Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2017/05/02 2016-2018COMMITTEE ON FINANCE 101h Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii May 2, 2017 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 2:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair Ms. Karen Eoff, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Mr. Dru Mamo Kanuha, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Eileen O'Hara, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Member (via videoconference from Hilo) STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS COMMUNI- r A TTnNc Comm. 15.7: The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Jon Olson: Comm. 247; Bill 11 (Comm. 91); and Bill 12 (Comm. 92), comment. Margaret Wille: Bill 11 (Comm. 91); and Bill 12 (Comm. 92), comment. The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Communications. REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: MARCH 16 - 31, 2017 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated April 3, 2017. FC -10 Vote on Comm. 15.7: Filed May 2, 2017 Ms. Poindexter moved to close file on Comm. 15.7. Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, Ruggles, and Chair David - 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, Communication 69.1. Comm. 69.1: THIRD QUARTER CLAIMS REPORT: JANUARY 1 - MARCH 31, 2017 From Claims Investigator/Adjustor Clifford D. Victorine III, dated April 3, 2017, transmitting the above report pursuant to Section 2-9 of the Hawaii County Code. Vote on Comm. 69.1: Ms. Eoff moved to close file on Comm. 69.1. Seconded Filed by Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, Ruggles, and Chair David - 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, Communication 247, please. Comm. 247: NOMINATION OF FREDERICK R. WARSHAUER TO THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMISSION From Mayor Harry Kim, dated April 12, 2017, submitting for the Council's review and confirmation the above nomination. Requires Council Confirmation by: May 28, 2017 (Section 2-215(k), Hawaii County Code) Page 2 FC -10 May 2, 2017 Vote on Comm. 247: Ms. Eoff moved to recommend confirmation of the (Approved) appointment of Mr. Frederick R. Warshauer to the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, Ruggles, and Chair David - 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Committee Members spoke in favor of the appointment. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Warshauer, you would not have to return to Council. And, thank you very much and congratulations. Aloha. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (There were none.) CHR. DAVID: Moving on to Bills for Ordinances. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 11: ESTABLISHES AN OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2017, TO JUNE 30, 2018 From Mayor Harry Kim, dated March 1, 2017, transmitting for consideration the proposed Operating Budget for the County of Hawaii for the Fiscal Year (FY) ending June 30, 2018. This balanced budget includes estimated revenues and appropriations of $473,998,961, and is 2.38 percent higher than last year's budget. Reference: Comm. 91 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Postponed: April 13, 2017 (Note: There is a motion by Ms. Eoff, seconded by Ms. Poindexter, to recommend passage of Bill 11 on first reading.) ; and Page 3 FC -10 May 2, 2017 Comm. 91.1: From Finance Director Collins Tomei, dated March 1, 2017, transmitting a booklet containing the reports entitled, Departmental & Agencies' Six Month Progress Report on Program Objectives for FY 2016-17 and Final Status Report on Program Objectives for FY 2015-16. CHR. DAVID: Council Members, any discussion? Hearing or seeing none, all those in favor ofoh, I'm sorry. Ms. Eoff, go ahead. MS. EOFF: Just to clarify, can you, or maybe the Clerk, could just remind the processes that—we need to move this Council, correct, even though it's still the proposed Operating Budget? MR. HENRICKS: Correct. We'll have a first reading, I believe on the 18th of May, and the Mayor will be submitting his revised budget this Friday, May 5th, and then we'll deal with that revised budget on the 18th and any Council action at that time. And then again later on in June, early June. MS. EOFF: Thank you. So, at this time we wouldn't want to make any changes. This is just for the purpose of moving it on to Council. MR. HENRICKS: Cannot. Charter doesn't allow any change at this point and time, as I understand. MS. EOFF: Thank you. I just wanted to be clear with that. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Eoff Anyone else? Hearing or seeing none, all those in favor of approving Bill please say "aye." Vote on Bill 11: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 11 on first reading (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, Ruggles, and Chair David - 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Bill 11 moves forward, Council. Bill 12. Page 4 FC -10 May 2, 2017 Bill 12: RELATES TO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND FINANCING THEREOF FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JULY 1, 2017, TO JUNE 30, 2018 From Mayor Harry Kim, dated March 1, 2017, transmitting the proposed Capital Budget for FY 2017-2018, and the Capital Program for the next six years from FY 2017-18 to 2022-23, which includes 37 projects requiring a total appropriation of $130.2 million. Approximately $81.2 million are intended to be funded in whole or part by bonds, $39.3 million to be funded by the State Revolving Loan Fund or State Capital Improvement Projects, $9.66 million to be funded by federal funds, and $45,000 to be funded by Fair Share Contributions. Reference: Comm. 92 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Postponed: April 13, 2017 (Note: There is a motion by Ms. O'Hara, seconded by Ms. Poindexter, to recommend passage of Bill 12 on first reading.) Vote on Bill 12: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 12 on first reading (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair David - 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Ruggles - 1. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, go ahead, Bill 29. Bill 29: AMENDS CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 4, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY ADDING A NEW SECTION RELATING TO TEMPORARY POSITIONS Requires the Finance Director to notify the Council of any person employed under a contract for less than 90 days if the salary is $5,000 or more per month, and the temporary position is unrelated to a state of emergency declaration. Reference: Comm. 238 Intr. by: Ms. Lee Loy Motion to Approve: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 29 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. O'Hara. CHR. DAVID: Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I'm going to ask for the rest of my colleagues to support this matter. Page 5 FC -10 May 2, 2017 As the newspaper reported, the impetus or the genesis of this bill really stemmed from when we were sitting and going through the nonprofit grant applications. And it really just didn't sit well with me that an individual was getting paid what a nonprofit could have used for an entire year of programming. So for me, this was my way of having an opportunity for the administration to cause or look at a reason to pause at the amount that they were hiring individuals at, and then give the Council an opportunity to just take a look. The way the bill is structured is a report would come from the Director of Finance for an individual with a contract of $5,000 or more. So anything below that threshold, we wouldn't necessarily see. But I picked this amount just because if a contract were to continue and be extended, for example for a year, and there's some thresholds for that to happen. But this would be an individual who would get paid $60,000 a year. And so for me, that was just a nice middle. I did have an opportunity to speak to the Department of Human Resources and asked for their comments. They really had no comment other than maybe changing or editing the first part of the section, Part A, and changing it from the Director of Finance to the Director of Human Services, because they're the agency that would see these 89 -day contract hires. They were also able to share with me that under our Hawaii Revised Statutes 76-77, there is a Civil Service exemption clause. So there's a process that they use, it's a 16 -point checklist that they use to evaluate an individual going through an 89 -day contract hire. So they're already—the Department of Human Services is already doing a vetting process, and this bill would just give us another heads -up on individuals being hired above and beyond the $5,000 threshold. The ability will remain with the administration. However, I think going forward with this bill in place, if we see a pattern developing and it is the will of this body, perhaps later on we can further refine it, where the Council maybe could have a say on whether this individual got hired or not. That's for later. But for right now, I just wanted to start with some baby steps. See where we go from here, watch if there's any pattern or trends that develop, and the Council would have an opportunity later on to refine it. So, I am asking for everyone's support on this matter and I look forward to hearing comments. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Council Members, comments? Hilo? No. Kona, anyone? Ms. Eoff MS. EOFF: Thank you. Question, Ms. Lee Loy, what did you determine regarding whether it should be the HR (Human Resources) Director or the Finance Director on that little "a" section, 2(a)? Page 6 FC -10 May 2, 2017 MS. LEE LOY: When I crafted the bill, I just saw it as the Director of Finance, who would oversee that particular division. But after I have had the opportunity to share it with Human Resources, that was just a suggestion for them. It seems like a reasonable suggestion. For right now, the way the bill is written I'm okay with. If we move it up to Council, there's still opportunity for us to refine that and make it to the Department of Human Services; but I am open to that suggestion. But I really do want to move this up in the vehicle that we have, and then if there's more feedback we can take it up at Council, as well. MS. EOFF: Okay, thank you. But it does seem reasonable, and maybe that would be the more appropriate department. But, thank you. I don't have any other comments right now. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Eoff Mr. Chung. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, thank you, Madam Chairman. I want to thank our colleague, Ms. Lee Loy, for advancing this measure. I certainly support it. It could use some tweaking. Quite frankly, I think maybe the reference should be made specifically to HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statutes) 76-77. I could be wrong, but I think that's the only one which is less than 90 days. So, that's one thing to consider. And, I also think it should include everything. It shouldn't have a threshold, 5,000. Just make it everything. That's just my thought. I don't want to take (inaudible) of any administration, but they could just play with us by keeping under 5,000. I would just prefer seeing everything. I just don't like the idea of reading about these things in the paper. Quite frankly, when I took a close look at that contract, or contracts, which as Ms. Lee Loy said served as the genesis for this bill, I think what they should have done, what the administration should have done was just make it be personal services contract. They could have gone by the hour, and then we could—it would make more sense. When they termed it as an employment or a contract for employment, that threw everything off This was not really an employment contract. I guess he was employed, but it was a staggering figure, right, $16,000. There's a lot to think about, but maybe if the maker of this bill can just consider what I just said. But I'm going to support it in whatever form it takes. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else in Kona or Hilo? Ms. Ruggles, go ahead. MS. RUGGLES: Thank you. I just have a question. So when the Mayor employs a temporary hire like this, for example the $5,000 or the 16,000 referred Page 7 FC -10 May 2, 2017 to in the paper, where does it come from? What fund does it usually come from? Does anybody know? (Note: At this time, Deputy Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Deanna's here. Thank you, Ms. Sako. MS. SAKO: Hi. Good afternoon. Deanna Sako, Deputy Director of Finance. Whichever department hires the employee, it comes under their budget. So if it's Parks and Rec., that would be General Fund; if it was Solid, that would be Solid Waste Fund. So their respective department pays the salary. MS. RUGGLES: Okay, so specifically if it's the Mayor's department, would come out of the operating budget for his department? MS. SAKO: Right. Right, in the General Fund. It would come out of the Mayor's budget. Correct. MS. RUGGLES: Okay, thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Ruggles. Anyone else? Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, I'd like to say that I support this. And I think if it should have amendments, we can do that at the Council level. So, I'd like to see it go up to the Council. Okay, thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Mr. Kanuha. MR. KANUHA: Thank you. And, yeah, I support everybody's comments, and do support the amendments if there are—that was talked about earlier. That, maybe, to happen. This is just an extra layer of transparency to me. I appreciate what you're doing, Ms. Lee Loy. It brings more notice to what is actually happening in this County, to not only us but to all the voters, so I appreciate that. I'll support this current version right now, and look forward to what's going to come out in the Council. So, thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kanuha. Anyone else? Oh, Ms. O'Hara. Go ahead. MS. O'HARA: Thank you. Yes, I support this bill and I thank Ms. Lee Loy for putting it before the Council. Page 8 FC -10 May 2, 2017 There's been a number of questions that we've encountered in this administration as well as the previous administration, who did more or less extensive hiring outside of the Civil Service general hiring process. And it does raise a lot of questions from the public about transparency, about the background and competency of the people who are being hired, as well as the scope of services for the contracts that are being issued and whether it really serves the public's benefit. So, I think this level of transparency will really help, and I do support this. If amendments are about foresight, I look forward to discussing those at our Council meeting. So, thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. O'Hara. Anyone else? I don't see MS. LEE LOY: Chair, aloha? CHR. DAVID: Oh, go ahead. Go ahead, Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I want to thank my colleagues for offering their suggestions. I will put them together and circle back around on the Department of Human Services because they really are the conduit for this, where it all comes from. But I did want to speak a little bit to Mr. Kanuha's comment about transparency. You're absolutely correct. And, for me, this is pure accountability to our taxpayers. When we are expending funds, there needs to be a public purpose. Whether we keep it at the threshold, or like Mr. Chung mentioned, seeing it all. This bill is about accountability. So, I appreciate your folks' support. I've taken to heart your folks' recommendations and comments, and I'll continue to work with the Department of Human Services. And, going forward, come up with title language and refine language that really does benefit the general public. So, thank you. CHR. DAVID: Mahalo, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else before I take the vote? Alright, then I will just say this. I really applaud you, Ms. Lee Loy, for bringing this forward. I think a lot of the discussions that we've had previously regarding this particular hire brought forward the accountability and transparency that I think we all would like to strive for. I think everyone is on the same page. I like the suggestions that Mr. Chung has made and appreciate the other suggestions, and I look forward to your bringing forward a possible Draft 2 with these suggested changes. I really feel that the Human Resources would probably be the best department because they are, as Mayor advised us, they are the point department on 89 -day contracts. So, thank you very much for your great work and look forward to seeing a revised version. Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Page 9 FC-10 May 2, 2017 Council Members, all those in favor of approving Bill 29 please say "aye." Vote on Bill 29: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 29 on first reading (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, Ruggles, and Chair David - 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Council Members, Bill 29 moves forward with a positive recommendation. Mr. Clerk, I believe we're done. Thank you. May I have a motion to adjourn, please? ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 3:11 p.m., Ms. Poindexter moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Richards and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, Ruggles, and Chair David- 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Thank you very much, Council Members. We are adjourned. Approved: Ale /pip „ iz1z,01)0,1 Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair (Date) Finance Committee MD/na Page 10