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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0258.001 2012-2014 DENNIS "FRESH"ONISHI �Jt,:1; . PHONE: (808)961-8396 • y � e FAX: (808)961-8912 Council Member ; .; �.;�•;,,��•. EMAIL:donishi @co.hawaii.hi.us District 3 �r!of HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL 25 Aupuni Street,Hilo,Hawai`i 96720 9n MEMORANDUM '�o h) <—i DATE: June 24, 2013 't TO: J Yoshimoto, Council Chair And Members of the Hawai`i County Council o Go o! FROM: ' ` Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Council Member SUBJECT: Proposed amendments to Bill No. 70, relating to qualifications of the Office of the Legislative Auditor. Please find attached proposed amendments to Bill No. 70. The proposed amendments are illustrated below by Ramseyer format with respects to the contents of Bill No. 70 (material to be deleted is bracketed and stricken; material to be added is underscored). Bill No. 70 is amended by amending subsection(b) of Section 3-18 to read as follows: "(b) The legislative auditor shall possess adequate professional proficiency for the office, which shall include at least two of the following prerequisites: (1) at least [three] five years of general auditing experience with a minimum of [one year's] three years of experience in the field of government auditing; (2) certification as a certified internal auditor; and (3) a [permit to practice] license as a certified public accountant[, as issued by the State of Hawai`i]. All financial audits shall be conducted by a certified public accountant. A draft copy of Bill No. 70, Draft 2, is attached with this amendment incorporated. DO:ps Att. Comm. No. "2-5-3.• I Ref.To: C7 12-E..DC Hawai`i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. Ref. Date J11N 2 4 2013 AN ORDINANCE TO INITIATE AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE III, SECTION 3-18, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER(2012 EDITION), RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Article III, section 3-18 of the Hawai`i County Charter (2012 Edition) is amended to read as follows: "Section 3-18. Office of the Legislative Auditor. (a) There is established within the legislative branch an independent office of the legislative auditor to be headed by a legislative auditor who shall be appointed by the county council and shall serve for a period of six years, and thereafter, until a successor is appointed. The council, by a two-thirds vote of its membership, may remove the legislative auditor from office at any time for cause. (b) The legislative auditor shall possess adequate professional proficiency for the office,. [demonstrated by relevant certification, such as certification as a certified fel ] which shall include at least two of the following prerequisites: (1) at least [twee] five years of general auditing experience [which shall include] with a minimum of [one year's] three years of experience in the field of government auditing[-]i [A] (2) certification as a certified internal auditor [er]; and (3) a license as a certified public accountant [shall be preferred]. All financial audits shall be conducted by a certified public accountant. (c) The legislative auditor shall submit an annual budget to the county council. The legislative auditor on behalf of the county council shall hire the necessary staff for which appropriations have been made by the county council. (d) The legislative auditor shall conduct or cause to be conducted: (1) The annual financial audit of the county, as required in Article X, Financial Procedures, Section 10-13, Post-audit. (2) Performance and/or financial audits of the funds, programs, services, and operations of any county agency, executive agency, or program, as set forth by the legislative auditor in an annual audit plan that shall be transmitted to the county council and the mayor and filed with the county clerk as a public record. (3) Follow-up audits and monitoring of responses to audit recommendations by audited entities. (e) For purposes of this section, "county agency" or "executive agency" includes any office, department, board, commission, agency, semi-autonomous agency, or other governmental unit of the county in the executive or legislative branch that is supported, in whole or in part, by county funds. (f) For purposes of carrying out any audit, the legislative auditor shall have: (1) Full, free, and unrestricted access to any county officer or employee. (2) Full, free, and unrestricted access to and authority to examine and inspect any record of any county agency, executive agency, or program except for any record protected from disclosure by law, rule or privilege. (3) Full, free, and unrestricted access to and authority to examine and inspect any property, facility, or equipment of any county agency, executive agency, or program pertinent to the audit or to a contract. (4) Full, free, and unrestricted access to and authority to administer oaths and subpoena witnesses and compel the production of records pertinent thereto. If any person subpoenaed as a witness or compelled to produce records shall fail or refuse to respond thereto, the proper court, upon request of the auditor, shall have the power to compel obedience to any process of the auditor and to punish, as a contempt of the court, any refusal to comply therewith without good cause. The auditor may retain special counsel, in the manner authorized by the council, to represent the auditor in implementing these powers. (g) The legislative auditor shall conduct or cause to be conducted all audits in accordance with government auditing standards, and shall set forth final audit findings and recommendations in written reports, copies of which shall be transmitted to the county council and the mayor and filed with the county clerk as public records." SECTION 2. Charter material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New charter material is underscored. When revising, compiling, or printing these charter provisions for inclusion in the Charter of the County of Hawai`i, the reviser need not include the brackets, bracketed and stricken material, and the underscoring. SECTION 3. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance, which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end,the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 4. Upon adoption of this ordinance, this Council, by appropriate resolution, shall provide that this amendment be submitted to the electorate of Hawai`i County for approval in the 2014 General Election. SECTION 5. The charter amendment proposed in this ordinance shall take effect upon approval by a majority of voters voting on this legislation in the 2014 General Election, as duly certified.