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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-01-20 Merit Appeals Board Minutes)REGULAR SESSION Merit Appeals Board Hilo Council Chambers Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401 Hilo, Hawaii January 20, 2023 (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, January 20, 2023. Roll Call — Present Ms. Gabriella M. Cabanas, Chair Mr. Mel Ventura, Vice -Chair (via ZOOM) Ms. Kate De Soto, Member Ms. Gay Mathews, Member Absent and Excused Mr. Charles Kunz, Member Also Present Mr. J Yoshimoto, Assistant Corporation Counsel, Office of the Corporation Counsel Mr. Waylen L. K. Leopoldino, Director, Human Resources Department Ms. Glynis Yamada, Secretary -Reporter, Human Resources Department Mr. Relley Araceley, Council Services Coordinator, Office of the County Clerk This meeting will be held through a combination of the board members being physically present at the meeting location and participating via ZOOM. Members of the public may attend this meeting either in-person at the meeting location or via ZOOM. Merit Appeals Board Call to Order (Item 1) January 20, 2023 CHR. CABANAS: Good morning, everyone. It is 10 o'clock, so I'm calling the Merit Appeals Board meeting to order at 10 a.m. We have quorum. Four Board members are present. Mr. Charlie Kunz is absent and excused today. I'm Gabriella Cabanas, Chair of the Merit Appeals Board. We have Mr. Mel Ventura sitting in via ZOOM from Kailua-Kona. Good morning, Mel, Happy New Year. MR. VENTURA: Good morning. Happy New Year. CHR. CABANAS: And here in the Council Chambers at the Hawaii County Building at 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, in Hilo, Hawaii, are my fellow Board members, Ms. Kate De Soto. Good morning, Kate. MS. DE SOTO: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And Ms. Gay Mathews. Good morning, Gay. MS. MATHEWS: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And we also have our Assistant Corporation Counsel, Mr. J Yoshimoto. Good morning, J. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Good morning, everyone. CHR. CABANAS: And our Secretary -Reporter, Ms. Glynis Yamada. Good morning, Glynis. MS. YAMADA: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And our Director of Human Resources, Mr. Waylen Leopoldino. Good morning, Waylen. Addendum to Agenda (Item 2) CHR. CABANAS: Looking at the agenda, there is no addendum. Statements from the Public (Item 3) CHR. CABANAS: No "Statements from the Public." Page 2 Merit Appeals Board Approval of Minutes (Item 4) CHR. CABANAS: There are no meeting minutes to review or approve. Communications (Item 5) CHR. CABANAS: No "Communications." New Business (Item 6) January 20, 2023 Election Of Merit Appeals Board Chair And Vice -Chair For The Calendar Year 2023 CHR. CABANAS: We are on Number 6 of the agenda, "New Business" for discussion and appropriate action. Before we do anything, I wanted to just read the Chair's responsibilities—well, basically, the chair's responsibility is to set the agenda with our secretary -reporter and our corporation counsel attorney; approves the agenda; drafts correspondence for the Board; signs Conclusions of Law Findings of Fact, letters, memos, and other correspondence; and facilitates our Board meetings and any appeal hearings that are scheduled. The Vice -Chair responsibilities are to assume the duties of the chair in the event the chair is not able to attend any of the Board meetings and/or appeal hearings. So, with that, what does our—what do our Board members want to do? Is there a motion for the election of the Board chair and vice -chair for the calendar year 2023? MS. MATHEWS: Are you taking those individually or as a group? CHR. CABANAS: What do you suggest, J? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Individually. CHR. CABANAS: Individually—okay. So, let's start with the Board chair. MS. MATHEWS: I nominate you. MS. DE SOTO: Okay, second. Page 3 Merit Appeals Board January 20, 2023 CHR. CABANAS: Okay, there's a motion to nominate Ms. Cabanas with a second by Kate. Is there any discussion? If not, we will initial will initiate a rollcall vote starting with Mr. Ventura. MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Should I vote? J, should I vote? MR. YOSHIMOTO: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Aye. I gladly accept. Thank you. Motion carried. I just want to state thank you, Board members, for your support and confidence in my role in continuing to be the chair. Now, we are faced with the vice -chair. Now, Mr. Ventura has been our vice -chair. Do you have any advice because Mel is sitting in for the next 90 days until his successor. `Cause his term is actually up or was up at the end of December. I don't know if that's—if I'm stating that correctly, but he's staying on for the next 90 days until his successor is nominated and approved. Yeah. So, J, any advice could you give the Board, please? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Recommendation would be to nominate someone who's going to continue to be on the Board. And in light of Mr. Ventura's term being up—he's on holdover status, right. CHR. CABANAS: Right. MR. YOSHIMOTO: So, as soon as the new person is confirmed, his term will have ended. Page 4 Merit Appeals Board January 20, 2023 CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. So, his term could end sooner than 90 days? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Correct. Yeah CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. Right now, we do not have any knowledge of the nomination being on a calendar, correct? MR. YOSHIMOTO: Yeah, I don't have any information as far whether the council has—yeah— County asyeahCounty Council. CHR. CABANAS: Right. Okay. So, with that, Board members, do you have a motion for the vice -chair position? I mean, Charlie is not here. It's now between, I guess, Kate or Gay. MS. MATHEWS: My plate's so full at the moment, I can't even but what I'm wondering isI know Charlie's not here. Has anybody talked to him about this position because we can vote him in with him being gone—and if we're nice and if we're mean. But either way, we have that ability. I'm trying to go for nice at the moment. Do we know how he feels about this? CHR. CABANAS: Well, no, because we don't want to violate any Sunshine Law. So, I haven't had any discussion with no one. I waited for today's meeting for all of us to discuss this matter. So, J, any advice could you render to the Board? MR. YOSHIMOTO: I think what you said is accurate, Madam Chair, that any discussions needs to be done in a meeting. And so, Ms. Mathews is also correct—the Board could nominate Mr. Kunz even if he's not here—although that's the Board's call, right, as far as whether you want to or not, `cause you don't have any input from him, whether he's—how he feels about it, right. If the Board doesn't have a direction it wants to take and wants to defer it until he appears, we could do that, too. In other words— MS. MATHEWS: So, we can defer? MR. YOSHIMOTO: We can defer or we can do it today, depending on what the Board members— MS. MATHEWS: I move we defer until Mr. Kunz has an opportunity for placing his opinion. MS. DE SOTO: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. There's a motion made and a second to defer the vice -chair discussion until Mr. Kunz is present, hopefully, at the next meeting. Any discussion? If not, we willI will initiate a rollcall vote, starting with Mr. Ventura. Page 5 Merit Appeals Board MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. January 20, 2023 Motion carried. We will defer the vice -chair discussion for our next meeting and, hopefully, Mr. Kunz will be present. Okay, thank you very much. Unfinished Business (Item 7) CHR. CABANAS: Going to Number 7, "Unfinished Business" we don't have any. Director's Report (Item 8) MAB Quarterly Reports: October – December 2022; MAB Monthly Divisional Activity Reports: January 2023 (Executive Session: The Merit Appeals Board Anticipates Convening One Or More Executive Meetings Regarding The Above Matters, Pursuant To HRS Sections 92-4 And 92-5(a)(4), For The Purpose Of 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: We are now on Number 8, the "Director's Report." Mr. Leopoldino, could you approach the dais, please? Thank you. (At this time, Mr. Waylen L. K. Leopoldino, Director, Department of Human Resources, came forward.) So, we are looking at receiving a report from Mr. Leopoldino on MAB's quarterly report for October through December 2022. And then, we will go into MAB's monthly division activity report for January 2023. Does the Board and Mr. Leopoldino feel comfortable with us discussing this in an open session or is there a preference to go into executive session, `cause if there is, I need to read the executive session verbiage. What is everyone's preference? MS. MATHEWS: Mr. Leopoldino, what is your preference? Page 6 Merit Appeals Board January 20, 2023 MR. LEOPOLDINO: Hi, good morning, Chair Cabanas. Waylen Leopoldino, Director of Human Resources. I'm fine with discussing in open session. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Fine. And everyone on the Board is comfortable—they're nodding their heads. Okay, great. Thank you very much. So, go ahead, Waylen, you may proceed with your quarterly report first for October through December 2022. MAB Quarterly Reports: October — December 2022 MR. LEOPOLDINO: So, the first item on the "Director's Report" is the MAB quarterly reports for the period October through December of 2022, and I would like to open it up for questions at this time. MS. MATHEWS: My only question is, if you were to look at your report, what would be the first thing that has you, sort of, twitching and wishing that it was going differently or you need some assistance? Is there anything? MR. LEOPOLDINO: It'll still be the recruitments that would—for now, that's going to be the my longstanding concern. MS. MATHEWS: Thank you. MR. LEOPOLDINO: And I hate to make it sound like it's overshadowing the other divisions but that's, actually, a reality right now. Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Anyone else have questions? Ms. De Soto, questions for Waylen? Okay, thank you. Mr. Ventura, any questions or comments. MR. VENTURA: None at this time. CHR. CABANAS: I don't have any either, Waylen, so we can move on to the divisional activity report for January 2023. MAB Monthly Divisional Activity Reports: January 2023 MR. LEOPOLDINO: Thank you. I would like to present the Merit Appeals Board with the MAB monthly divisional activity report for January 2023. And I am happy to entertain any questions. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews, do you have any? Page 7 Merit Appeals Board January 20, 2023 MS. MATHEWS: Just one. On the—Item number 3, "Equal Opportunity/ADA Division." MR. LEOPOLDINO: Yes. MS. MATHEWS: Have there been any recurring problems noted? Or is every accommodations that's asked for, rather different from the one before? So, is there anything that you're, sort of, honing in is going that needs more training or that needs more physical attention or anything of that nature? MR. LEOPOLDINO: Fortunately, the current fiscal year, we haven't seen any increase in requests. But I do have to say that I don't see any trends when we do get reasonable accommodations request—they're very unique. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, thank you. Ms. De Soto, any questions? No? Okay. Mr. Ventura, any questions for Waylen? MR. VENTURA: No questions. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. Waylen, I have a few questions. So, for classification and pay I notice the verbiage is pretty consistently the same. Are there any reorganizations—departmental reorganizations that are ongoing? MR. LEOPOLDINO: Not ongoing, but we do get them regularly as these new department heads are trying to figure out what works in their department. So, we do get them regularly. CHR. CABANAS: But there are none at the moment? MR. LEOPOLDINO: There are. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, there are? MR. LEOPOLDINO: Yes. UsuallyI mean, we're been getting a lot of them, I think, since this new administration took office. But, yes, we do have current reorganizations going on. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. LEOPOLDINO: A lot of them are in que because we're still working on allocating new positions that are coming in from departments for the current fiscal year, so CHR. CABANAS: And for Labor Relations, the employer -level grievances, are there a lot of grievances going on or MR. LEOPOLDINO: Recently, yes. We have seen an increase. Page 8 Merit Appeals Board January 20, 2023 CHR. CABANAS: Anything that would make you really concerned? MR. LEOPOLDINO: I mean, any grievance that comes in, I do express a level of concern and we try to address it as best as possible. But, again, no trends. A lot of them are just unique. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Thank you. Anyone have any other questions? Okay, if not, I guess that's it, Waylen. So, is there a motion to accept and file? Let's take each one separate. A motion to accept and file the quarterly reports for October through December 2022. MS. DE SOTO: So moved. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Kate. Is there a second? MS. MATHEWS: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Gay. Any discussion? If not, I will initiate a rollcall vote with Mr. Ventura, to accept and file Mr. Leopoldino' s quarterly report for October through December 2022. MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. Motion carried to accept the—and file the quarterly report for October through December 2022. Next one, I need a motion to accept and file the monthly divisional activity report for January 2023. MS. MATHEWS: So moved. MS. DE SOTO: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. Any discussion? If not, I will start with Mr. Ventura, a rollcall vote. Page 9 Merit Appeals Board January 20, 2023 MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. Motion carried to accept and file the monthly divisional activity report for January 2023. Schedule Next Meeting Date (Item 9) CHR. CABANAS: On the agenda, the scheduling of the next meeting date. Glynis, polled everyone and I think everyone is available for February 17'', 2023. The meeting will occur at 10 a.m. here in the Council Chambers of the Hawaii County Building, First Floor, 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1401, in Hilo with ZOOM capability for Mr. Ventura from Kailua-Kona. So, that is confirmed for February 17th, 2023. Adiournment (Item 10) CHR. CABANAS: At this time, may I have a motion to adjourn today's meeting? MS. MATHEWS: So moved. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. Is there a second? MS. DE SOTO: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Any discussion? If not, I will start with a rollcall vote with Mr. Ventura to adjourn today's meeting. MR. VENTURA: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. Ms. De Soto. MS. DE SOTO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Mathews. MS. MATHEWS: Aye. Page 10 Merit Appeals Board January 20, 2023 CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. Motion carried—motion is approved to adjourn today's meeting at 10:16 a.m. Thank you, everyone. Have a nice weekend. MR. VENTURA: Thank you. Respectfully submitted, fittac.} Glynis amada, cretary-Reporter APPROVED: jtenittair,t. ea.ta-tt Gabriella M. Cabanas, Chair Merit Appeals Board Page 11