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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.25.22. COG Commission Minutes. ApprovedCOST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION c/o office of the Mayor, 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 . Hilo, Hawaii 96720 • COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES / August 25, 2022 INTERACTIVE CONFERENCE TECHNOLOGY (ICT): ZOOM WITH IN -PERSON LOCATIONS FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY PER AGENDA [2:02 pm] [1] CALL TO ORDER Chair Konowicz called the meeting to order with quorum. ATTENDANCE Present: D9 Michael Konowicz, Chair DI Neal Herbert, Vice Chair D2 Matthias Kusch D4 Maddie Green D5 Shannon Matson D6 Kenneth Obenski Absent D3 Chantee Shiroma Excused D7 Daniel Malakie III D8 Karie Wakat Additional: Keyra Wong, Deputy Corporation Counsel Robert Command, Office of the Mayor [2] STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC None [3] COMMUNICATIONS None [4] APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM AUGUST 11, 2022, REGULAR MEETING Comm. Herbert moved to approve the August 11, 2022, COG Commission Meeting Minutes Comm. Matson Seconded the Motion Discussion: None Voice Vote: Ayes: (6) Unanimous 8/11/2022 Regular Meeting Minutes Approved [5] STATUS REPORTS OF PERMITTED INTERACTION GROUPS 5(a) BUILDING DIVISION - Report Submitted (attached) 5(b) IT- Report Submitted (attached) 5(c) DEM No report. 5(d) COUNTY FLEET m- Report Submitted (attached) 5(e) BOARDS"COMMISSION a,,,,- Report Submitted (attached) 5(f) REVENUE- Report Submitted (attached) 5(g) PONC No report. [6] STATUS REPORTS OF INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS ON PRIORITY FOCUS AREAS, SUGGESTED SAVINFS/EFFICIENCY AREAS, AND REVENUE GENERATION CONCEPTS Discussion: Regarding the dissolution of a Permitted Interaction Group — Chair Konowicz stated that the PIG is dissolved when it issues its report to the full Commission. The PIG issued report will subsequently be placed on the next meeting agenda for examination/discussion. Discussion: There may not be sufficient time to complete the work of the Commission. Additional meetings on 9/15, 9/29, and 10/6, may be added. Commissioner Matson moved to add three additional meetings to the Commission 9/15, 9/29, and 10/6.Commissioner Herbert Seconded the Motion Discussion: Any unnecessary meetings will be cancelled Voice Vote: Ayes (6) Unanimous Three additional meeting dates 9/15, 9/29, and 10""6 will be added to the Commission schedule [7] ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting of the COG Commission will be September 8, 2022. [8] ADJOURNMENT Comm. Herbert made a Motion to Adjourn Comm. Matson Seconded the Motion Discussion: None Voice Vote: Ayes: (6) Unanimous Meeting adjourned at 2:51 p.m. Building Div PIG Report-8125/22 Priority Focus Area: Permittinq 1 Construction - replaces previous listing 1. Is there a way to issue provisional permits to further reduce construction delays and permitting backlog? 2. Can/should all permit reviews be completed before informing applicant of discrepancies instead of intermittent advisories which delay permitting until applicant responds each time? 3. Could conditional permits be issued if X months pass without feedback from DPW? Or, should fees be refunded if applicant is subject to unnecessarily long delays or inaction? 4. Can abbreviated, quicker permits be issued for minor situations such as additional screening or portable window A/C's? Can personnel lower than a Plan Reviewer approve these permits? 5. What is the current average processing time line for ...additions, new dwellings? Which reviews are causing the biggest delays? Is shortage of plan reviewers affecting processing time? 6. How many, what kinds of errors are typically found during review... technical, administrative? 7. Are permitting fees adequate to cover costs for processing? Permitting process has a project value range for plumbing and electric that correlates with the costs of a permit - do the building permits also have this type of range? 8. Could fees be lower for low-income applicants? Can/should the separate processing (review) fees and the issuance fees be combined into one charge? 9. How many unpermitted structures exist? Is there a (written) pathway to getting an unpermitted building/addition/structure up to code? 10. What's the extent/impact, if any, of reviewer shortages in other departments; impact on DPW? What staffing per department would be needed to expedite the process? What costs are associated? 11. What are the common questions made to DPW about permits? How long does it take to resolve an issue? Can/does same reviewer cover same applicant upon re -submittal? 12, How are complaints handled, and what is the process? From complainant to violator fixing the problem? 13, Are there any recurring deficiencies that inspectors are seeing in the field? If so, are there any awareness measures taking {dace? 14. Can/should pre -authorized designs that meet Code requirements be expanded to expedite permitting? 15. Should the inspection and enforcement responsibilities of the Planning Department, new Building Department, Real Property Tax Division, Department of Environmental Management and the Department of Health (as contracted to the county) be consolidated into an inspection and enforcement division? 16. Are there any recurring deficiencies that inspectors are seeing in the field? If so, are there any awareness measures taking place? 17. Aren't special inspections required of permitees redundant to county inspections -do they help expedite county inspections? 18. What are the amount/types of Board of Appeal variances regarding building permits? 19. What Public Training / Advisories exist to highlight reasons for permitting delays... feedback to designers/contractors -quarterly bulletins? 20. Is it feasible to employ a tracking system on top of EPIC so applicants and DPW know the number of permit applications in the queue, being reviewed, project day(s) to completion? 22-Could an EPIC kiosk or two be situated in the County permit dept for community use to reduce errors and wait times for permits... alternate clerks weekly for assisting people with the process? Third Priority Focus Area: Information Technology I Automation 1 Electronic Records 1 Digital Payments 1. Further digitize departments, automate forms, digital signatures, track inventory, eliminate paperwork, share communication platforms This sounds simple, but there is no underlying foundation. Zero inventory tracking. 2. Create standardized database across departments/divisions so all property and individual information can be shared across the county without the need to maintain separate databases and teams Sounds simple, but would be a multi year phased implementation. 3. Commissioner Kusch mentioned the waste in payroll stub deployment. The fact that its manual and could be automated. Folks can be emailed the details, then snail mailed the actual paystub. Saves the cost of one full time employee plus benefits and costs the amount of postage. Does the Konno decision keep this position? I'll ask Keyra. 4. IT Department - Centralize purchasing of IT hardware for all departments. Currently the understaffed IT department is constantly scrambling to meet the demands of the various departments IT needs. One pain area for the department is the purchasing of equipment. Departments are allowed to purchase their own equipment when they need it. There is no lead time for new hardware the departments purchase; putting the IT folks in a constant reaction mode. The recommendation is to centralize IT hardware purchasing, and loop in the IT department so they can plan for the new equipment installation and configuration. This would be a high priority. Inventory system, redesign the hardware ordering process and implementation. 5. Ethics training - Reduce the in person, facility intensive environment by electronically delivering the training in small interactive consumable models that span no more than 25 minutes each. Allowing folks to complete training during working hours over a period of time. I've seen this done in commercial business with data privacy laws in the USA. Need to pass by legal for first glance on feasibility. 6. Initiate a paperless system for payments, registrations, reservations, and communication with the public consistently throughout all departments. Sounds simple, but very complex. State vs County. No enterprise db in place. 7. Broaden the County Communication App in development to include opt - in communication streams from other community organizations (i.e.: Waimea Community Association), HOAs (Waikoloa Village Association), to keep local communities informed on important issues or events impacting those communities so they don't need to pay for their own txt messaging or email platforms. I like this idea. 8. Accept credit cards countywide to complete transactions currently requiring "in person" cash or check payments, such as for licenses, taxes, and renewals. Sounds simple, but very complex. State vs County. No enterprise db in place. 9. Expand IT upgrades/usage throughout the county; online availability/usage (paperwork/staff reduction) I am not sure what this statement is getting at. Is it saying to provide the upgraded images and push out network wide? 10. Launch dashboard to show down -time, databases or file systems missing or down, and how such downtime is being improved over time to deliver information to residents efficiently Good request. But we need an enterprise db to store the data to report on first. 11. Implement a wireless, web -based, real-time, preventative maintenance program for all county equipment Need an inventory of equipment first. Then a db to store the data in. 12. Continue digitizing departments; automate forms, digital signatures, track inventory; eliminate paperwork; share communication platforms. This is a statement. 13. Explore using technology to enhance resident access to info: transit tracking apps, affordable housing waitlists, campsite/beach registration Infrastructure is needed first. 14. Improve website updating -accuracy, timeliness. Is this a staffing issue within the department? Do we have any web codes on staff? Who maintains our county websites? 15. Initiate/improve online reservations and booking for all county recreations facilities Is this already on IT to-do list? Cost of Government Commission PIG Status Reports Reviewing Boards/Commissions Members: Herbert, Matson, Konowicz Received written responses from: Environmental Management Commission Kailua Village Design Commission Committee on Aging Liquor Commission Held meetings or phone calls with: Transportation Commission; meeting with Michael O'Loughlin, Chair Pension Board; Walter Lucas, Chair Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee Still waiting on additional Commission/Board feedback with an extended deadline of this Friday, August 26, 2022. We have these comments to make on the COG Document being shared with the Committee: Fourth Tertiary Focus Area: Optimizing Number of Commissions 11. Consider employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees ". #L Fit, FIC Staff i improve efficiency and efficacy of all. Cost of Government Commission PIG Status Reports Revenue Generatina Ideas Members: Konowicz, Obenski We reviewed the revenue generation ideas captured in the working document before the Commission and decided on these changes: Revenue Generation Ideas 1. 14ele ew Se" advenisiRg en busses. Why ROt, this e9uld W PUFe R8 eGSt iffeme, After speaking with John Ancloh, it is clear the County is looking closely at generating advertising revenue where possible in and around busses and in and around bus shelters. Because this is N—le"Oo On ill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .wr, "J7 facilities. The Director is currently in the process of developing a roll -out to capture admission fees from the Zoo and from pools. The plan is to start with low fees for access and rampitup over time so that county residents don't suffer from any sticker shock. rowx� I A=� gift shop to raise funds for it The county is also exploring allowing food trucks to pay for space at county parks as a way to generate revenue, 3. Rental Cars -Add or increase the County tax (apply these taxes to TURO etc.) We believe this point should be discussed with the full Commission. e aren't sure if this residents. 4. Car Registration - First time registration - apply a county fee of $350 for AV costs. Then apply the standard $12 per registration year going forward. of a car brought to Hawaii to offset would be levied M fee to "catch up" with at least half of what would have been ,p here through registration fees. 5. Introduce a off -road / 4x4 vehicle class for an additional fee which subjects vehicle drivers to additional training, but exempts them from vehicle safety requirements that make their off -road vehicles less safe (i.e.: tucking tires within fenders, which makes safe driving on rocky coastline unsafe, approved use of additional lighting to drive at night in unlit areas that lack roads, etc.) i # .. YorI t ri 41 WSO IOUK the gap between DMV renewals and safety checks to *, out-of-pocket 6. As per item H1, this item should be dropped from the list, Director of Parks & Recreation believes reducing funding for . d have negative political consequencesand shouldn't be pursued. 8. and/or legal risk exposure to the county, we believe this item should be dropped. COUNTY -WIDE FLEET PIG REPORT - AUGUST 25, 2022 Feedback status: Mass Transit - Zoom meeting held July 11. Police - Received letter response August 10. Fire - Email response received August 17. Meeting set for August 30. Finance - Phone meeting held August 23. Environmental Management, Civil Defense and Water Supply are working on responses. Public Works and Parks & Recreation - status unknown. Is/Dan Malakie Is/Neal Herbert