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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2018/03/27 2016-2018Committee on Finance 30th Session West Hawai `i Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway Kailua-Kona, Hawaii March 27, 2018 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 2:15 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair. 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 Ms. Eileen O'Hara, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, 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: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: (There were none.) COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 7.20: MONTHLY BUDGET STATUS REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDED JANUARY 31, 2018, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated February 23, 2018, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Charter Section 6-6.3(h). FC -30 Vote on Comm. 7.20 Filed March 27, 2018 Ms. O'Hara moved to close file on Comm. 7.20. Seconded. by Mr. Kanuha 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. Comm. 14.31: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: FEBRUARY 1 — 15, 2018 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated March 5, 2018, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Code Section 2-12.3. Motion to Close File: Mr. Richards moved to close file on Comm. 14.31. Seconded by Ms. Eoff. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Any discussion? Alright, Mr. Kanuha. MR. KANUHA: Thank you, Madam Chair. CHR. DAVID: I believe Ms. Sako is in our Hilo office. MR. KANUHA: Hi, Deanna. Just really quickly. I think the purpose section might have gotten caught off at the end of this? MS. SAKO: Okay, I have it on mine, but we'll double-check what's on your guy's version and make sure it's the complete one. MR. KANUHA: Yeah, maybe if we can get an update about that. Just a question I was having. I know this is the second change order for the Mohouli Senior Housing project, but can you just read on what your sheet says for the purpose of that again? MS. SAKO: Yeah, it says increase home funds and increase number of home assisted units. So I believe we got additional home funding to be able to give them for additional units on this project. MR. KANUHA: Got you. Thank you, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Mahalo, Ms. Sako. Mr. Richards, go ahead. MR. RICHARDS: Yeah. Hi, Deanna. Page 2 FC -30 March 27, 2018 MS. SAKO: Hi. MR. RICHARDS: On the last one, concerning the contractor with Hilo Mechanical, looks like we had a doubling of the budget. Did we—what happened there? MS. SAKO: So that's—we exercised the option period for the next year, from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2018. I'm not sure if there were additional units or what added on. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, thank you. Yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Anyone else? Seeing none—thank you, Ms. Sako. All those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 14.31: The motion to close file on Comm. 14.31 was carried Filed 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. Comm. 15.27: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: FEBRUARY 16 – 28,201 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated March 6, 2018. Vote on Comm. 15.27: Ms. Eoff moved to close file on Comm. 15.27. Seconded Filed by Ms. O'Hara 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. Mr. Clerk, Communication 705, please. MR. HENRICKS: I believe our Council Chair was suggesting that there could be a motion to reconsider the vote, which would be in order. CHR. DAVID: Okay. Alright, motion please to reconsider the vote on filing Communication 15.27? Page 3 FC -30 Vote on Motion to Reconsider: (Approved) March 27, 2018 Ms. O'Hara moved to reconsider the vote taken on Comm. 15.27. 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: We're back to Communication 15.27. Ms. Sako, could you please come up to the table? (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee. MS. O'HARA: Yeah, sorry, Ms. Sako. MS. SAKO: Hello. Deanna Sako, Finance Director. MS. O'HARA: Deanna, I just had a question. It didn't clarify the request to transfer funds for Highway Administration. It says the "new superintendent." Do we have a new superintendent in Highways? Or, is this not Highways? MS. SAKO: This is a position that was formerly vacant, and they have filled this position now. I think it's under Neil. MS. O'HARA: Is it east or west, or just the whole island? MS. SAKO: I believe whole island. But yes, I'm not sure about that. MS. O'HARA: Oh, okay. So we have a second superintendent, or Superintendent 11? MS. SAKO: I'm not sure exactly what Neil's title is, but they said this is for the one right under him, yes. MS. O'HARA: Okay, great. That's good to know. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Alright, so the motion to reconsider has been taken cared of and now we are back to voting on the motion to file Communication 15.27. All those in favor please say "aye." Page 4 FC -30 March 27, 2018 Vote on Comm. 15.27: The motion to close file on Comm. 15.27 was carried Filed 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, we have Mr. Gyotoku here. If you folks don't mind, I'd like to take those out of order before we get to the next communication because we might have some discussion on that. Any feedback? No? Is that okay? Alright then. Change Order of As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, the Business: following items were taken out of order: CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, can we take Bill 121, please? Bill 121: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 17-39, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2018 Increases revenues in the Federal Grants – Housing Choice Voucher Program account ($75,000); and appropriates the same to the Voucher Rental Subsidies account, for a total appropriation of $15,075,000. Funds would be used for Housing Assistance Payment subsidies. Reference: Comm. 799 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Eoff moved to recommend passage of Bill 121 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Kanuha. (Note: At this time, Housing and Community Development Administrator Neil Gyotoku and Housing Specialist Sharon Hirota came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Mahalo, Mr. Gyotoku and Sharon for being here. Council Members, if you have any—you want to just give a brief explanation, Mr. Gyotoku? MR. GYOTOKU: Yes. We received notice from HUD (Housing and Urban Development) that they had a small allocation of what we call VASH (Veteran Affairs Supporting Housing) vouchers. These are housing rent subsidy vouchers that veterans are eligible to apply for. Sharon Hirota here did go ahead and apply Page 5 FC -30 March 27, 2018 for it and was able to get a grant. What we're asking today is just to add 25 vouchers into a Housing Voucher program. CHR. DAVID: Thank you very much. That's great. And thank you, Ms. Hirota, for doing that for veterans. Council Members, any questions? Ms. Eoff, go ahead. MS. EOFF: I just wondered how do you get the word out to the people that can qualify for the program? MS. HIROTA: So once the bill is approved, then we will work with the Veteran's coordinators on island. There's one in east and one in west, and they will do a public notice announcing that Vouchers into our County. MS. EOFF: Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Any other question? Ms. O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: Yes, I do have a question. Is there a set amount for the individual vouchers or does it depend even in rental costs? How does it work? MR. HIROTA: So these are—they're called VASH vouchers, as Mr. Gyotoku indicated. They're designated for veterans. There is no limit in terms of what the value of it. It just depends on the individual's household income and household size. So the household will pay no more than 30 percent of their income towards rent and utilities, and the voucher assistance will pay the difference. CHR. DAVID: Is that all, Ms. O'Hara. Any other questions, Council Members? Well, thank you very much. Ms. Hirota, this voucher, on the averageI know it's hard to—how many veterans do you think that this amount or this grant will be able to service? MS. HIROTA: We were awarded 25 vouchers, so these will increase our assistance to veterans by 25. CHR. DAVID: Alright, thank you very much for being here. Council Members, all those in favor of Bill 121 please say "aye." Vote on Bill 121: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 121 on (Approved) first reading 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. Page 6 FC -30 March 27, 2018 CHR. DAVID: I think that's all we have. Well, I'd like to finish—Ms. Sako. So can we hold our Communication 705 until we take the rest of the Finance? Thank you very much. Mr. Clerk, Resolution 526-18. Res. 526-18: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY (WAREHOUSE) FOR THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, ELECTIONS DIVISION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a new five-year sublease agreement with Men's Shop, Inc., to allow for the continued occupants of warehouse space located at 210 Maka`ala Street, Hilo, with an approximate monthly cost of $1,630. Vote on Res. 526-18 (Approved) Reference: Comm. 790 Intr. by: Ms. Poindexter Mr. Richards moved to recommend adoption of Res. 526-18. 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. Res. 527-18: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE FOR ONE COPY MACHINE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement for one copier to be used by the Hawaii County Band, with an approximate monthly cost of $61 plus additional cost for each copy. Reference: Comm. 797 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Page 7 FC -30 Vote on Res. 527-18 (Approved) March 27, 2018 Mr. Richards moved to recommend adoption of Res. 527-18. 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. Res. 528-18: AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF A LATER FISCAL YEAR AND OF MORE THAN ONE FISCAL YEAR FOR A MULTI-YEAR LEASE FOR ONE COPY MACHINE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement for one copier to be used by the Real Property Tax Division in Hilo, with an approximate monthly cost of $343 plus additional cost for each copy. Reference: Comm. 798 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Vote on Res. 528-18: Mr. Kanuha moved to recommend adoption of (Approved) Res. 528-18. Seconded by Ms. 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. Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business. of Business: CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, now we can go back to Communication 705. Comm. 705: REQUESTS DISCUSSION REGARDING THE FORMATION OF A BUDGET REVIEW AD HOC COMMITTEE TO REVIEW, RESEARCH, AND ADDRESS CONCERNS RELEVANT TO THE COUNTY OF HAWAII BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018-2019 From Council Member Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, dated January 10, 2018. Postponed: February 6 and 20, 2018 (Note: There is a motion by Mr. Richards, seconded by Ms. Lee Loy, to close file on Comm. 705.) Page 8 FC -30 March 27, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Procedural, we don't have to—the motion is back on the table, correct? CHR. DAVID: Yes, we're in discussion right now. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. Thank you, Chair, for bringing this back to the call of the Chair. We now have the budget in front of us. The reason I asked for an ad hoc committee to be formed is to do work for the Council and start making recommendations on behalf of the Council, as far as waiting through our budget as a whole. We started out last year with the initial budget proposal of $474 million. It went up to $491 million after the different contracts came in, and we were under the gun to get that budget approved in a very, very, very short timeline. My expectation this year—back up—last year to help balance budget, we ended up having to raise both real property tax, and we ended up raising the fuel tax, so I didn't support it going forward. My expectation this year, coming forward, that would be facing some budget around $500 million, and the initial budget proposal we received is $515 million. Expecting us to sort through the budget in a short order and be able to come up with something that is meaningful and understandable in that short timeframe just isn't realistic. In discussing with other jurisdictions in our State, they handle their budgets different ways. But they sit down and they do meet on them, probably the most extreme would be Maui, where they meet as a full committee. Eight hours a day, five days a week, between two and three weeks to go through their budget proposal. I'm not proposing that we do something like that, but I think doing something different than what we did last year is definitely warranted. I think starting with an ad hoc committee, we have some experience with that, in our grant-in-aid group, and I think patterning after that, and this may not be the answer but it certainly a good step in the right direction. Constituency in my district has very firmly stated that we need to get better fiscal management going on. I think if we have an ad hoc committee, where we can actually sit down, talk story, look at different revenue streams in context of each other, number one, and then stack that against the proposed expenses, again in context, I think we'll do our County a much better job as far as actually trying to promote fiscal management and oversight. My concern is that this is a huge budget, $500 million plus. And if we don't have a closer look at it, I don't think we're doing the job that we need to do for Page 9 FC -30 March 27, 2018 our constituents and for our County. We've got some 2,500 employees, about 20 departments ranging in their budgets from about $1 million a year up to in excess of $50 million a year. So again, I think we need to spend more time focusing down and dividing up some of this work to get a better look at our budget in context and in context with the other budgets, so we can make some good valid decisions. So with that, I'd like to hear from my other colleagues. yield at this point. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Council Members? Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Like the last go -around, I do support this idea. A half -a -billion -dollar ($500,000) for this County is just eye-popping. I don't know how else to describe it. We've got to learn to work not only harder but smarter. I'm not sure of the framework, if it's something that maybe we could adjust our Council rules because we have standing committees there. If it would take an amendment to our own Council rules and procedures; if that might be an area for us to kind of create an ad hoc committee? I heard Ms. O'Hara last time talk about doing our homework with our department heads. I think we continue to do that. I think the handcuffing happens because we have to do it, you know, within this—the quorum. So although we might be working with the various departments and coming up with ideas or options on how to trim their budget or look at ways on how they can be more effective or make more efficient or share equipment, we never really get to hear those options until we bring it to this body in which we have a very tight time -window to have that open discussion and make that decision, you know, in that moment. Maybe within our Council rules and procedures, we could just identify large departments that utilize bigger chunks of our budget, like Police, Fire, Parks, Public Works, or DEM (Department of Environmental Management). You know, maybe identify real high-cost ticket items. Again, those are my thoughts. I like the idea. I like having the opportunity to go through a budget throughout the entire year, just like the members of the Finance Department have, and maybe gleaning some information early on that we could pass forward to the rest of our colleagues to think about. That's where I stand. Those are my thoughts. I still like this idea; I just think we need to figure out a way. If we do we support it, how we do it, in what Mr. Richards is saying, in a meaningful way in which everybody digesting the information and not feeling pushed up against the wall with a very tight timeline? We are at a half -billion -dollars, $515 million. When we started a year ago, it was $471 million. I am here everyday, just like the rest of you, and I'm wondering how did we get here in just 14, 15 months? I'm not getting it. I think the Council needs to remember we set the budget. The Mayor proposes a budget to us, but we Page 10 FC -30 March 27, 2018 set it, and that's what this body, this legislative body's job is, is setting that budget. I yield at this time. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? Ms. Poindexter, go ahead. MS. POINDEXTER: Well, I agree that it is real important to get together. I don't agree that it should be an ad hoc committee. I like what Council Member Richards had said about what Maui does. If we need to sit in a room, five days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) and start talking about it, we need to make that commitment to the people. So I like the idea of doing something different, that Council Member Richards is trying to figure out; what is that difference that we do? I say, I still want it open to the public. I still want to, you know, have respect for that public participation. So I would like seeing, maybe a Monday through Friday, us sitting down and calling that special meeting for the whole week and doing it. You know, you guys sit down, I know, for the grants, and sit down and have that meeting, and yet that is an ad hoc committee. But you're dealing of hundreds of applications, hundreds of interviews, that's what we're talking about here with the departments. But I think as a body, I don't mind committing to coming out and having more meetings, you know, with public participation, so that's what I would support. But thank you, Council Member Richards, for forcing the discussion to, you know, think about how do we it in a way that we can be productive. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Ms. Ruggles. MS. RUGGLES: Thank you, Chair. My position hasn't changed on this. I think it's a great idea. I also—the last time we talked about thisI have reservations for the same concerns that Ms. Poindexter stated; which being, just ensuring that the discussion that we have is public and that the process is public. So, I don't know if there's a way that we can amend the ad hoc conditions to be compliant with—that's why I'm trying—to be as a whole or aspects of Sunshine Law? With that, I'll yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Ruggles. Anyone else? Ms. O'Hara, go ahead. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. I'm glad we're having this discussion again. My position hasn't changed either. I fully understand Mr. Richards' angst with the budget and the tight timeline that we're given to deal with it. We have the preliminary budget. We know it's going to change dramatically because we know some things have already changed in terms of getting increase amount from TAT (Transient Accommodation Tax), from the State, so that's going to change our second draft of the budget, and we don't get that until Page 11 FC -30 March 27, 2018 May 51h. Our next meeting, subsequent to that is May 8, and so it provides us very little time to analyze and offer amendments to the final budget from the Mayor, the final draft from the Mayor. The budget process, as we discussed previously, commences like in September, when the department starts reviewing for the next year's budget. I really like the idea of having—divvying up the responsibilities. As Ms. Lee Loy said, we have departments that are—major budgets. They have major budgets. We have nine members on Council. It would be great if there was some kind of alignment with these major departments. To work with them early on, I think we're kind of late in the budget process this year, but earlier on, so we can start seeing where those synergies could happen, where the trimming can happen, and where we can make the whole budget process more efficient. It's hard for us, since we're not on the operational arm of government, to jump in at this late date and analyze everything with just one meeting with the departments. I've had one meeting so far. I have another meeting scheduled with one of the departments. But it's a very time-consuming process. I'm perfectly happy to have more meetings, public, or otherwise. It's just a challenge the way we have it set up now to make meaningful modifications to the budget. While $515 million is a big budget, it's not as big as some of the other counties, and yetI'm going to leave the City and County of Honolulu out because they're a whole other animal; but as far as the other neighbor islands, it isn't as big as Maui's budget by a couple hundred million. We're containing ourselves in a fairly small budget for the physical geography that we have here on the Big Island, and the services that we need to provide to, now, to over 200,000 people that live on the island. You also have to remember that the time -value of money, it changes over time. So our budget of $491 million last year, in real dollars, in 2008, is $505 million; that's real terms. So going up to $515 million isn't a really great increase, yet I think we're going to see an even greater increase in the second budget because there's additional revenues added in. With that said understanding that the major thrust that came through that forced this increase was the union wages, the two years of union wages, and also the fact that we were pretty much 30 years in arrears on funding our Highway Fund; which is not just highways, County roads, but also our Mass Transit. We fell behind in those 30 years, and to the point where even with the funds that we have in the coffers now, we're now only committing to paving our miles of road once every 69 years instead of every 30 years, which is the standard. So I'm not sure that it's the actual size of the budget that bothers me so much as the inefficiencies that we can—with the little knowledge that we have of operations perceive and try to correct. I think if we started earlier on, in the budget process as a Council, and maybe divvyed up those responsibilities, Page 12 FC -30 March 27, 2018 perhaps there would be some way to make it more efficient and find those synergies that can save us those dollars. So, that's what I have to say. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. O'Hara. Anyone else? MR. RICHARDS: I'll respond, but after. CHR. DAVID: Okay. Go ahead, Mr. Chung. First round. MR. CHUNG: I support Mr. Richards' idea. I don't know how much can be accomplished this year, quite frankly, but it's something to be thinking about going forward. I know Ms. Poindexter brought up the idea of working throughout the week, but it's not a novel ideal. If I'm not mistaken, that was brought up when Ms. Eoff was the Chair of the Finance Committee. I don't know really what happened to that idea, but it was suggested that let's really work this thing out. You get a free flow of ideas. But I wanted to say something. Because it seems to be a recurring theme, that we're going up, and Ms. O'Hara brought it up. You know, we're increasing our budget so much, now $515 million. The reason why I had to go out there is my internet isn't working in here, so I had to move around. Maui County's budget is $840 million. Smaller island, less population, we're short-changing our residents, really. I know it costs money to operate a government. But to say that we have to do things better, I think we're doing as good as we can, given the limited amount that we have, really. I mean, let's think in terms of that, $800 million for Maui County. We've got to start thinking how we can serve our residents because we're not doing them any favors. I know it's kind of getting off of the topic, but I just wanted to make that comment. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else, before I go back to Mr. Richards? Ms. Eoff, on the first round. Go ahead. MS. EOFF: I do agree that the budget—it's daunting for us to tackle in the short period of time that we have, and to understand how we can make significant changes to it when we so choose, without raising taxes or lowering taxes, you know, something like that. We have our departmental reviews, which is an opportunity for us to get a little bit more information from each department as to where they plan or how they plan to spend the money that they've proposed in each of their departments. We don't have too much control over the income from the budget. It's basically property taxes and a few other sources of income that we then balance against our expenses. But how to get more deeply involved in it in a short period of time is pretty much the challenge that I think that Mr. Richards is trying to address. Page 13 FC -30 March 27, 2018 I don't know if—for me, the purpose of an ad hoc committee and the restrictions or the reasons when it's formed and the specific investigation that it's going to conduct, that's kind of what troubles me about an ad hoc committee under the definition that I'm familiar with for our Council. Because normally, as I recall, it needs to be an investigation for a specific item, and to come back to the Council with a recommendation. I'm just wondering if using the budget as the item, if that is pretty much too broad for a permanent action group such as the Council ad hoc committee. I don't know what other alternatives we might have. I mean, I think that's something that we should keep discussing today. I think as we get more into this discussion, we could ask for some advice too, maybe from our Clerk or our Corporation Counsel, about what they think we could do in a way of an ad hoc committee. Or maybe we're better off sticking to a committee of the whole, which we have here, and further looking at ways. We can either hold more meetings or change the discussion a little bit, to a specific item in the budget. I don't know. But, that's just some thoughts I've been having. I haven't really taken the opportunity to consult with anybody on this, to get a little bit more clearer. But I hope that we do find that out today, what would be our options and how we can do it. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Eoff. For a bit of clarification, I'm wondering whether right now it would be a good time to ask our clerk to explain the ad hoc committee formation and who does that? Because we're talking about Mr. Richards' communication requesting that one be formed. So, Mr. Clerk, could you please give us a rundown on ad hoc committee, who forms it? As you see, there are rules. MR. HENRICKS: It's a really silly simple process, where our rules provide that an ad hoc is formed by the Committee Chair, if your request is made to the committee or the Council Chair—submitted to the Council. And when doing so, all the positions are—describe who's going to fill them, what the rules are going to be, and perhaps, most importantly, what the scope of the investigation is going to be, keyword investigation. That can take many forms, but all of those criteria need to be met. And then simply, the committee would then go do its work, report back to the Council. Council would sit on the committee's report for one meeting to allow it tothat's more for public, allow the public to view the committee's work, and then essentially go to accept the report and then act on the recommendations at another meeting. So, it's not very complicated. I think the complicated part, if there is one, is just what you guys are trying to figure out right now. CHR. DAVID: Yeah, thank you. Page 14 FC -30 March 27, 2018 MR. HENRICKS: Which is, setting those perimeters. That's the hard part. The parameters can't really develop during the meetings of the people that are assigned to the committee. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. CHR. DAVID: You're welcome. MR. RICHARDS: I appreciate the conversation going forward on this. Let's start with the intent. The intent is to come up with a process that allows we, the Council, to have a good understanding of our budget going forward. And when talk about the half -a -billion -dollar budget, I think it's important to realize that I'm not saying categorically it's too high. What I'm saying is, I'm not sure. The intent is to try and figure this out. Conversations have been said about, "Well, we all can individually meet with department heads and go through the budget." That's true, but then there's no sharing of ideas and thought processes. It's all, again, you've heard me say this before, in the silo, and so we're all stuck in our little silos, not being able to share ideas. The meetings are for the collective good. That's what we're trying to accomplish. So, that is the premise. To answer the question, what would be the scope of our investigation? It would be the budget. Look at the budget in context of each other, and the report back would be a proposed budget. The committee can meet with the different department heads and go through and have a true, deep understanding. I'm not saying cutting budget here, cutting there, that's not what I'm talking about. Mr. Chung's point is very well -taken. We need to look at that and look at the services that we offer or don't offer because we are prohibited by lack of resources. We may actually find things; that if we look closer, we're underfunding and we should fund better or rearrange funding. But again, working with the different departments. The reason for the ad hoc, is because sitting and talking story. And I listened to Ms. Ruggles very carefully, she's concerned about transparency. Remember, ad hoc does not make any decisions. It's strictly advisory to the Council as a whole. And you do the groundwork for expediency and efficiency to get things worked through. There are things that—for instance, if you look at the auditor's budget, I think it's $600,000. There's not a lot to do there as far as quick review. But we checked that one off the block and then go forward. Something like Fire, which is $40 or $50 million. Police, about the same, maybe a little bit higher. Those are going to take a lot more work. But we sit down and we work with the leadership and work with the management of those to get a better understanding, so we, as a Council—and Councilwoman Lee Loy pointed out, this is actually the County's Page 15 FC -30 March 27, 2018 budget. It's our budget. It's proposed by the Mayor, but we have to be the one signing off on it. And, to have that deep understanding is what I'm seeking. Now, I think an ad hoc committee will make that more efficient because we would be able to have a short order of meetings scheduled. If you want to do full -committee, we can do that, but we shut down everything else. We don't discuss anything for a couple of weeks, and that's what Maui said to me. I don't think that's necessarily the best model. We can try it, and I'm open to trying it. What I want to do is try something, something different, and I think the ad hoc is a way to approach that. We may get into it and go, "you know what, this is the wrong venue," and then we can dissolve it. I'm trying to seek a different path. Because my constituency has told me loud and clear, "Tim, we like what you're trying to do; do something different because last time that didn't work very well." We have so much to look a. I mean, literally thousand of pages of stuff to sort through. It's not reasonable to assume we can get through it all. The more important thing that I think we're all elected for is to have to have the conversations between us, and in an ad hoc committee, between four of us, so we can sit down and air some ideas. Bring those to Council and see if we can come up with a better plan. This may not be the way to go at all, but it may be the absolute way to go, and we don't know that until we actually try it. So, that's why I'm seeking something different. The idea is for four of us meet with the department rather than individually nine of us. Because once again, every time we meet, it costs and it cost a lot. Nine meetings as opposed to one, you can see the cost savings there. But more importantly, the information transmission amongst the group, so we can come up with some ideas. I think there's some probably really good ideas that out there that we haven't thought of yet because we haven't had the conversations. I think an ad hoc committee is a way to work within the parameters of the Sunshine Law, and then bring it back to the Council and have the full discussion at that point. That allows us to function and function efficiently, while we still take care of the business of the County. Now, I'm listening very, very carefully. I hear the concerns. I don't think I'm ignoring them. When I look at this stuff, and I've got spreadsheets upon spreadsheets upon spreadsheets that are all linked together to try and come up with a functional number, and having better understanding in a collective discussion is a better way to go to manage it because it's a collective wisdom that we're striking for, and that's why we have a Council. So, I hear what people are saying. I understand that a full Council is one avenue. But again, we're seeking as well when we're trying to do this. My position hasn't changed. In fact, it's probably gotten stronger because I think we can do a pretty good job with an ad hoc committee. Page 16 FC -30 March 27, 2018 I know a question comes in, "How do you going to appoint people to the ad hoc committee?" I proposed it, I will gladly serve on it, I will even share it; but if other people have different ideas, we can do anything from roll dice, junk-and-a-poe, pull cards, I don't care. But I want to do something different because I think that's what our committee, excuse me, our constituents truly want us to do. They want us to try it better. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Richards. Do you want to say something, Mr. Chung? Okay, go ahead. Alright. MR. CHUNG: Again, it's not so much on the matter of the ad hoc committee. But I'm thinking out loud, what's causing the need for this ad hoc committee? Because I do support it. I do support the notion. Really, I don't care what arguments can be made that would differentiate our ad hoc committee of the nonprofits to this. I just don't buy it, okay? It can be done. But really, the problem here is that we have a Charter amendment that requires the administration to bring forth a proposed budget, their first budget on a certain time of the year, and then an amended budget. I think, and I could be wrong, but the idea behind all of that was probably so that we could get a better idea as to what the legislature was doing historically. But if we just cut that amended budget out and just do a Charter amendment that requires the administration to bring it up sometime in March or February or whatever it is, and we just totally vet it from there; and if the legislature changes the stuff on us, then we amend it. I think that might be the best thing. Because right now we're waiting. We can't do anything do anything until the Mayor brings that amended budget to us anyway. So we're just kind of, you know, twiddling our thumbs or whatever the expression is, and waiting for that time. And by that time, we don't have too much time to work. So, why don't we just change the Charter, approve the GET (General Excise Tax) so that we don't have to wait for the legislators, you know, to see what they do, and then we have our sustainable source of income. But really, all kidding aside, if this body is in favor of something like, I'll draft it up. Of course, it's not going to be effective until, you know, after the election, of course, but at least it provides a fundamental change in the way we do things. So, I just wanted to say that. But I still support Mr. Richards' idea right now. CHR. DAVID: That's a great idea. I assume you'll get cracking on it as soon as we're done today, right? Thank you. Ms. Lee Loy, and then I think I'll have a chance to weigh in. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. Now, that is absolutely doing it differently and I think it also gives us an opportunity to get ready. Of course we have to go through the process, through a Charter amendment, flush out the frame work of it, and it will give us time, maybe sometime in 2020. I know it's not going to Page 17 FC -30 March 27, 2018 happen as quick, but it's not going to happen for this budget either. I would support that idea, considering Mr. Chung is considering even drafting that Charter amendment. Because I've been approached by people in the community that we do have a Charter, and the framework is our Charter on what we should be funding and what is ancillary or social things. If we took that Charter and put it down on our budget and whatever fit in that cookie -cutter of a Charter, is what stays in, and it's that stuff that falls outside is where we have the wiggle. Mr. Richards, if your constituency is we've got to do something different, try something different, this might be the best way forward to give it to the electorate and let them decide, if that's how we should operate differently. I kind of liked where this just went, which is why I'm so glad we're having this conversation. I yield. CHR. DAVID: I agree. Along those lines—okay, I'll just wait until Ms. O'Hara MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. I don't have a lot to say. But I do like this new approach, idea. Of course, the constituents have to vote this pass as a Charter amendment. But we are, supposedly for the mission, the not only policy -setting body, but we're also the ones to set the budget, and yet our hands are virtually tied in the manner that we're doing it. It's extremely frustrating, the timeline, everything. We have very little opportunity to make meaningful change to the budget, so it remains largely in the hands of the administration. If the voters want to pass said Charter amendment and put that power back with the Council, we will have more work on our hands, or the future Council will have more work on their hands. But I think that would make a reasonable approach to how we budget for the County of Hawaii. So, I strongly urge Mr. Chung to get busy and write that language up. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. O'Hara. And if it's okay, I just wantedalright, then I'll take this opportunity. I really, really am happy that we're having this discussion. Mr. Richards, I know you're passionate about this ad hoc committee, okay? It's your passion, and I get it and understand it. What I really am looking—my position really hasn't changed, and the only reason it hasn't is because the budget is such a unique and special legislative issue. It's so broad. That identifying something specific, whether it's interview this department or that department, I really believe it's too broad and I can't get pass that. But what I really want to say, is that I support every other reason that everyone's talking about. We have to have a meaningful method in trying to come up with our own thoughts on what the budget should be. My main thing is I believe it should be a collective effort; and by collective, I mean the entire body. How Page 18 FC -30 March 27, 2018 we do that is probablyI'm going to have a suggestion, and I just want to ask if this is something that we could actually do; that would afford all of us the opportunity to input and have open discussions with the departments, is that, after our departmental reviews, the three days that is very grueling that we do that, if we don't—or as Finance Chair, if I just recess the meeting. And following those reviews, if we have certain departments that we really spend more time in talking to, we could have further meetings as a body on that, on the Finance Committee, without closing down the departmental reviews so that we can—and I checked with our Clerk about the timing on that. We would probably have at least five—until what day, Mr. Clerk—we would have an opportunity, if we keep recessing the Finance Departmental Budget reviews, we would have or allow ourselves at least five days or seven days of actually honing down our budget discussions, and that would include all of us. The inclusiveness, I think, is what I'm really—that's driving me. That's the passion about that. Because we each represent our own districts, and I think if we come up with a collective manner of discussing this budget and not be limited to the three days that we have, it might work. It might give us an opportunity that we're looking for here as opposed to an ad hoc. The ad hoc, the only reason Iis because unlike our nonprofit grants, that's very specific in what we do for that; and if we had to bring that forward towards the before the Council, it would be so costly in doing all those interviews. I think we've tried it before, doing site visits, so that didn't really work out, Mr. Richards. So just throwing it out there to make this an inclusive body discussion and buying us some time so that we all can participate. So, that's my suggestion, Council Members. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, I'll weigh in on that. I hear what you're saying, and part of what you just stated supports the reason for the ad hoc committee. Because having the one -by -one, coming before the whole Council, is stilted and it is very, very time-consuming, which is problematic. And again, I'm looking for efficiency here, trying to get through the information. It just dawned on me, to be inclusive, so don't have one ad hoc committee, have two. Two groups of four, and you're the the Chair of the Finance so you don't sit on either. So like I said, I'm looking for efficiency here. And if you want to spend the time, we can spend the time. Just because we're logging hours, doesn't mean we're doing a good job. It's the efficiency. And the problem—you know, Council is fine and it functions, but the problem is we have a very stilted conversation. Because we don't—we proceed in order. We don't have actual conversation, and we take turns, and we lap going around, which is a method and it's for all the right reasons. But to weed through the volume of stuff, having a faster conversation, I believe, is important. Page 19 FC -30 March 27, 2018 Now, I also support the democratic process. That's why I'm here. If we vote not to do this, I'm fine with that. What I'm trying to do, is do something different. Because if we're going to do the same thing, I'm not going to do that. CHR. DAVID: Okay, I think the vote would be to file the communication. Because the formation of the ad hoc would be up to MR. RICHARDS: You. CHR. DAVID: As the Chair. MR. RICHARDS: Yeah. CHR. DAVID: And so, given that, then—you know, the discussion ismy suggestion as a compromise, since we're not—we've never formed an ad hoc committee before for Finance, for budget that is, I think—it's so overly broad that we would have four. I don't feel comfortable discussing the budget with only a few people, when we can have a method that we can take whatever it takes. We don't have to interview every single department, is what I'm saying. After the program reviews, any department, like you said, the large ones, right, we can ask them to come back and we can spend all day with them if we want, just going through their budget and finding some solutions. I like the idea that we're sitting here and talking stories and we're coming up with ideas, no? So, that is my point. I think we as a body can get a lot more done honing -in on department heads in this whole budget process, and that's my sense on this. Because I can't in good conscience form an ad hoc committee for the budget, it's just too broad. I think we need to all be included in that conversation. If there's appropriate time to do it, then I think we should try it. Something different. Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. Thank you for that suggestion. That recess actually makes a lot of sense to me because we could actually get through the next few budget cycles, until Mr. Chung quickly puts together that Charter amendment and puts it to our electorate, so we would actually have a stop -gap measure, up until that point. Let the voters decide. And who knows, with that momentum of recessing the meetings, you know, our constituency will see that. We're trying to do something different, which would then maybe accelerate that idea and get a lot of support on the ballot. Thank you, Mr. Richards, for putting this conversation forward. I recognize there's not enough there as far as a scope or an investigation, but I'm glad to see all of us thinking outside the box, so thank you. I like where this is going. Page 20 FC -30 March 27, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Who was first? Ms. Eoff, go ahead. MS. EOFF: I don't know if I was first. Well, I just wanted to support your suggestion as well, because having the extra time to interview department heads, where the budget is significant in size, will also—the beauty of that is that it also includes the public; so we offer the chance for the public to weigh in and to listen in on what kinds of ideas we discuss at those meetings. So I think, in several ways, that's a very good idea. I wasn't quite clear on all the timing, but I think I hear you to say that we would go ahead with the scheduled departmental reviews but add like possibly recessing the meeting; add additional days, where we could invite back those departments that significant size budgets or just budgets that we want to investigate further as a whole committee, right? CHR. DAVID: Yes. And I could ask Mr. Clerk to clarify those days that we do have, I believe. Mr. Clerk, if we recess the last Finance Special Meeting on the 19th, we can easily recess it to the 20th. And then do we have the following week, when we have committees in Kona and Council, to have those meetings also? Okay, and the drop -dead would be what, the 27th or the 30th? If we have to—if we needed the full MR. HENRICKS: Well, that's a good question. The reality is that—my understanding is that we will need to be looking at the second draft of the administration's budget, coming in on the 4th of May. What we have for 17th, 18', and 19th is the first draft, so we'll have to move that out of committee at some point so that we can deal with the second draft. You know, through the 27th is totally realistic; and potentially even beyond that, I don't know how much time would be necessary. CHR. DAVID: Right. MR. HENRICKS: But certainly, the 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 would be—those are viable options and days. CHR. DAVID: Okay, right, great. Well, thank you. Does that answer your question, Ms. Eoff? Alright, anyone else? Mr. Kanuha, go ahead. MR. KANUHA: I wanted to speak later on because I also wanted to hear from you and how you wanted to move forward with this. I agree, this is kind of different, you know, we are trying to change it up and bring the conversation of how we move forward into the future. Dealing with budget, it is, as we harped on or as how I harped on last year and in the years previous, you know, the administration really has an advantage over the budget, and we're really confined in what we can do as a Council and how we deal with the budget. You know, Page 21 FC -30 March 27, 2018 Maui is just taking it to a whole different level. Where, sure, they meet literally every single day for a month, line by line dealing with the budget, and that could change too. You have a Chairperson that wants to do that. The Finance Chair wants to go line by line, bringing up the departments and have them explain why they're spending that much money on every single item. That may be good for them, that may work for them; it might not work for us. I always kind of want to figure out a balance between what we're doing and them, which is why I appreciate the Chair's position on making extra days, if there were more issues on what we had in dealing with the original budget or what comes out of it. That there would be extra days so that we can go through it, you know, at a more, you know, deep level than what we currently do, which I appreciate. But I also appreciate what Mr. Richards was trying to accomplish in the ad hoc committee, by doing exactly that. Not having the entire Council spend all their time on the tediousness of going through this entire half -a -billion -dollar ($500,000) budget. But with an ad hoc committee, you have to have to have the willing members. I mean, the Chair of the Finance would, I would assume need to be on that committee. Moving forward, at least—you know, I'm supportive of that. I wouldn't know how it all works out during the—or if the ad hoc committee is in quorum, I don't know how that will all work out in the timeline. And really, I'm not going to talk about a Charter amendment change because I wouldn't know how to look, and it's kind of future legislation type thing that I want to put my two -cents in right now, but I think it's a good discussion to have in the future. How it is now, it's just we don't have the time. We don't have the ability to do what we need to get done. So, I appreciate the willingness of Chair David, of suggesting, you know, these other different approaches in how we deal with this upcoming budget. You know, I wouldn't put all our eggs in the basket, of hoping for the extra money from Transient Accommodation Tax. The House said that they wanted the extra money; I never heard nothing from the Senate. So got to pass both Houses before that happens, I mean, hopefully, but I wouldn't completely count on it. However the Chair wants to move forward with this, I'm okay with it. I support an additional way of doing this. Let's figure something out, you know. Something different than what we've been—something different than the status quo. Let's say that. I'm in favor of that. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kanuha. Ms. Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you, Madam Chair. I just trust your decision, you know, whatever you decide as far as where you want to go with this. But I was Page 22 FC -30 March 27, 2018 going to ask the Clerk a question. You know, like Council Member Richards brought this forward to discuss about an ad hoc committee. We have the budget already before us, even if it's a, I don't want to say, "fake" budget. No, because usually it's an early budget and it's just, you know, an empty wagon. How can the Council Members fill up that wagon or whatever it is they do with the budget? But why wouldn't Council Member Richards be able to bring up another communication on a specific item on the budget or a department, and we start drilling down on it in April? I'm asking him if he can. Because that could be a possibility, right? We're having a discussion here, nine members. We have the budget before us. If there's something that we want to talk about—because we may want to talk about, what is the possibility of not getting the $12 million, you know, that may not go through, from the Transient Accommodation Tax, getting from the State, then where are we? What does the department look like if we want to talk to Parks and Recreation? Why couldn't we do that? MR. HENRICKS: From a procedural standpoint, the only areas of a concern I could see, which would also apply to what we're all talking about right now, which is the time limitations, with the requirement that, one, needing to form the committee, and two, another meeting for the report. MS. POINDEXTER: No, I'm not talking about committee. I'm talking about a communication that comes forward that allows us to talk about it. It's just a communication. MR. HENRICKS: Oh, you're not talking about a communication to form a subcommittee? MS. POINDEXTER: No, just a communication that—say Council Member Richard say, "Hey, I want to talk to Parks and Recreation because something is crazy in there." MR. HENRICKS: And there's no other—the Operating Budget isn't on the agenda otherwise. Because if it is, you can talk about anything you want. But you're saying MS. POINDEXTER: But we have the budget. They already gave us, so we know what's coming forward and all. We know what's before us. We have it in our hands. Why couldn't a communication be brought forward? MR. HENRICKS: You can do that anytime of the year. MS. POINDEXTER: Okay, so that's another possibility. I'm just saying if anybody wants to bring up a communication to discuss something like that. But Council Member Richards says, I guess, something—why, maybe, why not? Page 23 FC -30 March 27, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Alright, thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Mr. Richards, go ahead. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, thank you. We can do that on one thing, and then we do—and we fall back into the same problem of talking about one thing in its own little silo and we don't bring in the whole context, so that's my concern. I want to do something different because what we did didn't work very well. It worked, but it didn't work very well. That's why having a broad scope so we can talk story about a lot of different things. That's why. MS. POINDEXTER: Can I? Because I don't know why that couldn't be brought forward to talk about, like we're talking about right now, kind of something broad. So, you could still talk about it. I'm just thinking of ways to make sure that the public has—can hear how we're deliberating on stuff. So, I'm just—thank you. Sorry. I'll yield at this time. CHR. DAVID: Alright, that answers—you responded to Mr. Richards, thank you. Mr. Richards, are you done? Okay, I'll go to Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I think the other piece that's missing in part of this conversation is our ability to raise or increase or decrease various taxes. What happened this last budget cycle, is we passed the budget with the real property tax increase and then came a fuel tax increase, and then came a tipping fee increase; when if we did it in this larger time period, we could actually move in increases or decreases throughout that fiscal year. So, we're not again with our backs against the walls making decisions. So, that's just the other piece of information I wanted to put on the table. And so, we're actually being responsive to our constituency, by looking at the budget as a whole, moving those numbers up and down with the Charter amendment proposed by Mr. Chung. I mean, I think that's how it all works together, right? It's not only the budget, but it's the revenue stream. It's the expenditures and the revenues and making that ebb and flow in a meaningful way, so it's not to hurt our constituency but deliver what they are paid for. I yield at this time. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else before wealright, no? Alright then—oh go ahead, Ms. Ruggles. MS. RUGGLES: Thank you, Chair. I just wanted to respond to Ms. Poindexter's idea, about filing a communication, which would give us that time to talk about whatever we need to talk about. I'm just trying to understand your reservation with that, Mr. Richards, as far as it not being broad enough. We could file anything. It could be a broad discussion. But the sense I'm getting, is maybe you're looking for more of an intimate sit-down with people, off the record, free -calling talk, not having to follow Robert's Rules. Yeah, maybe if you could elaborate your thoughts a little bit more, if you don't mind? Page 24 FC -30 March 27, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Ruggles. Mr. Richards, care tothoughts? MR. RICHARDS: Okay, since I just filed Robert's Rules by acknowledging that. But case and point, yes, for efficiency. And yeah, we can file communications all the time. But this is not a conversation, this is a very methodical discussion and it's a slow method for evolving ideas. But if we're trying to accomplish something with levels of expediency, this obstructs that. Doesn't eliminate it, but it just obstructs it. So my interest is trying to seek efficiency while going forward. And I hear what everybody's saying, and I understand that. And I want to try something different. What I don't want to do is do what we did last year because that was not in the best interest of the County. Like I said, I put the proposal. I'm glad that we're having a conversation because we needed to have the conversation; because if not, we're going to do the same thing again which we all know it didn't work too well We got stuck doing the tax increases not in concert with the budget, and I think that was wrong. I think we made a mistake there, but it is what it is. My concern that if we have just the communication filing, okay, they can be broad to a certain degree, but what if we think of something going through the conversation? Then, we have to wait two weeks, until we have the actual conversation about it. I understand why this all exists, and I completely support it. What I'm trying to do is help move the chains down the field as far as getting us for efficiency. I like the Charter amendment idea, and I have to think more about that. What our populations are expecting of us is a fiscal management of a solid County. And Mr. Chung points out very astutely, Maui has an $800 million budget. Now, their revenue streams are much higher than ours, got it. But that being said, are we doing a good job managing the fiscal assets that we have now for our County? And one of the things that was brought up, we as a Council are supposed to have a critical review of our budgets, and to my knowledge we're not really doing that. Like I said, I'm glad we're having this conversation. The efforts are to try and seek the sweet spot between efficiency and being transparent about it. Because again, I don'tI understand what everybody's saying. I got it. My mind hasn't changed at all, going through this thing. It's probably because I've thought about it for six months, having go through last budget cycle. I want to do something different, and I think we can. I think the expectation is people have put their trust in us to be up here to make decisions. And I grant in all—the transparencies are very, very important for the decisions, I got it. But all the discussions don't have to be in public forum. We can have those discussions because that is allowed for us to do that. Again, I think the way that was set up is so we can help be efficient with our timelines. Does that answer my thought process? Page 25 FC -30 March 27, 2018 MS. RUGGLES: Yes, it does. Thank you. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, I yield. MS. RUGGLES: Chair, may I? CHR. DAVID: Go ahead. MS. RUGGLES: Thank you. I hope that as a result of this resolution that we are able to come up to some sort of consensus as far as doing something differently, because it seems like for the most part we all—most of us believe we need to something differently. I think a lot of ideas were generated. There's the ad hoc committee, there's filing communications, there's recessing; Chair David mentioned, there's also a Charter amendment, all of which I do support. So I think going forward, you might want to narrow it down, what's something we can all support and what speaks to all of our values. I do support all of those. I just don't want us to do what we did last year. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Ditto. Thank you, Ms. Ruggles. Anyone else before we—no? Okay, Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Real quick. This was the intent to have the conversation, and I fully understand that this isn't a vote of whether or not. This is to have a conversation. I will support what my Chair wishes are. Because I think moving forward is what we need to do, whatever that happens to be. Just, I would ask, we do something different. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you very much, and different it will be. So, we'll do something different. I sense that once we come up with our Finance Committee—and I guess you already know that my position as far as forming an ad hoc, which is my call, at this point and time I prefer to have an inclusive discussion with this body because I think we come up with a lot of great ideas. So that being said, all those in favor of filing communication 705? Sorry—go ahead Ms. Poindexter. Point of MS. POINDEXTER: Point of clarification. Clarification: CHR. DAVID: Sure. MS. POINDEXTER: I think just for the public's purpose, to explain what this vote is, because I don't want them to think we're forming an ad hoc at this time. CHR. DAVID: Well, okay. Thank you. I believe that our clerk adequately explained the fact that it is the Council Chair or the Committee Chair that needs to be the person to form an ad hoc committee, and when we're filing this Page 26 FC -30 March 27, 2018 communication, we are just doing that, filing the communication and not forming an ad hoc at this point in time. So all those in favor of filing Communication 705 please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 705: The motion to close file on Comm. 705 was carried by the Filed 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: I believe that takes care of things. Thank you to everybody for this healthy discussion. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Order RESOLUTIONS: of Resolutions. (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Bills ORDINANCES: for Ordinances. (Note: Bill 121 was taken up previously, out of order.) CHR. DAVID: May I have a motion to adjourn? ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 12:51 p.m., Mr. Kanuha moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. 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. Page 27 FC -30 CHR. DAVID: We are adjourned. Mahalo, everybody. Approved: Ms. Maile e eiros David, Chair Finance Committee MD/na CS d'-/8 (Date) March 27, 2018 Page 28