Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-19 Merit Appeals Board Minutes Merit Appeals Board Department of Human Resources 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 102 Hilo, Hawai‘i September 19, 2018 (Wednesday) Call to Order (Item 1) The regular meeting of the Merit Appeals Board, County of Hawaiʻi, was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chair David K. S. Nahuina, at the Department of Human Resources (HR) Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 2, Hilo, Hawaiʻi, on Wednesday, September 19, 2018. Roll Call – Present Mr. David K. S. Nahuina, Chair Mr. William Chillingworth, Vice-Chair Ms. Luahiwa Namahoe, Member Mr. Mitch Tam, Member Also Present Mr. J Yoshimoto, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Ofc. of the Corp. Counsel Mr. William V. Brilhante, Jr., Director, HR Department Mr. Allan M. Yokoyama, Deputy Director, HR Department Ms. Glynis Yamada, Secretary-Reporter, HR Department Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 th CHR. NAHUINA: September 19, 2018, at 10 o’clock, and I call to order the Merit Appeals Board. And let’s take a look at our agenda here. Addendum to the Agenda (Item 2) There was none. Statements from the Public (Item 3) CHR. NAHUINA: Any “Statements from the Public?” No one is here at this time, so there’ll be no statements. Approval of Minutes (Item 4) February 15, 2018; February 21, 2018; March 29, 2018, and May 9, 2018. CHR. NAHUINA: We have approval of the minutes and I know that went out. First, let’s take a th look at February 15. I know we’ve all had a chance to look at them. Do we need to—well, we should take them all individually. Can I hear a motion to approve the th minutes of February 15? th MS. NAMAHOE: I make a motion that we approve the minutes of February 15. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Second. CHR. NAHUINA: It’s been moved and seconded. All those in favor say, “aye.” All those go against? AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. st CHR. NAHUINA: Same sign—ayes have it. It is passed—approved. Looking at February 21. st MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Move to approve the minutes of February 21. MR. TAM: Second. st CHR. NAHUINA: It’s been moved and seconded to approve the minutes of February 21. All those in favor say, “aye.” All those against say, “aye?” Page 2 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. stth CHR. NAHUINA: It is approved—February 21 minutes, 2018. Looking at March 29, 2018. th MR. TAM: I move to approve the minutes for March 29, 2018. CHR. NAHUINA: Thank you. MS. NAMAHOE: I second. th CHR. NAHUINA: It’s been moved and seconded to approve the minutes of March 29. All those in favor say, “aye.” All those against? AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. th CHR. NAHUINA: Same sign. It has been approved—March 29 minutes, 2018. And we’re th looking at May 9. MR. TAM: I move to approve the minutes for May 9, 2018. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Second. th CHR. NAHUINA: It’s been moved and seconded to approve the minutes of May 9. All those in favor say, “aye.” All those opposed? AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. th CHR. NAHUINA: Same sign. It has been approved—May 9, 2018. MS. NAMAHOE: It was interesting—thank you for e-mailing these to us. ‘Cause this was the first meeting that I’d missed. So, I’m trying to frantically figure out what happened—it’s a new experience. I want to thank you for the minutes that you take. MS. YAMADA: Thank you. Page 3 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MS. NAMAHOE: Good job. Communications (Item 5) Communication No. 18-01, dated August 1, 2018, from Douglass Shipman Adams, Chair, Hawaiʻi County Charter Commission, stating that they are seeking input from the Merit Appeals Board as to how the County Charter affects their role and operations within the County, and any proposals they may have to amend the Charter. Requests this information be provided to them by September 26, 2018 CHR. NAHUINA: We’re looking at Communication 18-01—I—so that’s from Douglass Shipman and he’s the Chair of the Hawaiʻi County Charter Commission, and he’s asking for input from the Merit Appeals Board as to how the County Charter affects their role and operations within the County and any proposals they may have to amend in their Charter— and they’re asking us to comment to give them feedback. (SEE ATT. A) MR. YOSHIMOTO: For the record, I also advise the Charter Commission just so the Board Members know. CHR. NAHUINA: Oh—okay, that’s wonderful. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yeah. But, there’s no conflict ‘cause there’s no conflicting interest or anything. CHR. NAHUINA: No, no, no— MR. YOSHIMOTO: But, yeah—so, basically, the Chairman of the Charter Commission has sent out similar requests to all of the executive departments, the boards and commissions—just seeking input as to whether you have any comments. In terms of the Charter, I don’t—the Merit Appeals Board is based on HRS. It’s not based on the Charter— MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Right. MR. YOSHIMOTO: —but it’s up to you guys. You can have your discussion on. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: How long has the Charter Commission been meeting this time around? MR. YOSHIMOTO: We started in July and we need to finish by June of next year. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Oh, so you just started? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Just started— Page 4 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Yeah. Who’s the chairman—I’m not familiar with Mr. Adams? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Doug Adams he used to be on the Board of Ethics. He’s retired from the army, resident of Hilo—originally from— MALE: Kea‘au? MR. BRILHANTE: Yeah, he’s part of the Shipman family, right? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Part of the Shipman family— MR. BRILHANTE: The Shipman Estate, yeah. MR. YOSHIMOTO: He’s like a Lieutenant Colonel, I think, in the Army. MR. BRILHANTE: Oh, (inaudible) resides on the mainland. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yeah, like, Virginia or something. But, anyway—yeah, so he’s been on the Board of Ethics for about 4 or 5 years. He just got off that and got appointed to the Charter Commission. So he said—yeah—just seeking your input as far as whether this Board has any comments, concerns, suggestions, recommendations, or none. CHR. NAHUINA: I didn’t see any, in that it’s two separate entities. MR. BRILHANTE: And just for additional knowledge, the same request was made from our department and they actually requested that we attend a meeting—we just give them a brief rundown of what we did and how we’re doing—and if we have any recommendations as well. So, I went there and I explained what our primary functions are and responsibilities. And I also communicated to them that we didn’t have any proposed amendments from a departmental perspective at this time. CHR. NAHUINA: Thank you. MR. BRILHANTE: So, we’re aligned. MALE: Yeah, perfect. MR. YOSHIMOTO: So, the Board wants to do—I would think, just a simple letter to the—back to Chair Adams, basically, saying this Board doesn’t have any—of course, you should make a motion, vote on that, and then authorize you to sign off on the letter, to that effect—if that’s the wishes of the Board. Page 5 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MS. NAMAHOE: So, what I’m trying to think through is would there ever be any examples of where the County Charter could influence our process and how we—due process for us? I know we’re obliged to HRS, but is there any way that the County Charter could impact County employees that come in front of us? MR. BRILHANTE: The HRS is the base entity that formulated or was the starting point for this Merit Appeals Board. There is a section in the Charter that specifically identifies some functions and duties of the Merit Appeals Board, but it’s more administrative type functions. As far as when an employee comes up and requests an internal complaint—those procedures and those processes are established through rulemaking. So, we have our rules for internal complaints, which are County rules. But those rules are not incorporated into the Charter. It’s internal within our governmental authority—and, normally, that’s the case. You’ll have a departmental—and the Charter will identify the areas of responsibility and the key components that align itself with the areas of responsibility for a department or a board or a commission. So, Charter is a big picture. But then, the small day-to-day operations, what the employees expect from the Merit Appeals Board—it’s more formulated within our rules—and it’d be rules for the internal complaint procedures, which is specific to the MAB. And it’s—I should have brought the Charter— MS. NAMAHOE: Then, if we’re going to make any statement—as long as we acknowledge that and request that they keep any amendments they make are benign to our process? Is that— MR. BRILHANTE: Unless somebody proposes a amendment, they’re going to—my understanding and J can correct me if I’m wrong—but they’re not going to, on their own, go and start tweaking portions of the Charter unless somebody brings it to their attention. And if somebody were to bring it to their attention, my assumption and what I’ve seen in the past with previous Charter Commissions is that this initial process is information gathering. And then, once they get their information and they go forward and they start identifying each specific item—then, if an item particularly pertains to a certain entity—they invite that entity to come in and say, “Hey, this is the proposed changes to your section of the Charter. Do you—would you like to come in and give us your feedback as it relates to any proposed-type changes?” That’s how it’s worked in the past—I’ll let J, he would be the expert as to how it’ll probably work in the future. MR. YOSHIMOTO: No—and that’s accurate what Mr. Brilhante just stated. And as I—to answer your question, because the Charter is a difficult process to amend, I think the recommendation moving forward to just let it be “as is”— MS. NAMAHOE: Right. MR. YOSHIMOTO: —is the best decision. Because HRS can be changed every session or whenever they want to—but we can’t do that. Page 6 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MS. NAMAHOE: Got you. MR. YOSHIMOTO: So, it just, to me, it needs to be as broad and as simple as possible. And, like Bill said—the rules can refine—can change and stuff—but we can pass around the Charter provision. It’s, basically, very straight forward as far as terms. CHR. NAHUINA: I think what it’s saying is we’re stuck with a five-year term. MS. NAMAHOE: I’m just thinking of, I mean, I don’t know how vulnerable the commissions are. I’ve seen—my limited experience, I’ve seen enough where there’s some personalities that just want to get going and— CHR. NAHUINA: Change things. MS. NAMAHOE: —do profoundly crazy things. MR. TAM: Right. MS. NAMAHOE: So, we don’t have to say leave us alone, then— MR. TAM: They will leave us alone unless there’s a reason to. It sounds great because they don’t invite us for our input and—if that’s the case. But if it ain’t broke, I’m sure they’re not going to try and fix it. So, I’ll make a motion that we submit a letter to the Charter Commission that we have no input or comment at this time—if that’s the— CHR. NAHUINA: Did you guys hear his motion? MS. NAMAHOE: (Inaudible.) MR. TAM: I make a motion that we submit a letter to the Charter Commission that we have, at this point, no input or recommendations. MS. NAMAHOE: Second that. CHR. NAHUINA: It’s been moved and seconded. All those in favor say, “aye.” All those opposed? AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. Page 7 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 CHR. NAHUINA: Same sign. It has been—the motion has been passed. New Business (for discussion and appropriate action) (Item 6) FY 2017-2018 Annual Performance Evaluation of the Director of Human Resources (HR): Presentation by the Director of HR regarding Department’s goals and objectives for FY 2017-2018; Survey Results; Presentation by the Director of HR regarding Department’s goals and objectives for FY 2018-2019; Merit Appeals Board’s Evaluation Tool for the Director of HR for FY 2018-2019 CHR. NAHUINA: “New business.” The Annual Performance Evaluation and I get to—we get to pass it over. MR. BRILHANTE: For this item, I think it’s my privilege to request that we move into executive session to address my performance. So, I’m going to request that now. MS. NAMAHOE: Then, shall I make a motion—the Merit Appeals Board moves to convene an executive session regarding the above matter? Have we—read all this in, correct? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yes, you’d better. MS. NAMAHOE: Okay. It’s pursuant to HRS Section 92-4, 92-5(a)(2) and 92-5(a)(4) for the purpose of evaluating an officer—for the purpose of evaluating the County of Hawaiʻi HR Director where the consideration of matters affecting privacy will be involved and consulting with the Board’s attorney on questions and issues pertaining to the Board’s powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities. A 2/3 vote pursuant to HRS Section 92-4 is necessary to hold an executive meeting. MR. TAM: I second. CHR. NAHUINA: It has been moved and seconded that we go into executive session. All those in favor say, “aye”? Those that are opposed? AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. CHR. NAHUINA: Same sign. We will be moving into executive session. It’s—not that time. What is it now? (Note: The clock located in the meeting room was not working properly.) MR. YOSHIMOTO: 10:12. CHR. NAHUINA: 10:12. Page 8 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 RECESS: The Chair called for a recess at 10:12 a.m. RECONVENE: The meeting reconvened in open session at 12:40 p.m. CHR. NAHUINA: At this time, I’ll ask for a motion regarding the results of the evaluation. MR. TAM: So, I make a motion that we find that William Brilhante has met his goals for fiscal year 2017-2018. CHR. NAHUINA: Yes. Do I hear a second? MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Second. CHR. NAHUINA: It has been moved and seconded that we accept the evaluation which says that William Brilhante has met the expectations for fiscal year 2017 to 2018. All those in favor say, “aye.” All those opposed? AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. CHR. NAHUINA: Same sign. The motion carries. Thank you. MS. NAMAHOE: Thank you for your service, Sir. CHR. NAHUINA: Yes, thank you. MR. BRILHANTE: Thank you. Unfinished Business (for discussion and appropriate action) (Item 7) (There was none.) CHR. NAHUINA: We have no “Unfinished Business.” Director’s Report (Item 8) HR Quarterly Reports (October – December 2017, January – March 2018, and April – June 2018); and Items of Current Interest CHR. NAHUINA: We have “Director’s Report” and I don’t know what time it is, but that is if— MS. NAMAHOE: Quarter to 1—20 to 1. Page 9 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MS. YAMADA: That’s correct. CHR. NAHUINA: Oh, that is correct? MR. BRILHANTE: It’s correct now. CHR. NAHUINA: All right. So, we have lunch issues but on the other—I don’t know where people are if we want to try to power through it. MR. BRILHANTE: Well, this is what I can do. I can—what I wanted to do was, I can do a director’s report in about 5 to 10 minutes. CHR. NAHUINA: Oh, okay. MR. BRILHANTE: And what I’ll do is this doc—this information I was going to give you regarding numbers and stuff, I—what I can do is I can incorporate it into a handout, give it to Glynis, and she can have—send it out to you. And this report is just a report that I provide to the Administration and it’s our Human Resource benchmarks that we provide to the Administration as to whether or not we’re servicing the public satisfactorily. So, I’ll send this to each of you and you can go through it, and it’s just so that when—you understand it’s classified by—it’s separated by each division. So this first division is our Classification and Pay Division and it just goes through some of the benchmarks that we set and what numbers we derived at and how we satisfied those requirements. And then, Labor Relations—and it goes all the way down to where the last pages are Health and Safety. So, it’s just a chronology of our divisions and how they met the requirements. For my quarterly report—my director’s report—I wanted to touch two items. One was—we had a discussion earlier today regarding Blue Zones. And I wanted to just report to you is that we took it upon—on behalf of the County, we were fortunate to meet with Karen Teshima from HMSA—Blue Zones Coordinator. And she proposed that the County engage in a program where we support and we adopt Blue Zones and we come one of the participating members. My understanding is several of the high schools— CHR. NAHUINA: Yes. MR. BRILHANTE: —have engaged in the process and several other private sector entities. But, according to Karen, no government entity as large as the County has come on board, yet. So, she was very happy that we were, kind of, engaged in the process. And the reason I thought it was important is—government is limited as a—in—when we deal with relations between employer and employees. If somebody’s doing a good job, we can’t say Page 10 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 we’re going to give you a bonus. And private sector you can. You can recognize and you can show your good workers or you can show them appreciation. I think oftentimes what we fail to do as a government entity is we fail to show our employees that we care for them outside of financial remuneration-type scenario. And so, I thought Blue Zones was a great way where we can engage with a third party entity, bring them in, open it up to our employees, allow them/afford them the permission to partake in the program. And some of that is—okay, several times a day you go out and you’ll do a 15- minute walk, you walk during your lunchtime, we’ll do whatever the activities may be within your office to promote moving, to promote better eating, to promote a healthier lifestyle. And the gain from that is that our employees get a better quality of life. CHR. NAHUINA: Oh, yeah. MR. BRILHANTE: They might not have more money in their pocket, but they may live longer, the exposure to debilitating diseases may be reduced. So, that’s the tradeoff. And for us, it doesn’t count us—it doesn’t cost us anything because all we’re doing is giving time. We’re giving time and support. And that’s why we had a big kickoff this past Monday here, next door at our Aupuni Center—a Countywide kickoff. We had a lot of people who attended. It was great, received well, a lot of involvement. The Mayor came over, he participated. I went there earlier. I had a Salary Commission meeting, but there are a lot of fun activities. We brought outside vendors to come in and— MALE: Awesome. MR. BRILHANTE: —to give information as to what they provide. We had the YMCA who was offering—because a lot of our members are HMSA participants, they got reduced rates— they came out with a special rate for HMSA members to participate in their monthly—use their facilities, membership, and stuff like that. So, I think it was well-received. I got a lot of good feedback from that, so I thank HMSA for that. The other thing I wanted to talk about was on EOC. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but we play a pretty—our office plays a pretty prevalent role of the—when we have these disaster or emergency type declarations. We’re, primarily, responsible for maintaining the Emergency Call Center staffing. So, EOC they have 6 people on staff, but when an event occurs all of a sudden there’s thousands of phone calls. For example, during the Hurricane Lane, at the height of the flooding, there were requests for 5,000 sandbags to be delivered. That’s how many calls just in one 24-hour period. We delivered 5,000 sandbags. And there’s no way the EOC staff can—could handle something like that. So, it’s incumbent upon our department—we manage the Call Center. So, we have go to up— we have to respond to the EOC, the Civil Defense. We have to schedule call takers, make sure Page 11 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 there’re sufficient enough call takers, make sure they’re there, make sure we’re providing sufficient—accurate public information and stuff. rd So, that started, for me, back in—the onset of the lava flow in—on May 3 or something like that, I think (inaudible)—some time back then—when the current lava event? rd FEMALE: Yeah, first week, May 3. MR. BRILHANTE: Yeah. So, we started service—we started—we ratcheted up and we opened up the Call Center. So, we’ve been doing that quite a bit. What hap—used to happen in the past, was that Health and Safety Division would respond to the EOC and they would supervise the Call Center. The unfortunate part of that was all that time was overtime and it would come out of our overtime budget— MALE: Oh, no—budget. MR. BRILHANTE: —and I had 2 people responding. So, what I did was from a budgetary perspective, I reassigned—I made a reassignment, so now I’ve been going up and responding to the EOC and I’ve been supervising the call center. And I have my deputy come in and he, kind of, relieves me when we go up there and we do that. So, what we’ve done is we significantly reduced our overtime expenditures associated with that. So, we covered the lava flow, we covered Hurricane Lane, and we covered Hurricane Olivia. And so, it’s just—to me, it was just a simple change in assignments, which at the end of the day, showed a significant reduction in our overtime expenditures. So, as J knows, we don’t get any overtime. CHR. NAHUINA: Your personal commitment to the department is impressive. I mean, they’re right there—your time and not being compensated. And then, even your car allowance—I heard you mention that earlier. So, those of the things are significant money and we appreciate you. Thank you. MR. BRILHANTE: No—and with the car allowance, the only reason I was willing—or I offered that was I’m a strong believer in us leading by example. CHR. NAHUINA: That’s quite obvious. MR. BRILHANTE: I cannot go and ask somebody else to cut—make cuts in what they’re doing or—“I’m sorry, but you can’t go to the mainland for this training this year”—and I’m not doing anything. So, that’s why—that was the impetus for the reduction of car allowance. I mean, we’ll see how it goes. But, anyways, so the third thing I just want to touch about is the—bringing in Jenny Sakamoto to be our Professional Development—I don’t know if you’re aware, but Gabriella Cabanas is st retiring, effective December 1. Page 12 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MALE: Wow. MS. NAMAHOE: Wow. MR. BRILHANTE: Yeah. She’s going to be a big loss. I don’t think we’ll be able to totally replace her but I was able to get commitment from Waylen Leopoldino— MS. NAMAHOE: Come back? MR. BRILHANTE: Come back. MALE: Wow. MR. BRILHANTE: So, I spoke to him while he was in San Francisco—he came back for a family trip, I met with him two or three times, while he was here—and he agreed to come back. nd So, effective June 2, Waylen will be our—will be taking Gabriella’s place. MS. NAMAHOE: Congratulations. MS. YAMADA: January. MR. BRILHANTE: January. Yeah, January—yeah, January. MS. NAMAHOE: Congratulations. MR. BRILHANTE: Yeah. So, I got a lot of positive e-mails after making that announcement. So that’ll be a good thing, I think, going forward. And that’s a real important position, ‘cause as you know, that was the division that was the crux of the audit. And any time you’re dealing with hiring—government hiring, county hiring— there’s always some public—how am I going to say—questioning or the word I’m looking for— MS. NAMAHOE: Feedback— MR. BRILHANTE: Concerns regarding whether or not the process is being conducted above board, fairly—and I think, the good thing about Waylen is I can—we can trust him. We can trust Waylen just like I could trust Gabe. And I think, going forward, I think that’s a huge asset to bring to the table. And he’s a good—I mean, he’s presented here—you guys know him and he’s a good guy to have. So, we’re real fortunate that he agreed to come back. MS. NAMAHOE: Full disclosure, I know Waylen very well and he never told me this. MR. BRILHANTE: Oh, really? Page 13 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MS. NAMAHOE: Yeah. MR. BRILHANTE: (Inaudible.) MS. NAMAHOE: Yeah. So, that’s wonderful that he—mahalo to his discretion. MR. BRILHANTE: Yeah, he’s very good. And I—and Gabe is really happy, ‘cause she had real deep concerns as to who would be replacing— CHR. NAHUINA: Sure. MR. BRILHANTE: And so, I think it’s a win-win all the way around as far as that goes. The only other thing to report is, I’ll keep you abreast of the re-org. with the Work Comp Division. And just to, again, for full disclosure—each year the Work Comp Division is audited by independent third party auditor because there’re financial fiscal expenditures that the County makes and there’s always that checks and balances and we have to report—we have to do an annual report where all our fiscal expenditures from a financial standpoint. And if we’re deficient in an area or if some areas are problematic, then the result of those problems may be a reduction in our bond rating and the like. And so, those are the requirements that flow from our ability to issue municipal bonds. And, with that in mind, this is the third year that we’ve had some issues raised as to our accounting methods and our ability to properly record and capture expenditures and payments being made, and billing issues with physicians and the like. And I—this is the first year where it’s been reported and I’m directly responsible for it. As I explained to my staff, if this thing gets any worse or continues to go in this direction, they’re not going to be the ones called in front of the county council or in front of the mayor and ask, “Oh, how come you guys are still having problems?” It’s going to be me— CHR. NAHUINA: Yeah. MR. BRILHANTE: —sitting on that seat. So, I said if I fail to do anything, then that’s incumbent on me. So, that was—that played a significant role and—into why I decided to, kind of, do a re-org. for that Health and Safety Division. And I think we need to jump on that situation. Any time you talk about money and expenditures—again, we’re talking about public money. We’re not generating our own work comp money. Those monies are coming from fees that we collect from the public. So, in essence, it’s public money. And I just—so I thought if we allowed that to continue the way it was, then at some point in time the very near future, it’s going to be a real problematic issue that it’s going to be—“Why wasn’t it ever addressed?” So, again, I’m trying to be proactive for making adjustments. A lot of it— oftentimes when I meet with the staff and we sit down and we try to problem-solve, it’s always—“Well, the reason we’re not inputting that information is ‘cause we don’t have time”— it always seems we don’t have time, we don’t have time, we don’t have time. Page 14 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 So, what we identified the areas that are the most time-consuming—and the bill paying and the reconciliation of bills and payments to the physicians has been identified as the key component. So, what I—part of our re-org. is doing is, we’re removing that component from the case managers and we’re going to—that’s why we’re bringing in the clerks. The clerks are going to be, primarily, responsible for inputting data as it relates to each of the cases. So, they’re going to be data entry. They’re going to input the billing, they’re going to ensure that the payments are made through the County, and they’re being incorporated in our case management system. They going be the boots on the ground. But the overall supervision is still going back to the case managers. So, if something is missing, something is not there, this going be incumbent on the case managers who supposed to be looking at the cases on a regular basis as to why it wasn’t. So, right now, there’s too much pointing the fingers—“Oh, that wasn’t me. That was somebody else”—or something. So, I want to put—I’m transitioning to making sure that the people who are tasked with managing the cases, ensuring documentation is proper, correct, accurate—they’re there. They have time to do that. And then, we’ll get the data entry coming in from our clerical positions. We’ll see how it works. MS. NAMAHOE: Sorry, just a clarification. You’re saying that you don’t use a TPA to handle the billing and the claims? MR. BRILHANTE: We’re only allow—right now, we’re only authorized to use TPA for Police, and Parks and Rec. Those are the two highest—the departments with the two highest work comp claims. MS. NAMAHOE: So, the question in that I’m asking him is if—so, if Joe employee, the County parks guy, falls off the coconut tree—when he goes to the doctor for his knee injury and his back injury—the checks are actually—the doctor is billing the County directly. And the County employee and the Work Comp Division is actually adjusting the claims, saying these are the eligible charges— MR. BRILHANTE: (Inaudible) the reserves. MS. NAMAHOE: —confirming it, and draw and cashing the checks? MR. BRILHANTE: Yes. MS. NAMAHOE: Versus a TPA for only these 2 departments? MR. BRILHANTE: Police, and Parks and Rec. MS. NAMAHOE: Police and—oh, excuse me. Okay, Police, and Parks and Rec.— MR. BRILHANTE: Correct. Page 15 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MS. NAMAHOE: —use a TPA, a third party—that’s what their bread and butter is to do these— MR. BRILHANTE: Third party adjustors/administrator. MS. NAMAHOE: Third party administrator to do the adjustments, the claims, and whatnot— which is their area of expertise. So, we’re using—never mind. I’m just, I’m amazed that you’re not doing a TPA for all of it. MR. BRILHANTE: We—I would like to do a TPA for all of it. There’s a issue with privatization because these positions have historically done that job. We can’t just take those jobs away from our County employees. MS. NAMAHOE: But they’re not menial jobs, though. They’re areas of— MR. BRILHANTE: But we do have claims adjustors who perform the exact same. MS. NAMAHOE: Okay. MR. BRILHANTE: So, that’s kind of the—so, we met and we engaged through Corp. Counsel, we were able to get these 2 departments just because their numbers were so high—and we could show them that it was a—there’s this overflow of work, we needed the TPA to come in to remove the work—some of the workflow so that their people—the—these civil servants could then perform at a reasonable level or— CHR. NAHUINA: Sure. MR. BRILHANTE: —management level. MS. NAMAHOE: The reason— MR. BRILHANTE: —(inaudible) workload level. MS. NAMAHOE: The reason I bring the question up is because part of what a TPA does as a firm is they have a network side of the house to make sure that the doctors understand—we’re good for our money, we’re going to pay for it within the next (inaudible) 10 business days. Right? ‘Cause doctors have to pay their bills, too. And that’s one of the reasons why doctors don’t like to take work comp. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Right. MS. NAMAHOE: Right now, I’m having a blon—my mind is blown. We’ve never had this discussion before, but I didn’t know this. Page 16 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MR. BRILHANTE: So, I mean, it’s—what happened—what’s—what I’ve surmised or I’ve concluded is that—like I said—workers comp has been, somewhat, left to run on its own—it’s been like a stepchild back in the corner over there. And it’s been just, kind of, running on its own with not much supervision, not much management. I mean, Charmaine Kamaka—great lady, very smart, very intelligent—she was a safety person. She led the Safety Division. We had Nora Pinao come over from Corp. Counsel—J knows work comp. He did work comp. It’s just not a glamorous job that people want to do. So, I mean—so, it’s been, kind of, left on its own—no supervision. The attitude was if it doesn’t make noise we not going to put oil on it. So they just let it run on its own. We set a budget. We’re self-insured—2.1 million seems to carry it. If they need more money, we go in and they get more money. If they save money, they save money. But it’s just, kind of, been autonomous running on autopilot. And I think, unfortunately, with this audit and the findings and the results of the audits—I don’t think we can operate that way anymore. So, that’s why—I would love to make the whole system to a TPA for all of the County’s work comp claims. I think there is one jurisdiction. It’s Kaua‘i. They do TPA, but the only reason Kaua‘i has afforded to do the TPA is because they never had civil service. All work comp used to come through the State up until about 16 years ago—then the State gave it up. They said, “We’re not going to do it anymore, counties”—we’re left having to do their own. CHR. NAHUINA: Sure. MR. BRILHANTE: So, each county was required to do their own, and that’s how our work comp division came on board. And when Kaua—when that transitioned to Kaua‘i—Kaua‘i immediately went to a—to the TPA. So, they privatized it, but they never did the work so we— that Kono issue as to whether or not the job was historically and customarily performed by civil servants was never an issue because they never had those positions, whereas, we created a Workers Comp Division. So we have 6 positions in work comp—adjustors and investigators and all that type of stuff that—we even had an attorney—Nora Pinao, prior to her demise— MS. NAMAHOE: Yeah. MR. BRILHANTE: She worked. She was assigned. She worked—she had an office right back there in Work Comp. MS. NAMAHOE: Noralyn Pinao (inaudible). CHR. NAHUINA: Oh, you know what, I appreciate is the fact that you are aware of this situation. You brought up as a possible fourth goal, so we know that it is hot and you’re aware of it. And just keep us abreast of what’s happening— MR. BRILHANTE: I will. Page 17 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 CHR. NAHUINA: And, unfortunately, you may have to wait for, like, other things where there’s hiring freezes and then the adjustor is just—it can’t be filled and then you can move it on to privatization—if that happens—in another 10 years or so. MR. BRILHANTE: The other thing that’s unique to us is we’re self-insured as well. We’ve had discussion as to whether or not we should bring up third party insurer, if they cover us. Get a insurance policy to cover that $2.1 million or something. MS. NAMAHOE: Yeah. MR. BRILHANTE: But that’s still, kind of, on the table. It’s still under the discussion stage. The tradeoff with that is—but what’s going to be your annual premiums— CHR. NAHUINA: Yeah. MR. BRILHANTE: —for an entity this large. And we got feedback that it’s going to be about $2 million—just rough estimate, right. So, I’m not sure the realized savings with insurance policy or insurance coverages—something to consider at this point in time. Right? MS. NAMAHOE: Thank you. MR. BRILHANTE: So, and again I’ll send you a copy of these goals that I—just the benchmarks and—for your guys information. And if you have questions, I’ll be more than happy to come address it at the next scheduled meeting—things for the director’s report. CHR. NAHUINA: Thank you. MR. BRILHANTE: Okay. Thank you very much. CHR. NAHUINA: All right. MR. BRILHANTE: Glynis knows I always call 5-minute meetings and it always goes for half hour. CHR. NAHUINA: I think—and I’d appreciate ‘cause I think items of current interest—I mean, that’s what you were bringing up. MS. NAMAHOE: Yeah. CHR. NAHUINA: So, that would be the next one on our agenda, but I—any—are there any other items that you would like to discuss at this time? MR. BRILHANTE: No. Page 18 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 Schedule Next Meeting Date (Item 9) CHR. NAHUINA: All right. Thank you. Let’s take a look at scheduling our next meeting. And we’re getting into some interesting time of the year so—September, October—when would our traditional one be in October? MS. YAMADA: Usually, the third Wednesday— CHR. NAHUINA: Third Wednesday, huh. MS. YAMADA: Yes. th CHR. NAHUINA: 17? MR. BRILHANTE: Do we have any pending hearings? Appeals? CHR. NAHUINA: No. It is a wonderful thing. And we—if we don’t have anything—any appeals, we could put off for a month, correct? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yeah. CHR. NAHUINA: We could put if off for a month. And I was just looking at when we sent out this survey last time, which was the end of May. So, if we wait a little bit to look at those items, it’s okay. We have time, is all I’m saying. And it’s really a matter of the Board of how they want to meet. If you want to get it out when we don’t have anything else that’s also a very positive thing ‘cause it might take time. I do know that when I came in, we had just finished the year before with those items and it was a long process. I remember the discussions about how long it took them to create that survey. So, it—I’m not saying that it would take us a long time, but we may want to schedule enough time also, at the same token. So, (inaudible) any feedback on that? MS. NAMAHOE: I’m happy to do it either way. CHR. NAHUINA: Okay. MS. NAMAHOE: I mean, we also might want to wait till we get the fifth member on board and do it together cohesively. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Any idea when that’s going to be? Page 19 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MS. YAMADA: It was not a priority at the Mayor’s office right now, ‘cause they’re concentrating on boards and commissions that need the members to have a quorum. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Quorum. MS. YAMADA: But, I’ll follow-up and I will let you guys know the status. CHR. NAHUINA: Now, my term is up in December. So— MR. BRILHANTE: We can hold you over for 90 days. CHR. NAHUINA: Is that voluntary? I think I’ve heard every chair ask that same question. MS. NAMAHOE: When are we up? CHR. NAHUINA: Remember that 5-year thing that we were looking before— MS. NAMAHOE: You’re 1 year before me. MR. TAM: Yeah. ‘Cause we came in together but my term was a year shorter than yours. So— MR. BRILHANTE: But your term is 5 years. MS. NAMAHOE: 5 years. CHR. NAHUINA: 5 years. MR. BRILHANTE: Your term is 5 years, but not your individual appointment. So— MS. YAMADA: 2020—2021. MS. NAMAHOE: 2020—2021. MR. TAM: (Inaudible) statewide for the Lions Club. MS. NAMAHOE: Awesome. CHR. NAHUINA: It may get busy as the holiday season comes around, too. So, in some ways I’m wondering— MS. NAMAHOE: Should we do it in October? CHR. NAHUINA: We could do it in October or we could— th MS. NAMAHOE: My 17 is open. Page 20 Merit Appeals Board September 19, 2018 MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Mine’s open. MR. TAM: Yeah, mine is open. ‘Cause if we wait till the third—that’s a couple days before Thanksgiving. MS. NAMAHOE: I make a motion—10 a.m. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Good. CHR. NAHUINA: 10 a.m.—okay. MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Roger. th CHR. NAHUINA: It’s been moved that we have our meeting at 10 a.m. on October 17. Do I hear a second? MR. CHILLINGWORTH: Second. CHR. NAHUINA: All those in favor say, “aye.” Those opposed? AYES: Board Members Chillingworth, Namahoe, Tam, and Chair Nahuina – 4. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. EXCUSED: None. th CHR. NAHUINA: Same sign. Motion is carried. We will meet October 17 at 10 o’clock in here. And the—if we could agendize the survey and that’s our main focus right now will be— and you’ll let us know if we have anything else coming up. All right. Page 21 Merit Appeals Board September 19,2018 Adjournment (Item 10) CHR. NAHUINA: At this time it is 1:07 and I would like to close the Merit Appeals Board meeting. All adjourned. MS. NAMAHOE: Mahalo. CHR. NAHUINA: Thank you, everybody. Respectfully submitted, cwt., .40 Glynis amada, Secretary-Reporter APPROVED: David K. S. Nahuina, Chair Merit Appeals Board Page 22 vv_os • William Carthage Bergin ••vt••f .4!s. Michelle Galimba • Douglass Shipman Adams �\d4 Paul K. Hamano Chairperson •nn SKevin D. Hopkins • _ Bobby Jean Akane Leithead Todd Jennifer Leilani Zelko-Schlueter --tear-- Sarah H.Rice Vice Chairperson ,+�; t Ni M : Christopher John Imiloa Roehrig f OF VO* Marcia A.K. Saquing Donna Mae Springer 2018-2020 HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSION Date: August 1, 2018 -_ To: David K.S. Nahuina, Chair Merit Appeals Board -' srA, , From: Douglass Shipman Adams, Chair Hawai`i County Charter Commission RE: Hawai`i County Charter Commission—Seeking Input On behalf of the 2018-2020 Hawai`i County Charter Commission, I request that the Merit Appeals Board include as an agenda item at its next meeting discussion on the Hawai`i County Charter. Specifically, the Charter Commission seeks input from the Merit Appeals Board as to how the County Charter affects its role and operations within the County, and any proposals it may have to amend the Charter. The Charter Commission would appreciate correspondence providing the above information by September 26, 2018, so that it may discuss the information and any recommendations the Merit Appeals Board may have at its October 12, 2018, meeting. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Should you have any questions,please contact our Commission Analyst, Jon Henricks. DSA/jdh Cc: William V. Brilhante, Jr., Department of Human Resources MERIT BOARD OF APPEALS COUNTY OF HAWAII COM.NO. 18-01 DATE September 19, 2018 ATT. A