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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PSC 2019/03/27 2018-2020Committee on Public Safety 5th Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii March 27, 2019 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Safety was called to ORDER: order at 1:06 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Chair Ms. Karen Eoff, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Absent & Excused: Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. The Chair called Abalghassem Abraham Sadegh, who registered to speak regarding Comm. 176, and came forward when called. CHR. VILLEGAS: Seeing no more testifiers, I'll close testimony at this time and move on to Communications. Mr. Clerk. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 176: NOMINATION OF JOHN BERTSCH TO THE POLICE COMMISSION From Mayor Harry Kim, dated March 8, 2019, submitting for the Council's review and confirmation the above nomination. Requires Council Confirmation by: April 21, 2019 (Section 13-4(1), Hawaii County Charter) PSC -2 March 27, 2019 Motion to Approve: Ms. Eoff moved to recommend confirmation of the Appointment of Mr. John Bertsch to the Police Commission. Seconded by Ms. David. (Note: At this time, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Rose Bautista and Nominee John Bertsch came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR VILLEGAS: Aloha Mr. Bertsch. Welcome, thank you for being here. Is there anything you'd like to say to the Council or any words you'd like to share with us? MS. BAUTISTA: Can I initially do the introduction first? CHR VILLEGAS: You sure can, go ahead. MS. BAUTISTA: Thank you. On behalf of Mayor Kim, it's my pleasure to nominate John Bertsch of Council District 8 to the Police Commission. Mr. Bertsch is a self-employed consultant. Mr. Bertsch also firmly believes in continually giving back to his community. He has served as a volunteer firefighter for the past 24 years and holds a title of Rank Commander. He previously served in both the Police and the Fire Commissions. Mr. Bertsch holds a Baccalaureate of Arts in Communications and Public Relations from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He states he is not a member of any political party and if confirmed, he will serve a vacant term that expires December 31, 2020. Thank you. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ms. Bautista, sorry for skipping your turn. At this point, I'd like to ask if any of the Council MembersI'm sorry, Mr. Bertsch, if you'd like to make any comments or have any questions for us. MR. BERTSCH: I have no questions. I'd just like to say, it's an honor to serve and I appreciate the opportunity. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Does anyone else have any questions or comments they'd like to share with Mr. Bertsch? Councilwoman Eoff MS. EOFF: Thank you. Aloha, MR. BERTSCH: Aloha. MS. EOFF: And thank you very, very much for all of your community service. And especially, the work you've done with the volunteer firefighters, and it's really honorable, your commitment to that. But, I'll be supporting you and I'm sure my colleagues will too. Page 2 PSC -2 March 27, 2019 CHR. VILLEGAS: Anyone else at this time? Alright. Chair Chung. MR. CHUNG: And thank you very much, John for stepping up. I just met this gentleman outside, you know, a few minutes ago. But, you know, I wanted to say, one of the most important things that you will be tasked with would be, if it comes up, the selection of the Police Chief. Obviously, right? And I don't know if that opportunity will present itself to you during your term, but you know, I would really take a good hard look at that position, because it's so vital in terms of the direction of the department. And, you know, the Salary Commission recently increased the salary for that position. And one of the reasons that the offer for doing so was the Police Chief's position when only one applicant—only one person applied for the job. That was problematic. I mean you would hope that you would have a wider range of applicants for that job, but you know, the salary at the time might have been a disincentive for other people to try to move up the ranks. So given the new set of circumstances, you guys might want to kind of look at that situation as well. I just wanted to make that comment. And then, I also think that, you know, I haven't been paying too close attention to the Charter Commission, but I think they are coming down with either one or two charter amendments that may be affecting the powers of the Police Commission. And I wish I could speak more intelligently about it right now, but you know, I'd take a look at that as well. MR. BERTSCH: Yeah. MR. CHUNG: And really, I invite you to talk to, you know, any of us if during the time that you're on the commission, you see that there might be some weaknesses in the structure of it. Because, a lot of times members of the public will come and say, you know, they go to the Police Commission and then they find that they're not able to get the action that they're looking for. And then the Police Commission in turn will say, "Well, we don't have that power under the Charter." So, you know, feel free to talk to us or whoever may succeed us later on if you see that there's a need for some changes in the Charter, okay. MR. BERTSCH: Yeah, Mahalo for that. I have had the opportunity to sit through the hiring of a Police Chief when I was on the commission prior toand subsequently, been a party toconsultant on the hiring of the number of the Chiefs that we had. I do agree with you on the Salary Commission and the disparaging of wages, and that was probably one of the biggest things prior to me leaving the commission the first time was something that we were trying to tackle with the collective bargaining and all the units going up in pay. The Chief and the Deputy Chief s salary is set by the Salary Commission. So, a couple—even the Majors were kind Page 3 PSC -2 March 27, 2019 of making more money than the Chief was at one point in time. And being that the Police Department is a paramilitary organization with rank in file and structure, you almost want to predicate to make sure that the Chief and Deputy are always kind of making more money than their subordinates just from a morale standpoint. So, I do appreciate the Salary Commission correcting that, and I think that was reflective as you indicated in the hiring of Chief Paul Ferreira. With regards to the duties and powers of the commission, it is, you know unfortunately, and I think Corporation Counsel can affirm that, is we're all bound by the four corners of the Charter and four corners of the rules of the commission as mandated by the Charter. So, I do understand the Charter Commission is looking at instituting an additional set of standards with regards to being able toand again, I haven't read the language, but being able to discipline the Chief, where in prior years, I think it was a little ambiguous, and I think that was actually challenged in the County of Kauai when they had an issue with one of their Police Chiefs. So I do look forward to bringing my expertise back to the commission, and you know, it's a body of nine and I'm only one voice. So hopefully, we can address some of your concerns and as Karen knows, I'm always available at any time if anybody has any questions. Thank you. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you. Council Member Maile David. MS. DAVID: Thank you Chair, and Aloha Mr. Bertsch and welcome. I just really want to thank you for your service. And your continued service, especially your 24 years as a volunteer firefighter. Volunteer firefighters, as you know, in rural districts such as ours—we highly depend on volunteers, so I really commend you and I will definitely be supporting your nomination. So Mahalo. MR. BERTSCH: Well, thank you very much. MS. DAVID: You're welcome. CHR. VILLEGAS: Alright. Any other questions or comments? Seeing none, Council Members all in favor of the motion to recommend confirmation, please say "aye." Page 4 PSC-2 March 27,2019 Vote on Comm. 176: The vote to recommend confirmation of the appointment of (Approved) Mr. John Bertsch to the Police Commission was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, and Chair Villegas— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Poindexter— 1. Excused: None. CHR. VILLEGAS: Mr. Bertsch, you do not have to attend the final confirmation in two weeks. Seeing no further business, can I have a motion to adjourn? ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 1:20 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, Richards, and Chair Villegas— 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Poindexter— 1. Excused: None. CHR. VILLEGAS: This meeting is adjourned. Mahalo. Approved: April 12, 2019 s. R- o-cca i e as, Chair (Date) Public Safety Committee RV/dt Page 5