HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1138.000 2016-2018 DANNY A. MATED Nt aF •., JOSIAH K. NISHITA
County Clerk % `°,yam "�''• Deputy County Clerk
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OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF MAUI
200 SOUTH HIGH STREET
WAILUKU, MAUI, HAWAII 96793
www.mauicounty.gov/county/clerk
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September 24, 2018
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Honorable Valerie Poindexter, Chair t,,
Hawaii County Council
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 1402
Hilo, HI 96720
Dear Ma'am:
Transmitted herewith is a certified copy of Resolution No. 18-156,
which was adopted by the Council of the County of Maui, State of Hawaii,
on September 21, 2018.
Respectfully,
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DANNY A. MATEO
County Clerk
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Enclosure
Comm. No. M
Ref. To:
Ref. Dote 5r{' :z 5 2018
Resolution
No. 18-156
URGING THE STATE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A
PERFORMANCE AND FISCAL AUDIT OF THE
HAWAII STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Department of Education
("Department") has an operating budget of$1.99 billion, with $1.63 billion
provided by State General Funds, the majority of which is derived from the
General Excise and Use Tax, income taxes, and the Transient
Accommodations Tax, as authorized by the Constitution of the State of
Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the Department is also appropriated over $602 million
for Capital Improvement Projects to improve structures and facilities and
expand the capacity of the school system statewide; and
WHEREAS, Article X, Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of
Hawaii ("State Constitution") establishes the only statewide education
system in the nation, designed to provide equity in delivering quality
educational opportunities for keiki statewide;.and
WHEREAS, the annual financial and single audit report for the
Department, prepared by an outside firm, focuses on the presentation of
financial statements but does not analyze the implementation of funds or
efficiency of operations of the Department; and
WHEREAS, the work of the State of Hawaii, Office of the Auditor,
includes conducting fiscal accountability analyses of public education;
and
WHEREAS, the most recent fiscal accountability audit of the
Department took place 15 years ago in 2003 and found that the
Department only minimally complied with statutory requirements for
planning, programming and budgeting principles, and measures of
effectiveness were "irrelevant, inaccurate and ambiguous"; and
WHEREAS, the most recent comprehensive financial audit of the
public-school system took place in 1996 and identified several continuing
•
Resolution No. 18-156
problems with the Department's financial management system and
reportable conditions relating to internal controls; and
WHEREAS, a subsequent 1998 fiscal accountability report of the
Department urged the use of a reporting program to clarify how
educational dollars are spent, to increase fiscal accountability, and to
facilitate the process of school-based decision making; and
WHEREAS, the last comprehensive management and performance
audit of the Department took place 45 years ago in 1973 and offered a
wide-range of recommendations relating to roles, responsibilities and
relationships of the Department's policy-making and advisory bodies;
organization and general management of the Department; management of
curriculum; and management of personnel; and
WHEREAS, although audits have continuously identified the need
for better financial management and fiscal accountability within the
Department, and the Hawaii State Legislature ("Legislature") has failed to
take action in enforcing accountability; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature authorized a ballot question for the 2018
general election ballot, which would fundamentally alter the State
Constitution to allow the Legislature to establish an ambiguous "surcharge
on investment real property to be used to support public education"; and
WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section 3, of the State Constitution provides
"all functions, powers and duties relating to the taxation of real property
shall be exercised exclusively by the counties," as established at the 1978
Hawaii State Constitutional Convention for the purpose of providing
autonomy and accountability for the counties; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature has failed to acknowledge the
significance of the history of real property taxation in the State of Hawaii
and the rationale for the structure of the current system; and
WHEREAS, in February 2018, the State Tax Review Commission
presented recommendations for change to the Legislature, which
recommended addressing revenue adequacy by collecting tax on remote
sales, taxing e-cigarettes, and conducting in-depth studies on topics such
as implementing a carbon tax and improving compliance with current tax
laws; and
Resolution No. 18-156
WHEREAS, the Legislature neglected to evaluate well-informed tax
revenue suggestions and instead sought control of real property tax
revenues, which Counties rely on to provide essential services such as fire
protection, police, parks and emergency management; and
WHEREAS, Counties support education through funding
afterschool activities, funding science, technology, engineering and
mathematics ("STEM") programs, providing grants to educational
programs and non-profits, providing transportation for afterschool
programs, and providing facilities for educational activities; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Chapter 89, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the
salaries of public employees, including teachers, should be negotiated with
exclusive representatives through collective bargaining, rather than direct
financial requests to voters and taxpayers, and doing so represents a
failure of the collective bargaining system; and
WHEREAS, the Department has not confirmed the necessity of the
proposed Constitutional amendment; and
WHEREAS, before fundamentally, altering real property taxation, a
comprehensive financial and performance audit to assess the efficiency
and effectiveness of all aspects of the State Department of Education is
necessary; and
WHEREAS, a performance and fiscal audit of the Department would
give the Legislature tools to make well-informed decisions to ensure
high-quality educational opportunities are available for our keiki, while
also informing the public of shortfalls and shortcomings of the
Department; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the County of Maui:
1. That it hereby urges the State Auditor to conduct a
performance and fiscal audit of the Hawaii State Department
of Education; and
2. That certified copies of this resolution be transmitted to the
Honorable Alan M. Arakawa, Mayor, County of Maui; Auditor,
State of Hawaii; Honorable David Ige, Governor, State of
Resolution No. 18-156
Hawaii; Senate President, State Legislature; Speaker of the
House, State Legislature; Maui County's Delegation to the
Hawaii State Legislature; Honorable Kirk Caldwell, Mayor,
City and County of Honolulu; Honorable Bernard Carvalho,
Mayor, County of Kauai; Honorable Harry Kim, Mayor, County
of Hawaii; Ernest Martin, Chair, Honolulu City Council;
Valerie Poindexter, Chair, Hawaii County Council; Mel
Rapozo, Chair, Kauai County Council; and the
Superintendent of the Hawaii Department of Education.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
'Dep, y Corporation Counsel
County of Maui
paf:mcc:18-254a
COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF MAUI
WAILUKU, HAWAII 96793
CERTIFICATION OF ADOPTION
It is HEREBY CERTIFIED that RESOLUTION NO. 18-156 was adopted by the
Council of the County of Maui, State of Hawaii, on the 21st day of September,
2018, by the following vote:
Michael B. Robert Alika Eleanora S.Stacy Donald S. G.Riki Kelly T. Yuki Lei K.
MEMBERS WHITE CARROLL ATAY COCHRAN CRIVELLO GUZMAN HOKAMA KING SUGIMURA
Chair Vice-Chair
ROLL CALL Aye Excused Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye
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COUN CLERK