under the County Manager. Page 14 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 That addresses the problem that we had with regard to finding qualified people that would be interested in these positions because they wouldn't be political appointments. I selected these departments in particular because these are the ones where you have the long-term projects. The 10, 20-year projects. We're having some consistency in institutional knowledge between administrations. I mean, we've all gone through the experience where we had to re-educate a new director on a project, that's been an issue. And'thenyou have a delay that have consistently been there that we need to have some stability to get us through. So, I'm not sure that the hybrid model n'that`regard with respect to the departments is the right approach. I think there's some argument to be made that it should be all or none because you would have this sort of different levels of directors. But I wanted to put it forward in this format first. I think that there's still—like you talk about Planning. I do see like we're a political influence there, and you're talking about strategic direction and growth to the County. Maybe it does make sense to have that be more of a political appointment. That's why I left that one out. Anyway, so the rationale Here is;by creating the six;-year County Manager term, you isolate the core administration functions to promote fiscal health within the County. Certainly, very important to us now as we look at huge debt liabilities. We can institutionalize how we measure, as Council Member Kaneali`i- Kleinfelder was talking about, like the actual effectiveness of the expenditures around public services. And this is really a transition to a modernization of how government is run in the County. I know it's pretty,radical, and I know it may be bridge so far for some of you. I will saythat both the County of Maui and the County of Kauai have attempted this. The County of Maui did get it onto the ballot, but it was not approved by the voters. The County of Kauai, they had some legal problems with the way that theirs was developed. I have addressed that here, and I'm happy to go into that in more detail if folks have questions. I would ask my colleagues to consider this; to put it out to the voters to get their input on. I do think that it's something that's probably too new maybe at some level. But I would like to get voter input. I have shared this with the Mayor and the Managing Director. I will tell you that he intends to veto it. As you might imagine, it does shift power to us to a large extent. And I'm hoping between now and the next hearing that I can have more opportunity to talk to him about the merits of the idea. But I thank you all for your consideration, and I'm happy to answer your questions about the proposal. Page 15 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you for that overview, Council Member Kimball. Do we have comments and questions from folks? Council Member Hustace, please go ahead. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Just a couple of questions to start off here. The hiring process for the County Manager. It says by four Council Members done through a Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) or Ad Hoc committee, as we call it right now. MS. KIMBALL: Yes, the proposal is that, and,there's that transition language there, that at the start of the term where the County Manager would be hired, the Council would identify a PIG to take that on that would work with the Mayor to identify and nominate an individual�'that would then be approved by the full Council_ MR. HUSTACE: Got it. Thank you. In terms of the education requirements for the manager. Is this on par with how other municipalities have this sort of level of requirement. CHR KAGIWADA: I'm just going to quickly stop you right there. If you could maybe say your questions, so we don't have this sort of back and forth so much. And then, if the maker would like to answer them all, then that would be great. MR:HUSTACE: Okay. Thank you, Chair. So, question on education requirements particularly, are those on par with other municipalities? And is that level of requirement necessary? Just kind of your background in your insightto that. Your position,on the Department of Water Supply (DWS). As I understand it, ifs already semi-autonomous. But this would kind of direct it more so under the manager role to that depoliticized basis as much as possible. So, curious on that agency and how that shift would happen. Given where their stance is right now,we had a commission for the Water Board. That's really our connection to the Department of Water Supply, other than requesting meetings every now and then, and so forth. Then, last question is, on more of a physical space—kind of operating in physical space and how we are in some of our conversations, we're already limited in our space to operate and how they might shift those offices or roles within this building or other buildings around the County. In particular, creating some separation or not. I don't know. So, I'm just curious on that. Thank you, Chair. Page 16 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you very much, Council Member Hustace. Council Member Kimball, if you would like to address those questions. MS. KIMBALL: Yes, so to your first question regarding the requirements. I will say that this is something that I've discussed extensively with some of our colleagues across the national landscape through the National Association of Counties. And these educational requirements are very much on par, which is typically expected for people within these positions. There is a professional organization, ICMA (International County Municipal Administrators). So, they have their whole professional hui that is associated with this that has all sorts of continuity, continuing education opportunities and whatnot. I should note, as I remember Aaron Chung when he had a tournament to put forward. I am actually pursuing a Ph.D in Public Policy Administration right now. I would not be qualified for this because it's,technical in nature; it's not actually professional. So, I'm not setting this position up for myself. To your question about'DWS. Also, loop in there Police and Fire. You know, there's still the commission,that is the primary decider working the budget. All of those for those two. There's really just that where it,had been'tied to the Mayor previously. Those are tied the County Manager from the standpoint of just the continued administration,of those entities. But they're still largely driven by the commissions that support them. And just to note again, that the Mayor would still retain the appointment authority around all boards and commissions. Does thatanswer your question? MR. HUSTACE: It was more on physical space requirements. MS. KIMBALL: Thank you. Just to note, this arrangement would basically substitute the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director with the County Manager and Deputy County Manager. So, I would presume that those spaces that are currently available for those individuals would be those spaces. There is supposed to be that collaboration between the Mayor and this entity to this County Manager to insure that the County Manager's administrative actions are aligned with the policy vision of the Mayor as County activities are employed. CHR KAGIWADA: Alright, thank you so much. Council Member Onishi. Page 17 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 MR. ONISHL Thank you, Madame Chair. Just to clarify for the public, it was mentioned about how,you know, there's other counties on the mainland that's doing this. But to my knowledge and listening to other colleagues on the mainland, depending on their population, if they're a very small population, like some counties are 5,000, 2,000, 1,500; they usually have this manager, right? But when you look at the bigger cities or counties,they have the Mayor then the Council. So,just wanted to clarify on that, like the percentage may be high, but it's because of so many counties. For example, NACo (National Association of Counties) right now has about 3,026 members in:NACo. And that's not; maybe like 50 percent of all the counties and cities in the whole country. So, I just wanted to clarify on that. The second thing I don't really like is about having just four members of the Council and the Mayor to confirm; I guess, to appoint someone or to get someone like the County Manager. ,think that can be very political. And the thing see when you look at this. So, the Council and the Mayor would have to be voted in first in order for them to get the County Manager. So, I think that has to be changed. You know, I would rather have all nine members on the Council doing this appointment or selecting someone that's going to be approved by the Council and also by the Mayor. So, I'll yield at that right now. Thank you. CHR. IA+GIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Onishi. Would you like to respond, Council Member Kimball? MS. KIMBALL` Yes,just a couple of quick points on that. So, as Council Member Onishi mentioned, there are a variety of organizations and sizes of counties across the country; And one of famous slogans in NACo is, you've seen one county; you've seen one county. At the national level, if you were to take all counties,,57 percent have a commission-only model. Most of California; they have got five commissioners. There's no elected CEO; 27 percent have a Council Manager, and only 16 percent have an elected CEO like we have. That's why I actually narrowed the bandwidth when I shared the percentage earlier to those that are in our size. Because it really depends on the services the County delivers in terms of what model is better. With regard to the appointment process, you know, I'm certainly open to alternatives. You know, I want it to be respectful of the Sunshine Law. I was thinking a little about how we do it with the auditor. I mean it still has to come back to the floor with the full Council for approval. But it's certainly something I'm open to considering. Page 18 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 I did want to make particular note, and I should have done this in the original presentation. The way that this bill is actually set up is that it will not take affect if it were to be approved by the voters until there is a new Mayor that has not served as Mayor before. So, if Mayor Alameda is re-elected, it would actually not take effect until after that term. So, the idea is that this will happen in the transition period. And there's language there to actually say that the elected Mayor has the ability to appoint someone to serve in this County Manager position until the process is done by the Council to hire the official person. There's somebody that would serve in the interim. And again, this would not take effect until there's a new Mayor. I do think it's unfair to do a vacant switch around this one., CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball., Other Council Members. Council Member Kiet'kiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. I was wondering when you were going to put this forward, Council Member Kimball. It's been something you've been talking about for a number of years. Great,questions, great dialogue by the body. Appreciate the opportunity to have the conversation. I'm an org chart kind of girlie. I;like to see hierarchy and understand where my place is in the grand scheme of things. So,I'm curious about how being Mayor and County Manager fit into that overall hierarchy. Is the Mayor above or kind of co-leading the County with the County Manager? I think it's important for folks to understand chain of command. Particularly, when it comes around accountability. With both the Mayor and County Manager having very different kuleana, at the end of the day,who is going to be accountable for when things go right or wrong within the County? This feels like the Mayor is resigned to a role of like a pretty face and being a ribbon cutter, which I think isI'm not a fan of that. One of the biggest concerns that I have is about the budget. It talks about the County Manager preparing the budget. Yet, the Mayor transmitting it to the Council. Within that point, can the Mayor make suggestions or changes to what has been offered by the Manager before it is transmitted to Council. And what if there are conflicts between the Mayor's priorities, right, because he said this individual will set the policy direction that guides the County. What if the budget that the Manager has prepared is not is alignment with the Mayor's priorities that he or she campaigned on? So,just curious if the Mayor, at all, can alter the budget before it's transmitted to Council and what role he or she may play as the Council deliberates on the budgeting process. Page 19 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 Then we all know that disputes come up between individuals. And I wondered how any sort of internal disputes would be resolved by the Mayor and the County Manager. I think this is all really great. It does feel a bit rushed to be put on the ballot this year. I'm not quite sure if you've done community outreach and engagement on this particular ballot initiative. I'd love to learn more. I think it's really important for folks to get educated on what's being'discussed here. Thank you for the opportunity again to comment. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz. Council Member Kimball, would you like to respond? MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, so first of all, to the,org chart. I don't know if you can see it here, but this is the electcirate,,the voters; you have the elected Mayor and the County Council. The County Manager then sits under the two entities. So, one of the shifts here is that we as the Council have some additional authority because we are part of the appointing process for the County Manager. In terms of like dealing with poor performance, the Mayor can either initiate a request to remove and replace the County Manager. And then there's a simple majority by the Council to support that, or the Council could actually initiate that themselves with a super majority. So, that's sort of where the accountability lies to both the Mayor and the Council from the County Manager side. With respect to the budget, the language about submitting and transmitting really,aligns with the language that exists in the Charter around the budget process as it stands right now. But there is language in there that says that the Mayor and the County Manager will work together to formulate that budget. So, there is the intention at any rate that there would be that sort of team effort, if you will, to formulate that budget. That is then presented to the Council. o,you have that balance of responsiveness to the electorate, but then also, we do need to depoliticize some of the decision-making especially when it comes to long-term capital improvement projects. You have that installation. So again, the reason I went with a hybrid model is to kind of retain the important part of the politicization in terms of being responsive to the electorate. But then, adding a certain layer of stability. Yes, I think this changes the role of the Mayor in a significant way. I think it's more than just a pretty face. You still have that sort of guiding star policy role Page 20 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 as the Mayor. It's not just going to, you know, cut ribbons and kiss babies and all that kind of that stuff. I do think that because of our growth as a County, there's enough work in that executive position forI mean,you look at how many mayors have had heart attacks. I mean, there's a lot of pressure within that role right now and actually pulling out some of those administrative functioning makes sense from that standpoint. Public outreach. So, I campaigned on this; my first time running for office. So, I've socialized a lot within my district. I can't say that I've done that countywide. I think that if we were to advance this to the ballot, that would be probably what I would I invest September to November doing is trying to create that conversation. I mean part of my thinking around this is, if we can consistently see the same challenges like failing to do repair and maintenance. Challenges'with capital improvement projects. That's when you have to look back at structure to figure out why do we keep seeing the same things we're seeing. Because we're not going to solve that with intermediate policies. We really have to look at the structure of government itself. And that's what I'm%trying to do here. Again, not sure it's the right solution. But I think it is a solution, and I think it merits conversation. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Council Member Galitnba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. And thank you so much for doing all the work on all the details to do this. It is something that I've had many conversations with members of the community who brought this up to me. Folks that have lived in counties where this is the case, and who would like to see it here. And you of course,;Council Member Kimball. I'm definitely really happy that we can have this conversation. Because I think it is important. Not to take our structures for granted and unquestionably, we all are struggling with the not just in this County, but I would say in this country; struggling with the fact that our system does not incentivize long-term decision making. It incentivizes short-term capitalism also. But our democratic system incentivizes a kind of populism and popularity contest, and short-term thinking and incentives. So, this is not just a Hawaii County problem. But I think we're seeing it acutely in Hawaii County because we have not made the long-term investments in our infrastructure that we should have been making all along. And that is because it's not incentivized in our structure. Page 21 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 It doesn't get you elected to make long-term investments in wastewater. Nobody enjoys or has fun with wastewater. Although they all to not have wastewater plans is a big negative. So, it's kind of a human nature to want the fun things and not really pay attention to the foundation, and the structure, and the things we take for granted. So, changing our structure is something that we need,to do. Is this the way that we should do it? I don't know, maybe not. But I think opening the conversation, not just here at the Council, but with the electorate. I think it's a really important thing to do. I would say thatthe odds are that it would not pass this round. But having that conversation, I think,would be a very good thing to do. I think there's other possible ways to build in a structure that would incentivize long-term commitments to infrastructure. I don't know what they are right now. Perhaps it's amendments to this. Perhaps it's an entirely different kind of structure. I think if we do pass this bill,,,and it does pass the electorate, there's going to need to be follow-up work around the changes in the role that the Council takes on. I think in some ways, the electorate will need to change what they view as an optimal Council person because of the more executive function that the Council will have. We're going to need to work out these relationships and the exact form thatthose functions take that's going to need to be thought out at a certain point. As well as, for instance, the fact that the Mayor will now have a policy role. Right now, they don't have a formal policy role. It's all on us. And they do the executive function. There's a lot of policy imbedded in that. But there is not any real relationship between the Council and the Mayor on that policy level. So, the,forms of thatwill probably need to be institutionalized. Like whatdoes that look like? Is it a document that we work on collectively? I don't know what it might be. But there's definitely would need to be a lot more detail that would need to be worked on if we did make this change, or something like it. With that, I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Anybody else before I go back to Council Member Onishi, someone who hasn't spoken yet. Council Member Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. To the maker, I had a question about, I think it's (Section) 4-3. "Each agency shall be administered Page 22 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 by an officer appointed by the County Manager . . ." And for that section, then that means the department heads are appointed by the Manager or the Mayor? CHR. KAGIWADA: Council Member, if you could? If you have a whole bunch of questions, if you could kind of get those out instead of having a back and forth with maker, that would be great, or is this your main point. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's my only question. MR. ONISHL I think for the public, it would be great that if a Council Member has a question, then you have the maker answer. Because then by having four or five questions and then the maker has to answer all, the public could get confused. So, this way it would bemuch more understanding when they watch and listen to the discussion. So,"I would recommend that if a Council Member has questions, they ask one at a time, and them the maker can answer. CHR KAGIWADA: I hear you, Council Member, but it's not how I choose to run this meeting. So, Council Member Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder should do one, and the maker can anser.that. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDIER: That's my only question. CHR. IA+GIWADA: Okay,thank you so'much, I appreciate that. Council Member k,imball. MS. KIMBALL` So, with respect to Section 4-3. The officers would be appointed by .the County Manager except as otherwise provided in the Charter. So, the sections of the Charter that are not actually included in this bill. So, the appointment of the Parks and Recreation Director, our Research and DevelopmentPlanning;you know, all of those that are not included here would still the language is retained that those are appointed by the Mayor. So, the County Manager would not appoint all departments,just the ones that I pulled out. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So, thoughts on the bill. It's an interesting breakdown of hierarchy. It's definitely a shift from the role that we have classically in America and the world. I still see politics playing into this no matter how we do it. I like the longevity piece; the continuity piece of a person working within the County at a six-year interval creates a continuity of decision making that I think is beneficial to the people. Although, this newly created County Manager position is appointed by Council Members through a four-man group plus a mayor. So, that aspect then becomes what I would conceive as being political,because the Mayor is going Page 23 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 to want someone who works well with him, and the Council is going to want someone who works well with them at that time. Then six years later puts him into a whole new administration with possibly eight brand new Council Members depending on what's going on the political world. At which point, the Council or the Mayor could say, we don't like this guy or woman, and we're going to get rid of them. And it's interesting. I've got to say, it's interesting, the thought process and I like that you brought it to the table. I do have some questions working in my head to how this actually plays out across six or 12 years. Our political structure that we have currently, our political structure, that there are positives and negatives to. So, we're removing the politics having a County Manager. But the politics also'drive change like we see when we have terms for Council Members and no term limits for State officials. That drive for change; the being out in the community and hearing what's going,on doesn't happen if you're seated in government and comfortable. You get uncomfortable, it forces the change. So, I like what you brought forward. It's interesting. It'll definitely be a shift. It is hard to hear that the Mayor is not on board. Because if we look at something that's potentially going to get through and get vetoed;just that delay in process may not allow this 6 get where it needs to go. Now, that's actually a pretty solid point. So, let's just say we pass this and we have how many hearings? MS. KIMBALL> Three. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Three hearings. To the Clerk's Office then, if we have three hearings and the Mayor has openly said he's going to veto this. I mean he veto's then it comes back to Council say, and we want to try and reinvigorate, what's our deadline? Okay, to the Clerk's Office or to the maker. I'm sure you"ve thought this through. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, like I said, I haven't intended actually to bring it forward this term, but I decided to for the reasons that I mentioned. We will just make it, if the Mayor vetoes it. So,we would have to, as I understand it from the Clerk, and he can confirm, given the timeline that the Mayor has to respond, if we were to turn it around as quickly as we could, getting through three readings at the Council; the Mayor would have the 10 business days to veto. We would have to request a special meeting to override that veto if that were to happen. But there is time to do it. If we were to get to that point, Corporation Counsel has to develop the language for the ballot. So, there's that consideration that needs to happen before August, I think is the deadline. Page 24 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's what I thought. I remember Jon (Henricks) being pretty much a stickler for when we can have these in and on the agenda to make sure they clear. Yes,please Mr. Henricks, thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Good morning. MR. HENRICKS: Chair Kagiwada and members of this committee. For all Charter amendments, the Clerk's Office is requiredto get the ballot language to the State, it's around August 20 or something,around that time. Sorry for not being so specific, because that date is not relevant as it used to be. I mean, I sent the Council Members and,their staff an email just outlining this process because we now have a digital voter information guide that's provided for all candidates and also for questions to assist the public in understanding what they're voting on. If this question were to go on the ballot„ this proposal, Corporation Counsel, would be required to draft an explanation for it. The explanation would then need to be translated into, at least, `Olelo, if noty other languages. And because of that translation period, it actually shortens the amount of time the Council would normally have if the digital voter information guide was not a factor in this. Because we need some lead time because they didn't extend the period by which we need to get the language to the State. o,"it's truncated because of that which is a good thing, getting information out to our voters from neutral sources. Good, accurate information is good for the process,but that does put a July 30 deadline on the process for the Council to finalize Charter amendment proposals. So, that's the date we're looking at, so that the Corporation Counsel can complete that process and provide the information to the State, and the State will then"take on the burden, if you will, of having the language translated. It won't cost the County anything, and we also won't need to procure those services which can take some time too. So, that's the long way of saying July 30 is the"final day. And looking at the calendar, you know, we're pretty much at the, you know, we're heading into overtime, if you will, for lack of a better word. When it comes to the Council's opportunity or window to put proposals onto the ballot now. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's in line with what I was thinking, thank you, Mr. Clerk, appreciate that. I yield, Chair, for right now. Page 25 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you so much, Council Member. Anybody else before we go back to Council Member Onishi for a second turn. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball for bringing this forward. Just preliminary feedback. I have concerns that the Mayor would represent not just themselves but also the Council in intergovernmental relations. Whether it's myself now or any Chairs in the future, I think we do have that separation. And I haven't talked to Corporation Counsel yet about whether or not the County does, in fact, need to have separation of powers or not after hearing their comment. But I do think that regardless, the Mayor should not represent the Council in external affairs. We represent ourselves there. Then, looking at some of the language for the County Manager position itself, I'm not sure if it's developed to give us a clear understanding of what happens if there's a vacancy. And then moreover subsection (c) of that County Manager section, while I understand the need to try and articulate the qualifications like the Master's degree and Public Administration or related field, I don't know if that language is broad enough to capture other individuals who would be qualified to lead the County. So, right now I can't support the'bill as it's currently written. I don't think it's ready to move forward based on some of that,preliminary reading right now. And I think I have other comments, but those'are just the preliminary feedback I wanted io provide on the record. Thank you. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Inaba. Council Member Kimball,do you want to address something specific that Council Member Inaba brought up? MS:KIMBALL Yes. Just so, with respect to the County Manager qualifications, certainly, willing to consider alternative language for that. this was taken,from, like I said, the best practices from the International Association with respect to qualifications. I do think that there's potential to broaden it to insure that person has the appropriate skillset. So, certainly willing to consider language on that. Did want to clarify that the Mayor currently has that ability in terms of interactions with the State and Federal government to speak on behalf of the County. So, this isn't a new function. Well, at the same time, the Council still has the authority; like you, as Council Chair still represent us in intergovernmental operations as well. That is a shift from current policy with this. It's really just a clarification and point in terms of what the Mayor's kuleana would be under this particular arrangement. Page 26 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 I did want to just speak real quickly to Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder's comment about this being a major shift. It's actually really not. You know, one of the more consistent models out there, actually, is that the Chair of the Council serves as the Chief Elected Officer. So, like I said, this is a hybrid model, which I think there are challenges with doing a hybrid model, instead of going all one way or all the other way. But in a typical fully County Manager model form of government, the Chief Elected Officer would actually be the Chair of that Council, and there wouldn't actually be a Mayor at all. And that is how most of these other counties that have this sort of organization are run. Again'.I chose to go with the hybrid approach to insure that we still had that balance of bureaucratic installation versus electoral accountability. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Is there,anybody that hasn't had a chance to speak before we go back to second rounds for folks? Okay, Council Member Onishi,please go ahead. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Madame Chair. Just about the discussion, about longevity, I don't know when it happened, but I think there was proposed for Charter amendments where we had term limits;,and also, we had districts. So, prior to that Council Members didn't have any term limits. And so, that way, they could foresee projects that's going to last longer. But now, because of term limits, that's where we are restricted, right? Whereas, a prosecutor, they have no term limits. Our State Legislators don't have term limits. But the Governor, the Mayor, and the Council Members, we do. Sod something where we could change that and have where the Council doesn't have any term'limits, or could be added to maybe 12 years instead of eight years."And that would give more time for Council Members to see their ptcj"Pcts go through if they get re-elected. So,just,something,to let the public know why we have a hard time. For example, for me, when we built Haihai Fire Station, it took over eight years to get it done. But then, in the beginning of my first term, I got the ball rolling. But it just took time for the process, and to get the permits, and the plans, and everything; community meetings, and so forth. And the final completion was after my term was up after eight years. So, yes, I mean if I had the 12 years, I could have seen the whole project go through. But because of my term limits, I couldn't. But then, I wanted to makes sure, too, that they didn't rush the project and we have a half-done station and later on we'd have to do all kinds of changes, right? So, I wanted to do it really completely, you know, up to par, so that we Page 27 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 don't have any problems moving forward. But so, I just wanted to give you that information. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Onishi. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, my worst case on this, if I was evil, and if this bill passed, if the Mayor and four Council Members of the sitting majority at that time appointed a County Manager. That County Manager then would become the person for everything because they have direct appointment power for Director of Finance;,they can remove and appoint the Director of Public Works. That position becomes the power piece of the County, and�'it's not an elected seat. It's an appointed seat. So;if I was to use this against the body, if the Mayor and majority of Council Members got together, because it's a four-man group of Council Members. If the majority at that time worked with the Mayor to appoint a County Manager who would then act on behalf of that four- Council Member group, aka majority and elected official being the Mayor, that County Manager position would then run the County and would become, in my opinion, a secondary level of bureaucracy that nobody`could touch. Who would drive policy, drive positions, and drive status quo for County internally, and that could be a problem. That's how I see this being used in the evil way. Although you can remove them With themajority vote, the majority of Council Members could use this in a way that you may not like and may not see as an unintended consequence. I yield. CHR.'KAGIWADA,,: Thank you, Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Is there anybody else before we—did you want to respond to that, or can we move on? MS. KIMBALL: It may, briefly, which is to say that Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, I'd encourage you to take that same (inaudible 11:07:32) and flip if to the scenario we have now, right, I mean you could get to the same point, right? I have tried to build into this proposal sufficient checks and balances. One being again, the appointment is not—it's not just the four members. And the Mayor, they're just presenting the nominee, similarly to how the auditor is selected where there PIG that selects that auditor, then it is brought before the full Council for confirmation. As far as removal, based on performance, the flipside of that would be the way it's set up is that the Mayor can request the removal with the simple majority or a supermajority of the Council alone could have that. So, I tried to put those checks and balances. But I think,you know, you can go any number of ways with the analysis of what might happen in the worst case scenario. And I think Page 28 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 the same challenge is that you've represented in this scenario are equally possible under our current arrangement or others for that matter. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball, I'm going to Council Member Villegas. I don't believe had a chance to speak yet. Go ahead. MS. VILLEGAS: Thanks. You know, something that seems like a simple new staff kind of option that I really like the concept of. I really like the separation of just being political appointments onto leadership. The nepotism, incestuous, constant assignment of roles and placements, I think, is exhausting for the electorate. And it calls into question a lot of,trust. When it comes to details, the minutia,the what ifs that could happen, I feel like we're already living in that dystopian nightmare at a national level. But that's where I have to go to, once again, for a Charter amendment,trusting the electorate to make the decision. Unfortunately, I can't agree with us removing our own term limits. If anything, I think that the State should add term limits. I think it's silly to try to argue that we don't get burnt out, and thatyes,we want to move a project along. And we want to continue the momentum of those projects. But there is time to pass the baton to younger,more enthusiastic, energetic, freshly educated people. I really like the,concept of having a professional in the field be strategically placed in one,of the higher positions of our County to help guide. I have struggled with,so many projects and the turnover of directors and mayors and whatnot: And I get it. The civil servants at some°point, they lose the momentum, they lose the stamina and the desire to really move forward with projects unless they're their own passion projects because well, the next person is going to come in, and they're going to have their whatever. It's human nature. None of these are naturally occurring phenomenon. These are all human-made constructs, organizations, programs, hierarchy, etcetera. o, I'm open to exploring the option, and we have always room for improvement. And to my counterpart, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, if people would just do the damn right thing. And think about the collective good instead of their own personal agendas. Not only would we be better off as government, but as a society if we considered the collective whole. So, I really appreciate you keeping an eye out for the loopholes, because I'll be damn if we haven't seen just about everything in our eight years sitting here. But those are my two cents for today. Thank you, Council Member Kimball, and thank you, Chair, I yield. Page 29 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Villegas. Anybody else? Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. I'm trying to wrap my head around the policy development side, because that's a pivot for sure. Because we really take, I mean, speaking for myself here. But perspectives from our representative communities in guiding policy forward and what we hear with community members. So, kind of shifting that to the Mayor's role, you know, they're elected at large. So, their connection is a little bit different to communities, broadly speaking, like from the same populous. Butmay have policy driven from like a different community than some of us So, I'm struggling a little bit therein terms of the policy guidance and,where they get their sort of impetus to drive policy; what communities they live in; they circulate in. Yes, they serve the whole community, as the Mayor does now but may have different sort of perception on where policy can be generated from. So definitely some challenges there. The other piece of that is; the County Manager is in that role; serves a longer term. The Mayor's policy directions may be in front or conflict with the manager, though. So, trying to drive policy with someone that's in the role. Some of those issues may not be carried out Maybe good; maybe not the evil or bad side, But it may be good for the community. But the manager is that lever for a lot of the departments. So, may still be some resistance to some of those policy directives. So, trying ter see how thatcould be either broken down or interspersed a little bitmore between those policy guidance from shifting away from this body to the Mayor. And,,I'm still trying to puzzle with that piece a little bit too. But how that interfaces with the manager's role. So, curious on that one for sure. Thank you. CHR KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Hustace. Did you want to respond to that, Council Member Kimball? MS:KIMBALL: Yes, please. So,just to be clear in terms of the policy direction. This body still retains the ability to write bills, pass law, change Code. That ability has not been pushed over to the Mayor. Really, it's more about the strategic higher level policy making that is then supported through the appointments of like the Planning Director or the Boards and Commissions. Page 30 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 That is how, under this scenario, the Mayor's policy agenda gets advanced. As well as communicating on behalf of the County with regard to intergovernmental relations at the State and the County level. With respect to conflict, conflict is a natural part of government. And it's essential, right, it is how we get to the best point. I would argue that under a concurrent structure, the conflict actually exists between the Administration and the Council. That is where more frequently that we see that disagreement about policy and strategy and how we move forward, This shift actually tries to align the Mayor and Council from that policy side with the Administration side, which is going to be the administration of County functions which is bureaucratic. There will be conflicts and that is essential. The conflict is how we actually resolve disagreements. The question is, can we do it civilly. The advantage of this is primarily fiscal in terms of creating that insulation for the types of projects we need to do and engage in the longterm. And I'll just show one other quick chart here. So, I'll show it to the camera. I didn't share this presentation with you guys because it wasn't,quite ready for prime time. I will by the next hearing, But it demonstrates that when you have an elected official,your spending tends to be this gagged line; more responsive to the electoral mandated. Whereas when you have a managing director, it is more of a professional and you have this more consistent spending towards these long-term projects. If them was any key point that I would be trying to argue with this is this kind of spending,issue; whether or not we're spending with respect to capital improvements towards these long-term projects, the repair and maintenance that we need to do to help us avoid costs at a later point versus this spending that tends to be more politically motivated. And again, why I brought it up after the budget conversation. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Kimball. Council Member Hustace, did you have something to add? MR,,HUSTACE: Yeah,just because some of the conversation has been about longevity for projects. So, I just wanted to chime in on that for a second, because whether it's a duration of roles or projects and kind of seeing them out. I mean, we'll have a conversation tomorrow about the General Plan. But that's one of those challenges, I think, in terms of longevity. We've looked at the 2005 General Pan and the CDPs (Community Development Plan). So, there's communities that have CDPs, right, and Action Committees. But Page 31 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 those are documents that have shown projects that community has invested time and energy into. Even members of this dais in years' past to recognize that some of those projects can be carried out, and a lot of them have not been carried out. And maybe that speaks to that managerial role and some of that political strife between carrying some projects out for sure. But I think through that lens the CDPs and those policy documents generally from communities aren't necessarily carried out: I think there's a challenge there where projects and infrastructure that community„has witnessed and needed for twenty plus years, and some of those have not been enacted on in any form or shape. So, there could be a way through that mechanism too, that there's some enforcement and direction pulled from those guiding documents and those policy documents. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Hustace. Alright, there's a lot of good discussion going on here. Z'm going to go to Council Member Galimba who's only had one turn, then we'll'come back to you, Council Member Kaneah'i-Kleinfelder. Go ahead, Council Member Galimba. MS. GALIMBA: Thank you. Very,very briefly, I'm not surprised that the current Mayor said he will veto it. I dibring this up with the previous Mayor and he was not either. And'I don't think'any mayor would be a fan of it. So, it's really understandable. So, I just wanted to bring that up. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Council Member Galimba. Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, listening and try to summarize in my brain, how many new positions will this create? MS. KIMBALL: None. It would replace the Managing Director position. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So, Managing Director goes away; the cost of the Managing Director gets transferred to the new County Manager. The County Manager has staff? And how many staff? MS. KIMBALL: Yes, it's not identified. That doesn't raise to the level of the Charter, sorry. MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, interested in what I heard, because what I heard was adding a layer, although the continuity piece can be argues. Adding a layer of bureaucracy will simplify the process and make things better. That statement I'm having a hard time with. Because whenever Page 32 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 we have layers of bureaucracy; we have elected officials, a new layer of bureaucracy right in the middle; then we have all of our normal positions appointed. Adding layers of bureaucracy doesn't make things simpler in my mind. I yield. CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you. Do you need to respond to that? Go ahead. MS. KIMBALL: Yeah, briefly. I just wanted to cormment on James Hustace's comment. You know, I think the scenario that you described with the CDPs and the General Plan, that is why I retained the Planning Director as being a political appointment because I do think those documents provide that sort of policy steering. But then when you talk abouthow that would actually get implemented on the ground with sortof more consistent long-term thinking that it would be under the County Manager model.,,,, , Then just to respond to Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder's last statement, I didn't say this would have a layer of bureaucracy. I don't know where you heard that. But this is shifting from Managing Director to County Manager. I don't consider it adding any kind of layer, it's really just redefining it. How it would look. CHR KAGIWADA: Thank you so much. Okay,I'm going to say a few comments and then we can talk about how we,want to move forward. First of all, thank you, Council Member Kimball, for bringing this forward. I know your int6nse evolvement with HSAC (Hawai`i State Association of Counties) and NACo hag really afforded you the ability to research and gather a lot of good information for new ideas for helping our County and for looking at things' n different ways. You know;L encourage folks here if you haven't had the chance to go to a NACo meeting to really talk to other counties that are like similar in size, similar,in circumstances about what they're doing. It does provide the opportunity to think about these new ways and not just be stuck, kind of well, this is the way we're doing it. So, for those who have participated before, I know that'have had those experiences too as I have. h,am really grateful for this discussion. I think we do need to think about it doesn't matter really who the individuals have been in these positions through o'fault of their own. Our system has driven us to some of these lack of decision making or poor decision making because we don't focus on the long- term. So, I do think we can really look at all the different Council Members, Mayors, people we've had in charge and know that, you know, people had different strengths and different ideas. And yet, we all came to this, and it's Page 33 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 because of structural reasons not lack in individuals. So, I'm not sure also that this exactly the way we should be going, and it seems a little bit rushed and a little bit under the gun to be trying to get it in. Understanding why and also knowing that you have been talking about and researching for a very long time. So, it would be good, I think, for you to consider if you think you just want to take a vote on this, up or down, or if you want to do anything else, I will ask you, Council Member Kimball, as the author of this''bill,which direction you would like to go at this time. MS. KIMBALL: Yes, I would like to take a vote on this today. Up or down, that's fine. We can then have the conversation once again',in Council. I do encourage everyone in the interim to speak to some of the members of our County that either have served under County Manager models. There are a number of people within the organization that have this experience. I would also encourage you to talk to some,of our directors and staff about their thoughts on this. I think you will find a surprising amount of support for some structural changes. Again, happy to work with anybody or accept any additional amendments to'some of the topics thatwere raised about the position description or any other areas that seem to lack clarity for folks. I will say, I think our biggest challenge'with respect to implementing something like this is that these individuals are very highly sought after across the country. And part of this is to provide a sufficient runway, so folks born and raised here that have experience in our County actually go out and get this degree and experience so that they will be eligible at the time that it was created'-And'just ask for everybody to open their mind to this radical idea and consider support. Thank you. CHIC. KAGIWADA. Okay with that we have a motion on the floor to send Bill 158 to Council for first reading with a favorable recommendation. Let's go ahead,and do a roll call vote, Mr. Clerk. Vote on Bill 158`, The motion to recommend passage of Bill 158 on first reading (Approved) was carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Villegas, and Chair Kagiwada—5. Noes: Committee Members Hustace, Inaba, Kierkiewicz, and Onishi —4. Absent: None. Excused: None. (Note: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder voted "kanalua"then "aye.") Page 34 GOEAC-34 May 19,2026 CHR. KAGIWADA: Thank you everybody, that concludes our agenda for today. The time is 11:27 a.m. Thank you. ADJOURN- Seeing no further business, Chair Kagiwada adjourned the meeting at MENT: 11:27 a.m. Approved: Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Chair (Date) Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs JK/dt Page 35