HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0673.000 2002-2004
Harry Kim ~1•~ Michael R Bm, SPHR
Afayvr +c,- D6r~ofPa~ne
Rodr:eyT. Kaido
sy:0 ~'Or'°cM'oJ?°r"°'d
~~Or~M~'
County °f Hawaii
Department of Civil Service
Aupwri Cower a 101 Pauafti Seat, Suitt Na. 2 e Hiia, Haxvi'i 967204224 a (808) 961-8361 a Far (808) 961-8617
T7'Y (808) 961-8619 o t-maii: cu(idr-t@inurpac.ne[ a jobs InJomwtiun: Job Hmlinc (808) 961-8618 a c-mai[: jo6s(~w.f~mwii./~i.us
r~-.
June 25, 2004
c7
COn ~
The Honorable James Arakaki, Chairman d
And Members, -J~-,i
Hawaii County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720 3
- ~
Dear Chairman Arakaki and Members of the County Council:
c:=~
I write to transmit a proposed ordinance calling for certain charter amendments
and to ask the Council's favorable action in approving the proposal for submittal
to the voters of our County.
The proposed charter amendments are for the purposes of:
• Changing the name of the Civil Service Commission to Merit Appeals
Board;
Changing the name of our department from the Department of Civil
Service to Department of Human Resource Management;
• Changing the title of the Director from Director of Personnel or Director of
Civil Service to Director of Human Resource Management; and,
• Changing the title of the Deputy Director from Deputy Director of
Personnel or Deputy Director of Civil Service to Deputy Director of Human
Resource Management.
Civil Service Commission
With the passage of Act 253, SLH 2000 (Civil Service Reform Act), the powers and
duties of the Civil Service Commission, as described in our Hawaii Revised
Statutes (HRS) were changed substantively, reducing the Commission's role to
serving as an appellate body. The general powers and duties of the
Commission, prior to Act 253, were prescribed in §76-12, HRS. Act 253 transferred
those powers from the Commission to the Director. Further, the Commission's r/~^
~ ~ S Comm. No. W 13
Hawaii C Ref. To:
aunty is an Eq:ud O{rporwnity Provider and Employer. Ref. Uate
The Honorable James Arakaki, Chairman
And Members of the Hawaii County Council
June 25, 2004
Page 2 of 3
authority to promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of the civil service law
(Chapter 76, HRS), including any matter not inconsistent with law concerning the
establishment and maintenance of a system of personnel management based
on merit principles, were also transferred to the Director.
Act 253 effectively eliminated all of the functions of the Civil Service Commission.
In its place, it created a Merit Appeals Board whose duties are described in
§76-14(a), HRS. Those duties solely pertain to hearing appeals from certain
actions taken by the Director, the Mayor, or other appointing authorities or any
individual acting on behalf of any one of these named persons.
During the interim between the effective date of Act 253 and now, we have
utilized the Civil Service Commission as our Merit Appeals Board. At present, our
Civil Service Commission serves additionally as our Merit Appeals Board. Our
proposed charter amendment will formally change the name of the Civil Service
Commission to the Merit Appeals Board and eliminate any confusion caused by
the dual titles now applicable to the Commission.
Department of Civil Service
The body of knowledge involved in human resource management recognized
by the Society of Human Resource Management (a professional agency
185,000-member strong) and the Human Resource Certification Institute (the
national testing organization to ensure human resources competency) consists of
the following areas:
Strategic management
Workforce planning and employment
Human resource development
Compensation and benefits
Employee and labor relations
Occupational health and safety
As a result of the demands placed upon our department by our County
departments and agencies, we have become increasingly involved in these
functional areas. This is not to say we haven't been performing many of these
functions in the past, but increasingly, our service to our departments and
agencies have become more aligned with the functions of human resource
management rather than the traditional view of civil service.
The term "civil service" draws up visions of civil service law and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder. Civil service has, more often than not,
been associated with being the gatekeepers of these laws and rules. Tied in to
this perception was the notion that personnel was all about record keeping and
The Honorable James Arakaki, Chairman
And Members of the Hawaii County Council
June 25, 2004
Page 3 of 3
stifling bureaucracy. Civil service was perceived as tying the hands of
management with all of its archaic laws and rules. Act 253, SLHR 2000, more
commonly known as civil service reform, was a giant step taken to change all of
this.
Our department is now challenged with keeping up with the human resource
profession and trying to enfold the latest human resource practices into the
County. We are no longer the gatekeeper of archaic civil service laws, rules,
and regulations, nor are we the record keepers of the past. We seek modern
human resource management solutions to our County's human resource
management issues.
To recognize our emerging role and to cast our department in a more favorable
light of being involved with human resource management instead of gate and
record keepers, we propose changing our department's name from the
Department of Civil Service to the Department of Human Resource
Management, and in making other appropriate changes in the charter to reflect
this new name.
I ask for your favorable action in presenting this to the voters to effectuate these
changes.
Sincerely,
Michael R. Ben, SPHR
Director of Personnel
Enclosure