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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-19 Merit Appeals Board MinutesREGULAR SESSION Merit Appeals Board Hilo Council Chambers Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401 Hilo, Hawaii November 19, 2021 (Friday) Call to Order (Item 1) The regular meeting of the Merit Appeals Board, County of Hawaii, was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chair Gabriella M. Cabanas, at the Hilo Council Chambers, Hawaii County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, Hilo, Hawaii, on Friday, November 19, 2021. Roll Call — Present Ms. Gabriella M. Cabanas, Chair Mr. Mel Ventura, Vice -Chair (via Zoom) Ms. Kate De Soto, Member Mr. Charles Kunz, Member Ms. Gay Mathews, Member Also Present Mr. J Yoshimoto, Assistant Corporation Counsel, Office of the Corporation Counsel Ms. Amanda Furman, Deputy Attorney General, State Office of the Attorney General (via Zoom) Mr. Waylen L. K. Leopoldino, Acting Director, Human Resources Department Ms. Elyse Stevens, Land Use Plans Checker II, Planning Department Mr. Ryan Thomas, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Office of the Corporation Counsel Mr. Steve Idemoto, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Office of the Corporation Counsel Mr. Tyler Benner, County Auditor, Office of the County Auditor Ms. Glynis Yamada, Secretary -Reporter, Human Resources Department Mr. Relley Araceley, Legislative Information and Reference Technician, Office of the County Clerk Note: As part of the response to the threat of COVID-19, Governor David Ige issued an Emergency Proclamation Related to the State's COVID-19 Delta Response dated October 1, 2021, suspending Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92, Public Agency Meetings and Records, to the extent necessary to enable boards as defined in Section 92-2, to conduct meetings without any board members or members of the public physically present in the same location. This meeting will be held through a combination of some board members being physically present at the meeting location and some members participating by interactive video conference through ZOOM. Only persons that are present for the particular item on the agenda will be allowed in the meeting room. Each person will be required to wear a face mask and maintain six feet physical distance from any other person as required by law. Merit Appeals Board Call to Order (Item 1) November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: Good morning, everyone. I'm Gabriella Cabanas, Chair of the Merit Appeals Board, calling the regular meeting of the Merit Appeals Board to order on this day, November 19, 2021, at ten a.m. I'd like to introduce our Board members—sitting in via Zoom from Kailua-Kona is Mr. Mel Ventura our Vice-Chair—good morning, Mel. Mel, are you there? MR. VENTURA: Good morning and aloha. CHR. CABANAS: Good morning, Mel. And here in the Council Chambers at the Hawaii County Building in Hilo, Hawaii, are fellow Board members, Ms. Gay Mathews, Mr. Charlie Kunz, and Ms. Kate De Soto. Good morning to all of you. MR. KUNZ: Good morning. MS. MATHEWS: Good morning. MS. DE SOTO: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: Also with us are—is our Assistant Corporation Counsel, J Yoshimoto. Good morning, J. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Good morning, everyone. CHR. CABANAS: And our Secretary -Reporter, Glynis Yamada. Good morning, Glynis. MS. YAMADA: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And thank you, Glynis, for keeping all of us so well organized with our binders and other material—we really appreciate it. Also, we have our staff member from the Clerk's office, Mr. Relley Araceley, manning the computer equipment to ensure we have Zoom capabilities. So, thank you so much, Relley, we really appreciate your help. Also with us in the Council Chambers are two attorneys from the Office of the Corporation Counsel—Mr. Steve Idemoto and Mr. Ryan Thomas. Good morning, to both of you. MR. THOMAS: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And we also have Ms. Elyse Stevens—good morning, Ms. Stevens. MS. STEVENS: Good morning. Page 2 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: Also, appearing from Honolulu via Zoom is our Deputy Attorney General, Ms. Amanda Furman. Good morning, Amanda. MS. FURMAN: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, everyone. Addendum to Agenda (Item 2) CHR. CABANAS: Following the agenda, looking at the addendum to the agenda—we have none. Statements from the Public (Item 3) CHR. CABANAS: "Statements from the Public"—according to our secretary -reporter, we do not have any statements from the public. At this time, I'm going to turn over the meeting to our Vice -Chair, Mel Ventura, who will serve as the Chair for the ten a.m. appeal hearing. And I'm going to call a recess so that I have recused myself from the appeal hearing and our Counsel, J Yoshimoto, will also leave the Council Chambers with me. So, we're going to do that and I'm going to call a short recess. And Mr. Mel Ventura will take over for the hearing. So, I want to thank all of you and I'll be—we will be back, J and I, once the hearing is concluded. Thank you very much. RECESS: The Chair called for a recess at 10:02 a.m. RECONVENE: The meeting reconvened at 2:17 p.m. in open session. CHR. CABANAS: So, I think it's my understanding that, Mel, you need to, for the record, turn it over back to me. Is that correct, Counsel? MR. VENTURA: Okay. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, if you don't mind doing that. MR. VENTURA: What does that involve? CHR. CABANAS: Just for the record, saying that—well, I'm not sure. MR. VENTURA: Okay. Yeah. Page 3 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: That the—I guess, the hearing has ended for now and that we're going to resume our regular meeting at 2:17. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Okay. Yeah. So, for the record, the Merit Appeals Board meeting is being resumed at 2:17 and I will now cede my duties as Chair to Ms. Cabanas. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Thank you, Mel, I really appreciate it. Okay. So, our Counsel has another appointment at—he needs to leave at 3:30 today. So, he's asking if we can—if you don't mind, Board members, if we could take Item number 7 first, which is the "Unfinished Business" the selection process for filling the position of new director of human resources for which I have recused myself, for the record. So, I'm going to have to turn it back over to you, Mel, we're playing tag over here. So, I will leave the Council Chambers at 2:18 p.m. and I will return when the Board is done. Thank you very much. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Thank you. (At this time, Chair Gabriella Cabanas, left the Council Chambers.) Communication No. 21-04, Received On August 19, 2021, Appealing A Recruitment And Examination Action (Application For A Planner I Position Rejected Due To The Lack Of The Minimum Required Education And Experience) By County Of Hawaii Human Resources Department; And Communication No. 21-04.01, Received September 27, 2021, Regarding Appellant's Witness And Exhibit Lists; And Communication No. 21-04.02, Received September 27, 2021, Regarding County's (Hereinafter Referred To As "Appellee") Witness And Exhibit List; Certificate Of Service; And Communication No. 21-04.03, Received October 15, 2021, Regarding Appellant's Exhibit No. 11; And Communication No. 21-04.04, Received October 15, 2021, Regarding Appellant's Exhibit No. 12; and (Note: The aforementioned communications were listed on the Merit Appeals Board agenda dated October 29, 2021.) Communication No. 21-04.05, Received October 25, 2021, Regarding Appellant's Amended Witness List; And Communication No. 21-04.06, Received October 29, 2021, Regarding Appellant's Exhibit 13; And (Note: The Aforementioned Communications Were Presented/Circulated At The Meeting On October 29, 2021.) Communication No. 21-04.07, received November 9, 2021, regarding Appellee's Supplemental Witness List; Certificate of Service. (The Merit Appeals Board Anticipates Convening One Or More Executive Meetings Regarding The Above Matter, Pursuant To Page 4 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 HRS Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(2) And 92-5(a)(4), For The Purpose Evaluating An Officer Or Employee Of The County Of Hawaii, 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. YOSHIMOTO: So, Mr. Chairman, this is J Yoshimoto. I just wanted to make sure we finish the appeal. My understanding is that the Board would be entertaining a motion to continue the deliberation with respect to the appeal—let's see—Communication 21-04 to the December 2nd Merit Appeals Board meeting. So, Mr. Chairman, if you could ask for a motion and a second on that motion? ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Okay. And that motion needs to be made in closed session or open session? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yeah, I would say just open session because yeah, open session is fine. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Okay. Can then do I hear such a motion from the Board? MS. MATHEWS: So moved. MR. KUNZ: Second. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Okay. So, it has been moved and seconded. Is there any further discussion? I'll do a rollcall vote, starting with Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: Aye. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Okay. Motion is carried. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Okay. Mr. Chairman, again, this is Mr. Yoshimoto. So, for the record, that matter has been continued to December 2nd, ten a.m. at the Hilo Council Chambers. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Yes. Unfinished Business (for discussion and appropriate action) (Item 7) Page 5 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 Selection Process For Filling The Position Of New Director Of Human Resources. Assessment And Review Of Selection Process For Filling The Position, Timeline, Advertisements, And Interview And Selection Process (The Merit Appeals Board Anticipates Convening One Or More Executive Meetings Regarding The Above Matters, Pursuant To HRS Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(2) And 92-5(a)(4), For The Purpose Evaluating An Officer Or Employee Of The County Of Hawaii, 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) (Postponed: October 29, 2021) MR. YOSHIMOTO: And with that, Mr. Chairman, we would like to take Item number 7 out of order on the agenda with respect to the selection process for the filling of the position of the new director of human resources. So, this matter was postponed at the last meeting. So, at this time, I would recommend that we go into executive session pursuant to HRS 92-4, 92-5(a)(2), 92-5(a)(4) for the purpose of evaluating an officer/employee of the County of Hawaii for consideration of matters affecting privacy will be involved and consulting with the Board's attorneys and questions and issue pertaining to the Boards' powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Do I hear a motion for the Board to enter into executive session. MR. KUNZ: So moved. MS. MATHEWS: Second. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Is there a second? MR. KUNZ: Second. MS. MATHEWS: I'mI said second. MR. KUNZ: Oh, I'm sorryI moved. Sorry. MS. MATHEWS: He was the first. I seconded. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Thanks, I just couldn't hear it on my end. Any discussion? Okay. So, rollcall vote, all in favorso, Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Ms. Mathews. Page 6 Merit Appeals Board MS. MATHEWS: Aye. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: Aye. ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Okay. So we are in executive session. RECESS: The Acting Chair called for a recess at 2:23 p.m. RECONVENE: At 2:49 p.m. the meeting reconvened in open session. November 19, 2021 ACTING CHR. VENTURA: Okay. So, it is now 2:49 p.m. and agenda Item number 7 has concluded for today. So, I will turn over the Chair to Ms. Cabanas. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Mr. Ventura. Approval of Minutes (Item 4): (There was none.) Review of Executive Session Minutes: September 15, 2021 (Postponed. October 29, 2021. There Is A Pending Motion By Board Member Kunz And Seconded By Board Member Mathews, To Approve The Executive Session Minutes Of September 15, 2021) (Executive Session: The Merit Appeals Board Anticipates Convening One Or More Executive Meetings Regarding The Above Matter, Pursuant To HRS Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(2) And 92-5(a)(4), For The Purpose Evaluating An Officer Or Employee Of The County Of Hawaii, 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) CHR. CABANAS: So, we are now back at Item 4 on the agenda, "Approval of Minutes." And this concerns the review of the executive session minutes for September 15, 2021. There is a pending motion on the floor by Board member Mr. Kunz and seconded by Board member Ms. Mathews, to approve the executive session minutes of September 15, 2021. Is there any discussion regarding the executive session minutes. If not, I'm going to call for the rollcall vote starting with Mr. Ventura. MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. Page 7 Merit Appeals Board CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Abstain. November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: And Ms. Cabanas was recused from the executive session. Let that reflect on the record. Motion carried to accept the September 15, 2021, executive session minutes. Communications (Item 5) Communication No. 21-05, From Human Resources Acting Director Waylen L. K. Leopoldino, Dated October 20, 2021, Responding To The Merit Appeals Board Request For Information Concerning The "County Of Hawai`i's Department Of Human Resources Hiring Practices, Report No. 2017-03, September 7, 2017" (Postponed. October 29, 2021. There Is A Pending Motion By Board Member Kunz And Seconded By Board Member Mathews, To Receive And File Communication No. 21-05); And Communication No. 21-05.01, From County Auditor Tyler J. Benner, Received On November 10, 2021, Providing A Brief Description Of The Steps Involved (Workflow) When A Complaint Is Filed Concerning The "Whistleblower Hotline" CHR. CABANAS: Moving along to Number 5—Communication Number 21-05— MR. YOSHIMOTO: Madam Chair CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MR. YOSHIMOTO: I'm sorry to interrupt. Before you do that, Mr. Leopoldino and Mr. Benner are on their way. Selection Process For Filling The Position Of New Director Of Human Resources. Assessment And Review Of Selection Process For Filling The Position, Timeline, Advertisements, And Interview And Selection Process (The Merit Appeals Board Anticipates Convening One Or More Executive Meetings Regarding The Above Matters, Pursuant To HRS Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(2) And 92-5(a)(4), For The Purpose Evaluating An Officer Or Employee Of The County Of Hawaii, 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) (Postponed: October 29, 2021) Page 8 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 MR. YOSHIMOTO: Since they're not here yet, I would like to—with respect to Item number 7, I'd recommend that Board entertain a motion to continue Item number 7 to the December 2nd 2021, meeting, at ten a.m., Hilo Council Chambers. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Does the BoardI'm recused from this matter but does the Board have any announcement to make at this time? MR. YOSHIMOTO: No. Just that we're continuing CHR. CABANAS: Still working on it. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So that—do you need a motion? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yeah, we need a motion just to be on the record. Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, may I have a motion to move the matter to the December 2nd Board meeting. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Item number 7, yes. MS. MATHEWS: So moved. CHR. CABANAS: Second? MR. KUNZ: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. So, is there any discussion? If not, I will start with the rollcall vote. Starting with Mr. Ventura. MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. Page 9 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: And Ms. Cabanas recuses herself from this matter. Motion carried to move the item of selection process for filling the position of new director of human resources to the Board's December 2nd, 2021, meeting. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Okay. Thank you, Madam Chair. And then, we could go into recess until Mr. Leopoldino or Mr. Benner appear, unless the Board has Director's Report (Item 8) CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Can I go to Number 8, "Director's Report" and just say "none"? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: One less item on the agenda. So, there's no "Director's Report" at this time. So, we will take a short recess and wait for Mr. Leopoldino and Mr. Brenner—Benner. Thank you very much. RECESS: The Chair called for a recess at 2:53 p.m. RECONVENE: The meeting reconvened at 2:54 p.m. in open session. Communication(s) (Item 5) CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Let the record show at 2:54 that our recess has ended and we are now Number 5, Communication number 21-05. Communication No. 21-05, From Human Resources Acting Director Waylen L. K. Leopoldino, Dated October 20, 2021, Responding To The Merit Appeals Board Request For Information Concerning The "County Of Hawai`i's Department Of Human Resources Hiring Practices, Report No. 2017-03, September 7, 2017"; And (Postponed. October 29, 2021. There Is A Pending Motion By Board Member Kunz And Seconded By Board Member Mathews, To Receive And File Communication No. 21-05) Communication No. 21-05.01, From County Auditor Tyler J. Benner, Received On November 10, 2021, Providing A Brief Description Of The Steps Involved (Workflow) When A Complaint Is Filed Concerning The "Whistleblower Hotline" CHR. CABANAS: Before we do any vote, is there any discussion regarding the hiring practices report that the acting director has submitted to the Board. Mr. Ventura, do you have any questions for the acting director? MR. VENTURA: No questions. Page 10 Merit Appeals Board CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. VENTURA: No questions. Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Mel. Ms. Mathews, any questions? MS. MATHEWS: Not at this time. Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: No questions. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: No questions. November 19, 2021 Communication No. 21-05, From Human Resources Acting Director Waylen L. K. Leopoldino, Dated October 20, 2021, Responding To The Merit Appeals Board Request For Information Concerning The "County Of Hawai`i's Department Of Human Resources Hiring Practices, Report No. 2017-03, September 7, 2017" (Postponed. October 29, 2021. There Is A Pending Motion By Board Member Kunz And Seconded By Board Member Mathews, To Receive And File Communication No. 21-05) CHR. CABANAS: Okay. I'm the last to address it. I do have a few questions, Acting Director. So, if you can come up to the dais over here. (At this time, Mr. Waylen Leopoldino, Acting Director, Department of Human Resources; and Mr. Tyler Benner, County Auditor, Office of the County Auditor, came forward.) I looked through the report and on page 2 of Number 8 -page 2 of Number 8. It says, "DHR recommends administration and oversight of the program be assigned to an agency that does not fall under the purview of the mayor." So, that's why it went back to the County Auditor? MR. LEOPOLDINO: I'm sorry, where are you at? CHR. CABANAS: Number 2 on page 2. It says, "After discussions with various resources as well as with the Office of Management, to maintain an independent whistleblower program and to decrease the potential for political influence or interference in response to complaints, DHR recommends administration and oversight of the program be assigned to an agency that does not fall under the purview of the Mayor." MR. LEOPOLDINO: Yes. And that was decided with comments made by the previous HR director as well. Page 11 Merit Appeals Board CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Thank you. MR. LEOPOLDINO: He was consulted, basically. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Thank you. November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: And then, on page 3, Number 1, second to the last bullet—"Identifies specific scenarios where departments may utilize exceptions to interviewing" what might those specific scenarios be? MR. LEOPOLDINO: We continued the existing scenarios for recruitments that I have to remember—for recruitments that applicants have applied to—same class of work, different position they would not be interviewed again if it was in awithin a six-month period. If it's the same position, they wouldn't have to be reinterviewed if it's within a three-month period. But that could be flip-flopI can't remember off the top of my but those are the only two exceptions for interviewing, which we did not change. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Thank you. So, for the Board's just the Board's background that's in accordance with existing Administrative Rules. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Correct. CHR. CABANAS: Those two scenarios. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Correct. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. And I have a few more questions. I'm sorry, I just kind of looked at this with a fine-tooth comb. On page 4, Number 4, it says, "Prior to DHR authorizing a hire, Recruitment & Examination Staff reviews the requisition in NEOGOV to ensure the department has complied with DHR procedures and, if necessary, request corrective action before authorizing a hire." Okay. I'm familiar with this term "authorizing a hire" is a NeoGov term. Please explain to the Board that Human Resources does not authorize a hire for any of the departments. That's a NeoGov term meaning you're going to just close out the record. Is that correct? MR. LEOPOLDINO: That's correct. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Page 12 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 MR. LEOPOLDINO: And it's one of—and I'm sure you felt the same. Iwe have our Transactions Division who actually, sort of, authorizes the hire. Where the NeoGov process that's the term NeoGov has coined—"authorized a hire." But Recruitment doesn't have the authority to authorize a hire. But that's the term synonymous to what NeoGov uses. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Waylen. So, I just want to make clear that the department does not authorize a hire from any of the other departments. MR. LEOPOLDINO: That's correct. CHR. CABANAS: That's just a closing out the record term. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you for that. Okay. I had a few more questions. Number—page 5, Number 1 -we're talking about CEJI training, which is "How to Conduct an Effective Job Interview" training. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Correct. CHR. CABANAS: And it continues to be offered to departmental staff and to members of the public. Has it ever been offered to any board or commission? MR. LEOPOLDINO: I can't recall it being offered. However, we wouldn't allow that board member to sit on an interview panel without going through this training. We haveI don't know if it was a board member but the Administration did ask to have someone sit on an interview panel, which we made special one-on-one training, so they got the training before they sat on the panel just so that we could meet the mandatory requirement. CHR. CABANAS: Is there ever a plan to offer it to the boards and commissions? MR. LEOPOLDINO: We haven't thought about it but we're welcome to doing that. CHR. CABANAS: I know, just for the record, being that I was the Recruitment and Examination manager, we have done it upon request of a board. We have done it. But I just wanted to make that clear. Okay. And moving on—let's see, I think I had one more, if you can bear with me. And the last one is on page 7. Okay. We're talking about I mean, you're talking about here addressing with the Page 13 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 other jurisdictions regarding best practices prohibited personnel practices. And the second to the last paragraph, in the middle, it says, "The Legislature as well as the State Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) were contacted. Although preliminary action was taken by DHR in response to this recommendation, the recommendation impacts government employers statewide, thus recommendation for change should come from all jurisdictions." So, I have two questions with this. Who at the Legislature was contacted? Did you write—did you folks write to specific legislators? MR. LEOPOLDINO: No. The leg this first part, the Legislature was conducted—it was actually part of notes that was left behind for me that noted that process had occurred prior to. But I don't recall the name specifically. But I was the one that contacted DHRD the State DHRD to initiate the jurisdictional discussion on adding it back to. But the Legislature was actually notes left behind that discussions were initiated by someone before me. So, I need to go backI'm not sure who at the Legislature CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. LEOPOLDINO: but we gathered that may have occurred after the recommendation was made. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. And then, do the HR director still meet together occasionally to address different HR matters? MR. LEOPOLDINO: Right now, we're in the middle of negotiations, so that's all the discussions that have been going on. And it is regular, it's almost weekly now. So CHR. CABANAS: So, it's pertaining to collective bargaining. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Specifically CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MR. LEOPOLDINO: to collective bargaining. CHR. CABANAS: But not about general HR matters. MR. LEOPOLDINO: No. And I'm not familiar if that's what happens after negotiations haven't had that opportunity. Right now, it's just focused on collective bargaining. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. I mean, historically, there was a Conference of Personnel Directors that used to meet regularly on different HR matters, but with Civil Service Reform that was disbanded. Page 14 Merit Appeals Board MR. LEOPOLDINO: Hmm. November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. So, I was just wondering if you folks still get together every now and then to compare notes and discuss different HR matters. MR. LEOPOLDINO: Yeah, sure, being the newbie I would find that to be very helpful if we had that opportunity. CHR. CABANAS: Mm-hmm. MR. LEOPOLDINO: So, I can recommend that. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Well, that's thank you for bearing with me and thank you for answering my questions. MR. LEOPOLDINO: You're welcome. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, the motion is on the floorI guess the discussion has ended unless anyone else has other questions. If not, I will call for the rollcall vote starting with Mr. Ventura. MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: And Ms. Cabanas—aye. Motion carried to accept the hiring practices report from the Acting Director. Page 15 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 Communication No. 21-05.01, From County Auditor Tyler J. Benner, Received On November 10, 2021, Providing A Brief Description Of The Steps Involved (Workflow) When A Complaint Is Filed Concerning The "Whistleblower Hotline" (Postponed: October 29, 2021. There Is A Pending Motion By Board Member Kunz And Seconded By Board Member Mathews, To Receive And File Communication No. 21-05) CHR. CABANAS: Moving on, Communication number 21-05.01, from County Auditor Tyler Benner received on November 10, 2021, providing a brief description of the steps involved, which is the workflow, when a complaint is filed concerning the Whistleblower Hotline. And, Mr. Benner, you are here today to give us a grief presentation. MR. BENNER: Yes, ma'am. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. So, thank you for coming and you now have the floor. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Madam Chair CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MR. YOSHIMOTO: (inaudible) recommend a motion to file Communication 21-05.01. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. May I have a motion to accept Communication number 21-05.01 from the County Auditor Tyler J. Benner. MR. KUNZ: So moved. MS. MATHEWS: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Mr. Kunz—seconded by Ms. Mathews to approve the Communication number 21-05.01. Is there any discussion? If not, I'll start with the rollcall vote—Mr.— MR. YOSHIMOTO: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS:—oh, we're going to do that. MR. YOSHIMOTO: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Go ahead. Okay, so you now have the floor, Mr. Benner. MR. BENNER: Thank you, just one moment here, we'll put that flow up on the screens. All right, I appreciate your patience. Page 16 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 So, good afternoon, Board members, my name's Tyler Benner and I'm the Auditor of the County of Hawaii. I'm here today to discuss standing up of the Whistleblower Hotline in connection with our 2017 Hiring Practices Audit performed with the Human Resources Department. So, kind of where we're at—we have a page designed and ready to deploy as soon as we get the assigned phone numbers and we have disclaimers approved. We are actively been recruiting a third Audit Analyst position and we've added the job duty to the analyst role. So, were going to deploy the line regardless of whether or not that recruitment is filled. I've provided, kind of, a visual aid here with the general call flow attached (SEE COMM. NO. 21-05.01), which really does consist of six distinct phases. So, "Complaint/Concern" individual feels that something has not been handled adequately. And so, they go ahead and seek a venue to address that complaint. Find us on the web on a directory and go ahead and we field that call as "Intake"assess based on the circumstances, make a "determination" as to whether or not it's jurisdictional—within our purview to address. And then, based on that, we'll do an "Examination & disposition." And then, we will provide periodic "Analytics" in reporting. So, I've spoken with an auditing colleague from the mainland who operates a matured program of this nature in a population of about 652,000 residents or three times the population of this island. They've created their hotline in 2011 under the Office of the Ombudsman. But based on the calls that they were receiving, they determined that the program was better housed under the audit function. And so, the audit—auditor took control of that in 2013 and have operated that ever since. So, a mature program with a population of that size, last year, generated about 90 phone calls; four of those revolved—resulted in investigations and one resulted in an addition to the annual audit plan. The auditor informed me that they spent the vast majority of their time connecting people in non jurisdictional capacities answering questions and just assisting with general issues that are ultimately determined to be non jurisdictional things like Craigslist purchases that the individuals aren't satisfied with. But for the five percent of those remaining calls of consequence, they found significant value in the line. So, in terms of our iteration of the program, we're going to operate the line in a beta for approximately one year and assess the program to determine what resources are needed for sustainability and possible growth. So, I'm open to any questions the Board members might have. CHR. CABANAS: Floor is open for any questions. Mr. Ventura, do you have any? MR. VENTURA: I have no questions. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, thank you. Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: How are you going to sell this? Page 17 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 MR. BENNER: We've—we have had some discussion with communications branch of the Executive Branch in terms of pushing a communication out to the employees to let them know that this line has been stood up and is available. A lot of times, there's catchy tag lines that accompany it—call it out, call it in—is one that I see out there quite frequently. And we're just going to make—we're going to be retooling our end of the website to make it more accessible and more transparent. So, we're trying to sell it with a description attached to what it does. MS. MATHEWS: And how are you going to gain the confidence of the people that this is actually truly safe? MR. BENNER: Well, by default we do not take any information from these callers in terms of demographic information. So, I mean, that's a great question. The table data that we do collect—because I had mentioned that there's going to be an analytics in the reporting piece to this—we're looking to capture how many calls were received, how many are within or without of our purview, how many individuals did we assist, how many investigations did we do, how many additions to the plan that we make based on the calls. We can also tell based on the table data like what departments what kind of trends that we might be seeing. But as far as the anonymity associated with that process, it's simultaneously the strength and the weakness of the program. Obviously, it empowers individuals to be able to address those complaints, but it's a weakness that we can't drill into demographics necessarily. So, a lot of reporting that we see from, like the State Ombudsman Office is able to look into, if calls are coming out of specific places or they would attach to a specific population demographic. And because of the anonymity that will be attached to this, we won't have those options. But we won't be asking for any information unless somebody wants to give us that for whatever reason. MS. MATHEWS: Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Kunz, any questions. MR. KUNZ: No questions. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: No questions. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Benner, I have questions Page 18 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 MR. BENNER: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: because I lived and worked through it. MR. BENNER: Sure. CHR. CABANAS: And so, let me ask you my first question. This hotline is only for employees or MR. BENNER: No. CHR. CABANAS: is it also for members of the public? MR. BENNER: Members of the public can call in as well. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. And howI know Ms. Mathews, kind of, touched upon it but Ms. Nims in her audit report to the Executive Branch several years ago, emphasized the whistleblower hotline be anonymous. Although, this is the Big Island it's still community. The audit report cited that employees were fearful of retaliation because of what was going on. That's what the audit report concluded MR. BENNER: Right. CHR. CABANAS: —after all the interviews were done. So, how does this hotline address the anonymity of someone wanting to call the hotline for something that's illegal, fraudulent, or abusive. This is not about potholes, this is not about traffic lights this is about illegal activity embezzlement, theft, etcetera. MR. BENNER: Right. So, I would also just mention that we are going to be standing up at the same time that we deploy this line waste and fraud abuse line that will be separate from that. So, this will somewhat break out those two issues. And I know that you this body is focused on a particular subset of complaints that might come in. But in looking at the total reasons that people call in and complain on these lines—cataloged about 790 total reasons why people call in this is going to be wide-ranging and it's going to affect much more than just this department. And so, it's hard for me to speak to a specific issue, but I would just have to reiterate that we aren't collecting personal data from anybody. In fact, yesterday, we were having the discussion in our office about how we're going to go about anonymizing any inbound phone calls associated with that. So, we can't even see caller ID information. It's about—it's really about standing up a structure around the "w's" and "h" the who, what, why, where, and when—what has been done, what Page 19 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 are you saying, and we're more associated—we're more concerned about the process associated with it than with the individuals. CHR. CABANAS: I understand what you're saying but the situation that a lot of employees encountered was not only the fear element but the trust issue. And it goes back to Ms. Mathews question about how do you sell it because you want the members of the public and County employees to be able to trust this process, otherwise, this is for naught. MR. BENNER: Mm-hmm. CHR. CABANAS: This is going to be something that the public will say, "You know what, this is another thing they're just hanging the carrot in front of our face and it's not meaningful." MR. BENNER: Yeah, I can definitely understand that concern. What we're seeing the best way to address that and maybe this dovetails back into how to sell it—is we're really trying to improve the transparency aspect of it and that's not just a talking point. We want to publish the investigations that we pursue as a public facing document. So an investigation of these matters would generally be a one to two -paged really concise document that summarizes the general issues, the findings, and the recommendations that were made—and that is a public downloadable document that they can retrieve at any time. So, we're doing our best just to bring about that feedback loop to the process, so that they know that it is—it—that the complaint isn't just being logged down a blackhole. CHR. CABANAS: How do you provide feedback to a complainant without getting to their identity? MR. BENNER: So, when they call in and if they want to follow-up on a particular case—at the end of the phone call we'll give them the case number that we assign to it and they can call in and ask about the disposition of that case number. So, we're not asking who's calling us, we're just asking for the information that was given to them at the end of that first round of phone call. CHR. CABANAS: And will the determination be made only with one analyst or is there aI'm trying to choose the right word—is there a mechanism for collaboration? Let's say it's an embezzlement MR. BENNER: Mm-hmm. CHR. CABANAS: someone is stealing money from—in one of the departments. Do you now collaborate with the prosecutor, with the police department, do you have that in -roads already pretty much established when you implement this for one year? Page 20 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 MR. BENNER: Yeah. So, we're going this is that's really dependent on the complexity of the issue that we're approached with. And we really want this design framework to get smarter over time. So, there will be some measure of figuring that out as those issues are addressed the first time. But we believe that we're going to see lots of repeat issues with what's being presented to us. And so, it really depends on what is centric to the issues that are being presented as to what level it gets escalated to. CHR. CABANAS: So, the analyst will bring it to you as the auditor? MR. BENNER: Yeah. They'll do some cursory work on it and if they determine that there's some substantive concerns then, at that point, then we'll escalate that and look to bring in additional parties. CHR. CABANAS: Was thereinitially, there was a plan to budget cost for software for a call center where individuals could call in anonymously. Has that been scratched? MR. BENNER: That funding was taken away before I started. CHR. CABANAS: Is there a plan to pursue the funding again? MR. BENNER: Well, that would be dependent on what sort of demand that we see came out of the first year of the beta. So, we'rewe, again, want to make sure this is a sustainable program and something that we can grow. And so, if this is something that after the first year we find—well, this is exceeding either taxing our capacity to be able to meet the workload or that we're finding that there's additional software that would enhance the outcomes, then that's something that we'd like to put on the table. But, in the past, those things have not been—even when that funding was granted, they didn't pursue the end. And so, here we sit here today without that implemented. So, we're interested in moving forward and getting it stood up in a way that preserves anonymity to the public and can start this process. And, at the end of that year, deciding what needs to be additionally allocated in order to continue a successful program. CHR. CABANAS: Is your third auditing position full-time or part-time? MR. BENNER: One-half. CHR. CABANAS: Part-time. MR. BENNER: It going to be a full-time employee—one-half of it would be devoted— Page 21 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: Oh. MR. BENNER: specifically to this purpose. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. BENNER: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: And I'm assuming this is for both branches the Executive and the Legislative Branch. MR. BENNER: Yeah—all branches. Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. And then, I need to kind of go back to Ms. Mathews question. How are you going to market this to the employees and members of the public so that they trust this process. Because let me tell you something trust is the most important thing. The most important thing in everything we do here. Not only the Merit Appeals Board but in all the 21 departments. And, right now, there's a lot of people that don't trust a lot of government, whether it's locally or nationally. So, it just concerns me a lot. I'm retired, but like I said, I lived and worked through whole nightmare that led up to the audit. And having created the Recruitment/Examination Division, I'm very passionate about making sure the division is still intact, `cause it was intact. So, again, how are you going to market this to the County employees and members of the public so that they know this hotline—and, frankly, I don't really like the term "whistleblower"—it could be an "integrity hotline," "reporting hotline" but how are you going to market it so that people will trust this whole process and this is not just a seed we throw out to people and then they start laughing at it. MR. BENNER: Yeah. I understand and appreciate your passion on the issue. And you're absolutely right. We need to make sure that this is stood up in a way that gains confidence to the individuals who might interact with it. I wouldn't be able to provide you, probably today, with the granularity of how we would go ahead and deploy a marketing campaign. Those are things that we will be cognizant of and we can provide that, I guess, to this Board at a future point in time. We have made some changes in our office over the last couple of years where we have changed from the Legislative Auditor to the County Auditor, which has gained us additional independence and really positioned us to be in a good place to be able to independently perform this function without being unduly influenced by either branch of government. So, we're positioned well. Page 22 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 I think that there is some methodology that we're going to need to employ to reiterate that to the employee base and to the public. But whether that's done through media campaign, whether that's a paper insert in indoor local paperI don't know the best way to deploy that at this moment in time, but I will definitely take that under consideration and make sure that that is a cornerstone of the rollout of this. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you so much. I'm sorry, I asked so many questions but when we roll something out, we you know, we need to think of every inch on the paper—every inch. Because once it's rolled out, sometimes we can't take it back. It has to roll out and it has to be successful because, again, trust is so important. It's vital to all that we do. And so, I'm just going to end there. But, again, thank you, Mr. Benner, for coming today. Does anyone have any questions? MS. MATHEWS: Yes, I do. Sort of, following up on what she's talking about. Who besides you are going to be—and I'm assuming you're going to be looking at the report—will be looking at the various reports that are generated. Is the county council going to see them, is the mayor going to see them—is there going to be a summary done at the end of the month that said we have the following reports. Who else is looking at this? MR. BENNER: Everyone. We're going to public—we're going to publish this on our website. This is going to be something that this Board—any member of this Board, can go in and access at any time. MS. MATHEWS: Okay. And so, my next-door neighbor could access it just as easily. MR. BENNER: Right. MS. MATHEWS: Okay. And you said it's completely anonymous. So, the poor person that's actually taking this information suddenly realizes they missed something that's pretty critical, how do they call them back? MR. BENNER: They called in at night and they left a voicemail, and the next day they called in and—with some additional points that they wanted to add to the complaint—would that be it— that—your tthat your scenario. MS. MATHEWS: No, I'm saying if you had a complaint— MR. omplaint MR. BENNER: Mm-hmm. MS. MATHEWS: but there are things that are missing on the complaint but it sounds like a valid complaint but there's—for whatever reason the person didn't state names or the pronouns are confusing or whatever it might be. How would you—if it's totally anonymous and you're Page 23 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 not collecting that data, how could a very legitimate complaint not get lost in the shuffle because it's that anonymous? MR. BENNER: We're going to operating on a spreadsheet, so we're not going to be shuffling around physical papers and that—but if, I guess, I just need to clarify one more point on that. Are you asking about us reaching back out to the individual or MS. MATHEWS: Yes. MR. BENNER: the individual reaching out to us? MS. MATHEWS: So, I call you and say, "The County guys in Honoka`a they're at three o'clock, all going out to a road there and they're gambling until 3:30 and I see this as a problem." MR. BENNER: Mm-hmm. MS. MATHEWS: And the person taking the call says, "Shoot, who did they—where did they say they were going?"—and they can't—how's the poor person because we're all human. MR. BENNER: Mm-hmm. MS. MATHEWS: If a human is answering the phone and taking that complaint— MR. omplaint MR. BENNER: Mm-hmm. MS. MATHEWS: they can easily forget something. MR. BENNER: Yeah. MS. MATHEWS: I have cops up at my house the other day saying, "We forgot to get your name." MR. BENNER: Right. MS. MATHEWS: We know what it is but we need it anyway. MR. BENNER: Right. So, by default, it's going to be completely anonymous. But part of the question the questioning as we fill out this is going to be—is it all right if we—would you be willing to provide that information in case we have additional questions. That would be some of the final closeout questions before we assign a case number to it. So, in that case, if we have it, then that's great. But if we don't have it then we have to operate under the facts that we gathered during the phone call. And that, again, is just some of the tradeoff that you have to deal it when you're dealing with anonymity. Page 24 Merit Appeals Board MS. MATHEWS: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Are there questions from anyone? MS. DE SOTO: Yes, I have one. CHR. CABANAS: Go ahead. November 19, 2021 MS. DE SOTO: And so, if you do receive the identity of the complainant, how will that be documented in the report that you'll be publishing. MR. BENNER: So, we only—we wouldn't take the name of the individual. If they want to leave a phone number that we might be able to follow-up with, that would be acceptable but we're not going to take the name of the individual. So, it would just be citizen, employee, or whatever category we're able to assign to that, that we know. MS. DE SOTO: Okay. And is the—do you have investigative procedures developed that can lower the threshold? Because in my experience with whistleblower hotlines what happens is that people lean towards a whistleblower line because they want to stay anonymous, because they're already uncomfortable and afraid of something. And due to that, they tend to obscure certain details. And they may leave out the piece you do need to say, "Yes, that's in our jurisdiction" or "Yes, that rises to a threshold of concern that violates policy or law." Is there some sort of practice in place that will say, "If we have a repeat complaint that doesn't rise, yes, we will investigate it regardless." MR. BENNER: Yeah. So, it's kind of an—we're kind of in an odd place with this because we don't like to use the term in auditing that we conduct investigations. But the term also is somewhat applicable to this process because, if we do a full audit, then it has to be a Yellow Book compliant GAGAS audit. And doing a, sort of, tactical review—an investigation—we can publish a one to two -paged document without having to go through those steps and without having to meet, maybe, that threshold. Ultimately, we're still putting it through the access of likelihood an impact when we're looking at this. So, there—but in terms of—is this worth adding to our annual audit plan? No, we could act on these and conduct investigations independent of that work plan. Page 25 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 MS. DE SOTO: Thank you for clarifying that. That might be some of the exact language that needs to be marketed— MR. BENNER: Yeah. MS. DE SOTO: because I think common lay person knowledge around with (inaudible) is going to be the assumption that there is an investigation and they might be confusing that if coming from an audit office, so we need to bridge that language. MR. BENNER: I appreciate that very much. And I guess that brings up a good point, just to detail it—I'll just plug in all that. We really believe that we are going to achieve better outcomes on this with the more data that we're able to get online and put out there. So, this is really going to be about making sure that we are so transparent that people know that if they play afoul of the rules, that those things will be made and put in the public sphere. And we're really trying to leverage as much technology as we can to get those things out. And you're going to see those things come out in some of the iteration of our website. So, we really hope to provide some additional redundancies and, ultimately, we hope to—we hope that this line isn't hugely utilized. If people aren't calling in only because those things don't exist or you've remedied them, then we've done largely our jobs. So, that's the outcome we're ultimately looking for. MS. MATHEWS: Can I ask another question. CHR. CABANAS: Sure, go ahead, Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: So, it's a real there is a real person that people can actually talk to. Correct? It's not just MR. BENNER: Yes. MS. MATHEWS: All right. Okay. So, when a person is talking to him and they recognize that that's actually not the correct place for this to be coming into MR. BENNER: Yeah. MS. MATHEWS: Will they help redirect them to where it's going to be useful? MR. BENNER: Yes. MS. MATHEWS: Whether it's police or Page 26 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 MR. BENNER: So, I have somebody that called me and they were calling on an anonymous basis. And it was just somebody who wanted to find out about exceptions to towing vehicles. They'd already met their maximum two, and wanted additional vehicles towed. And we field calls like that in our office all the time and wanting to find out if there's any sort of audit function that that fits. So, yes, we plan to spend a lot of our time in connecting them with the right parties. And if there's a lower level—if it is a grievance but it's a grievance that, perhaps, they haven't followed the correct path, we hope to vet those things as well and make sure that those things have been followed without being dissuading to us taking action on a potential investigation. CHR. CABANAS: So, as people call you now—caller ID works, right? MR. BENNER: It does. Yes. CHR. CABANAS: So, when you establish another hotline, separate line, dedicated line no caller ID? MR. BENNER: Yeah. So, actually, we have a service that I've signed up with that rather than a flat fee, like some of the other software's we were looking at—it bills only based on the connected minutes associated with the line. And then, that allows us to design call campaigns, trunks, dialing options that we can feed that through. And through that, we gain additional functionality in how we can control how those calls come into us. So, we're looking to use that service, if our phone provider can't do it themselves to mask the phone number before it comes in. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: Yeah, Mr. Benner, I just wanted to make one comment. Would you say that the first year of this going live and proofing it, is part of the marketing campaign? MR. BENNER: Yeah, absolutely. MR. KUNZ: Yeah. MR. BENNER: And it's going to be—what we would expect is that there's going to be a pretty large growth curve in the beginning where people are figuring it out. They're familiarizing themselves with it. And then, as it starts to get into some maturity and we've dealt with some of those scenarios, perhaps, in duplicate then we're going to get more efficient at directing them, those calls are going to get better, we're going to understand how to deal with those more expeditiously. So, it is something that is going to grow over time. Page 27 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 CHR. CABANAS: So, Crimestoppers has their dedicated line, right, so are you looking at the Crimestoppers and how that operationally works and how it could be possibly used separately, but the—for the whistleblower hotline? MR. BENNER: I haven't used the Crimestoppers as reference material. I've, kind of, benchmarked off of existing mainland whistleblower lines from a couple of municipal governments where the auditor is the one in control of the line. CHR. CABANAS: `Cause when Ibefore I retired, I checked with UH Manoa and that auditorI believe they have a call center. They call in and so do a number of mainland jurisdictions. They call the call center the—it's a 24-hour, seven-day -a-week call center. The person calling gets an ID number, they use that ID number to follow-up, and can follow-up continuously with their complaint. And I left that all material for my successor. So, yeah. So, that's how they work—and that's how I, kind of, envisioned we would roll it out to address the anonymity of the callers calling in. `Cause like I said, we're the Big Island but it's still a small community. MR. BENNER: Sure. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MR. BENNER: Yeah. And I'll just also mention that our staff has seen some of the investigations that have been conducted as a result of this and they're enthusiastic. Again, I had mentioned earlier that while we're continuously recruiting for this role, we're going to stand this line up anywaysbecause they see value in some of the investigations that have taken place in the outcome to where they want to get—they want to field these calls. They want to work on some of the issues that they've seen in other municipalities. So, they definitely see value in it and sodoI. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Mr. Benner. Anyone else? I know we've asked so many questions today. MR. BENNER: That's fine. CHR. CABANAS: But it's a very important issue. MR. BENNER: It is. CHR. CABANAS: And, like I said, it needs to be rolled out so it would be successful and the trust is there for everyone, if they need to call in. So, thank you so much. Page 28 Merit Appeals Board MR. BENNER: Thank you. New Business (Item 6) (There was none.) Unfinished Business (Item 7) November 19, 2021 Selection Process For Filling The Position Of New Director Of Human Resources. Assessment And Review Of Selection Process For Filling The Position, Timeline, Advertisements, And Interview And Selection Process (The Merit Appeals Board Anticipates Convening One Or More Executive Meetings Regarding The Above Matters, Pursuant To HRS Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(2) And 92-5(a)(4), For The Purpose Evaluating An Officer Or Employee Of The County Of Hawaii, 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) (Postponed: October 29, 2021) (Previously taken out of order.) Director's Report (Item 8) (There was none.) Schedule Next Meeting Date (Item 9) CHR. CABANAS: Okay, so looking at our agenda, I think we are now Number 9—scheduling the next meeting, which is now going to be December 2nd at— MR. t MR. YOSHIMOTO: Madam Chair, we need to vote on the motion to close file and accept Mr. Benner's report. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. Thank you, Counsel. We have the motion, right, on the floor? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, thank you for reminding me. So, I need a motion noI have the motion. Okay. So, call for the vote, starting with Mr. Ventura to accept Mr. Benner's report. MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. Page 29 Merit Appeals Board CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Kunz. MR. KUNZ: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. November 19, 2021 Motion carried to accept Mr. Benner's communication and report, for the record. Schedule Next Meeting Date (Item 9) CHR. CABANAS: We are now on Number 9—scheduling the next meeting date, which I believe is December 2nd, at ten a.m. So, may I have a motion to MR. YOSHIMOTO: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: I don't need a motion for that? MR. YOSHIMOTO: No just announce it, yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, December 2nd at ten a.m. will be our next meeting date—in the Council Chambers and, I guess, with Zoom capability also. And before we adjourn, I just want to thank everyone. I know it's been along day for all of you. I just want to thank you because it's "Happy Thanksgiving" next week—and so, I just want to wish all of you a very "Happy Thanksgiving" with you and your family and your friends just to be safe and be well until we meet again on December 2nd Adiournment (Item 10) CHR. CABANAS: So, may I have a motion to adjourn. MR. KUNZ: So moved. CHR. CABANAS: Second? MS. DE SOTO: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Ms. De Soto, and Mr. Kunz. So, all in favor of adjourning today's meeting say aye. Any opposed? No. Page 30 Merit Appeals Board November 19, 2021 AYES: Members De Soto, Kunz, Mathews, Ventura, and Chair Cabanas- 5 NOES: None. ABSENT AND EXCUSED: None. CHR. CABANAS: Motion is—motion carried. Meeting is now adjourned at 3:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, itfil-a-k) Glynis Yamada, Secretary-Reporter APPROVED: j CLt W- .I.4. k' eaktriv�tY' Gabriella M. Cabanas, Chair Merit Appeals Board Page 31