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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0726.000 2004-2006 H Kim o~N~;^"nr_~yq.' Miclwef R. Ben, SPHR Nir~'ror of Pasonnef Rana(d K. Taka(tasfti •i':, i~ 'Depuly'Duector ofPersonne! lie us'Mid i i County o f Hawaii Department of Civil Service PotPuni Center • 101 I'mm6.i Storey Suite 2 -Hilo, Hawaii' %7Z0-4ZZ4 - (808) 961-8361 'Far (R08) %1-8617 TDD (808) 961-8619' e-vigil: mfidu@inteipac.net' Jobs I~ fonnatiarr ]ob Hotline (808) 961-8618 • e-maiG jobs@co.hawnii.ki.as February 17, 2006 The Honorable Stacy Higa, Chairman And Members, Hawaii County Council 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Dear Chairman Higa and Members of the County Council: 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. Before going further, I wish to thank Connie Kiriu and Leslie Chow for their assistance in re-drafting the proposed ordinance enclosed herewith. 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 fo Department of Human Resources; • Changing the title of the director from Director of Personnel or Director of Civil Service to Director of Human Resources; and, • Changing the title of the deputy director from Deputy Director of Personnel or Deputy Director of Civil Service to Deputy Director of Human Resources. 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 authority to promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of the ~ ~ a3~) Comm. No. 7'Z~ Ref. To: Hawaii County is an F.t(ua[ Opportunity Prmv[er wui Emp(ayer Ref. Uate `he Honorable Stacy Higa, Chairman ,And Members of the Hawai~l County Council February 17, 2006 Page 2 of 3 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 anyone 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 (an organization for human resource professionals 185,000+ members-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 more 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 gatekeeper of these laws and rules. Tied in to this perception was the notion that personnel was all about record keeping and stifling bureaucracy. Civil service was perceived as tying the hands of management with all of its archaic laws and rules. Act Hmmi'i Cowuy is an Equa[ Opporwntty Provu(er anQ E^tp(%'R The Honorable Stacy Higa, Chairman And Members of the Hawai~l County Council February 17, 2006 Page 3 of 3 253, 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 Resources, 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 Hawaii County is an Equa[ Opportunity Provider and Emplaya