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Home My WebLink About2026-08-28 Merit Appeals Board Minutes (DRAFT) REGULAR SESSION Merit Appeals Board Hilo Council Chambers Hawaiʻi County Building 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401 Hilo, Hawai‘i August 28, 2026 (Friday) Call to Order (Item 1) The regular meeting of the Merit Appeals Board, County of Hawaiʻi, was called to order at 9:01 a.m. by Chair Gabriella M. Cabanas, at the Hilo Council Chambers, Hawaiʻi County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, Hilo, Hawaiʻi, on Friday, August 28, 2026. Roll Call – Present Ms. Gabriella M. Cabanas, Chair Ms. Suzi Bond, Vice-Chair Mr. Gilbert J. Aguinaldo, Member Mr. Daniel “Niel” Thomas, Member Also Present Mr. J Yoshimoto, Assistant Corporation Counsel, Office of the Corporation Counsel Ms. Sommer J. Tokihiro, Director, Human Resources Department Ms. Sherilyn K. Tavares, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Office of the Corporation Counsel Ms. Jenny Sakamoto, HR Manager II, Human Resources Department Ms. Nawaipuhia Higa, Employee Development Assistant, Human Resources Department Ms. Jo-Ann Tallett, Former Employee of the Police Department Ms. Glynis Yamada, Secretary-Reporter, Human Resources Department Also Present via Zoom Mr. Elbridge Z. Smith (“EZ” Smith), Deputy Attorney General, Department of the Attorney General Ms. Monica Miranda, Police Reports Reviewer II, Police Department Ms. Tonya Taosaka-Kelii, Police Reports Reviewer II, Police Department Ms. Sheryl Tabuyo, Police Reports Reviewer II, Police Department Ms. Diza Prudencio, Police Reports Reviewer II, Police Department Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 Call to Order (Item 1) CHR. CABANAS: Good morning, everyone. The Merit Appeals Board meeting is called to order at 9:01 a.m., on August 28, 2026. We are situated in the Hilo Council Chambers of the Hawaiʻi County Building, at 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. We have quorum with four Board members present—one Board position remains vacant. I’m Gabriella Cabanas, Chair of the Merit Appeals Board. Seated with me are, to my left, Ms. Suzi Bond, Vice-Chair. MS. BOND: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Gilbert Aguinaldo. MR. AGUINALDO: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And to my far right, Mr. Daniel “Niel” Thomas. MR. THOMAS: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And to my immediate right, Mr. J Yoshimoto, our Assistant Corporation Counsel. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Good morning, everybody. CHR. CABANAS: Our Secretary-Reporter seated behind the panel—Board members— is Glynis Yamada, Secretary-Reporter. MS. YAMADA: Good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And we have a number of individuals seated in the Chamber with us. Ms. Sherilyn Tavares from the Office of the Corporation Counsel; our Director of Human Resources, Sommer Tokihiro; and her staff, Ms. Jenny Sakamoto, Personnel and Organizational Development Manager; and her Assistant—and what is your name? MS. HIGA: I’m Nawai. CHR. CABANAS: Nawai—your last name? MS. HIGA: Higa. CHR. CABANAS: Nawai Higa—okay, thank you. And we have Ms. Jo-Ann Tallett, retiree, from the Hawaiʻi Police Department. Page 2 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 Also, appearing via Zoom, we have Mr. Smith from the Attorney General’s Office—good morning. MR. SMITH: Hi, good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And we also have several employees from the Hawaiʻi Police Department, Records Division. If you could identify yourself for us, they are appearing via Zoom. Can you identify yourselves? MS. MIRANDA: Monica Miranda, Records. CHR. CABANAS: Good morning. Next? Yes, if you could identify yourselves, besides Monica. MS. TAOSAKA-KELII: Sonya Taosaka-Kelii, Records. CHR. CABANAS: Hi, Sonya. Okay, good morning. Next? MS. TABUYO: Sheryl Tabuyo, Records. CHR. CABANAS: Hi, Sheryl, good morning. Let’s see, did I get—I think, one more person? Oh, I think you need to unmute yourself. Okay, so we have Monica, Sonya, and Sheryl—and who are the other— MS. PRUDENCIO: I’m Diza Prudencio, Records. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Is there anyone else? No? Okay, fine, thank you. Thank you for appearing via Zoom. Addendum to Agenda (Item 2) CHR. CABANAS: We do not have any addendum to the agenda. Statements from the Public (Item 3) CHR. CABANAS: There—are there any “Statements from the Public” on any of the agenda items? If not, okay. Approval of Minutes (Item 4) CHR. CABANAS: There is no meeting minutes for us to review and approve at this time. Page 3 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 The “Director’s Report” is on the agenda next, but our Director of Human Resources has requested to take “Unfinished Business” first so that she can complete her report; and the Personnel and Organization Development Manager can do her presentation after. So, with Board approval, if it’s okay with all of you, can I have a motion to take the agenda out of order and go straight to Number 8, “Unfinished Business.” MS. BOND: So moved. MR. THOMAS: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, any discussion? MR. THOMAS: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. If not, I’ll start a rollcall vote with Ms. Bond. MS. BOND: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Aguinaldo. MR. AGUINALDO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Thomas. MR. THOMAS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. Four ayes. Motion carried. So, we will now proceed to “Unfinished Business.” Communication No. 25-06.06, Received August 5, 2026, From Deputy Attorney General Trisha C. Gibo, Transmitting The “Order Declining To Issue Declaratory Rulings And Order Sua Sponte Remanding Case To Merit Appeals Board, County Of Hawaiʻi.” Board Action Required: Setting A Hearing Date And Deadlines For The Submittal Of Documents CHR. CABANAS: So, Ms. Tavares, would you please approach the dais and— (At this time, Ms. Sherilyn K. Tavares, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Office of the Corporation Counsel, came forward.) Page 4 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: So, this “Unfinished Business” concerns Communication number 25-06.06, received August 5, 2026, from Deputy Attorney General Trisha C. Gibo, transmitting the Order declining to issue a declaratory rulings and order Sua Sponte remanding—and I hope I’m pronouncing it right—am I? Okay—and order Sua Sponte remanding case to the Merit Appeals Board of the County of Hawaiʻi. Board action is required for this—for the Board to set a hearing date and deadlines for the submittal of documents. Before we do that, I was informed by our Secretary that Ms. Tavares, our Corporation Counsel attorney had concerns regarding the scheduling of the hearing and so, can I call upon you—you wanted to— MS. TAVARES: (Inaudible) to me? CHR. CABANAS: Pardon me? MS. TAVARES: I’m not sure where that information came from, but I didn’t express that to anybody. I’m not sure. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, just to refresh everyone’s memory—and let me get my little th outline. When we reviewed the meeting minutes from August 12—this goes back to 2024, and at that time, Ms. Bond and I were on the Board. We now have two new Board members—that’s two years ago. MS. TAVARES: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. So, I know, we had to refresh our memories as well for everybody. So, I’m going to have to take some time with this because we have two new Board members—we’re talking about appeals that were filed two years ago, and what has transpired from August 12, 2024, to-date. Okay. So, when I mentioned your concerns, it was the concerns you expressed at that August th 12 meeting. MS. TAVARES: In 2024. CHR. CABANAS: Twenty, twenty-four. MS. TAVARES: Okay. I don’t have any concerns at the moment. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Page 5 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. TAVARES: I don’t know what your scheduling is going to be— CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MS. TAVARES: —and I will address that, if I have a scheduling conflict. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, let me read what Glynis has prepared— MS. TAVARES: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: —for me to present. MS. BOND: What does “Sua Sponte” mean? MS. TAVARES: “On the spot.” MS. BOND: Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Here we go. Okay, everybody via Zoom—have patience with me, but I want to do this right. Okay, so we have a total of eight Appellants. And the eight Appellants are Jo-Ann Tallett, and she was the Supervisor for—over the seven others that also filed their appeals. And Jo-Ann’s—and Jo-Ann is present this morning. And her communication was Communication numbers 24-04 and 25-06. The other seven Appellants were her subordinates. They were Police Records—Police Reports Reviewer II in those positions: Monica Miranda, Communication number 24-05; Chenoa Castile, Communication number 24-07; Diza Prudencio, Communication number 24-08; Shy-ann Medeiros, Communication number 24-09; Sonya Taosaka-Kelii, Communication number 24-10; Sheryl Tabuyo, Communication number 24-11; and Noelani Gomes, Communication number 24-11. The background information regarding MAB’s hearing—taking us way back to August th 12, 2024, are the following: Jo-Ann Tallett’s—the hearing concerned the preliminary issue of whether the Board has jurisdiction to hear her appeal. For your information, Ms. Tallett chose to hear the appeal in open session. Then, for the seven Appellants, the names that I just read—the hearings concerned a number of issues. Number one, the preliminary issue of whether the Board has jurisdiction to hear their appeals. And Number two, whether the appeals can be consolidated with the other appeals that raise the same classification/reclassification issues. For your information, all seven Appellants chose to hear the appeal in closed session. Page 6 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 The County’s Legal Counsel, who is Sherilyn Tavares—and who is present here this morning—stated it’s the County’s position that each of these matters are unique as evidenced by the County’s submissions. No two appeals are identical—this is from the seven Appellants—no two appeals are identical, while many of the documents are repetitive, each of them has their own unique filings as far as dates and whether certain procedures were filed; and does not believe that it is appropriate to consolidate this matter, for those reasons, into one combined hearing. That was your position back then, Ms. Tavares. MS. TAVARES: Those facts remain. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. Okay, thank you. Our Deputy Attorney General, who oversees hearings, at that time—he’s no longer there. So, Mr. Smith is sitting in today. But—and I don’t see Mr. Smith—yes— MR. YOSHIMOTO: Quick recess. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, so we’ll do a quick recess and— MR. YOSHIMOTO: Oh, he reappeared— CHR. CABANAS: Oh, he reappeared. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, hello. Mr. Smith. So, we are just reviewing the background information regarding MAB’s hearing that initially occurred two years ago, back to August 12, 2024. And back then, former Deputy Attorney General Halvorson stated that for the limited purpose of determining jurisdiction, the appeals—we have seven Appellants—their appeals can be combined. If HLRB finds—“HLRB” is “Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board”—if HLRB finds that MAB has jurisdiction, MAB can revisit the issue of whether or not to hear each of the hearings/appeals separately—taking up the County’s concerns. And for your information, Mr. Smith, I just read the County’s position was that each of these matters are unique as evidenced by the County’s submissions that no two appeals are identical—while many of the documents are repetitive, each of them has their own unique filings as far as dates, and whether certain procedures were filed. And the County does not believe it is appropriate to consolidate this matter. So for—and for those reasons, into one combined hearing. MAB’s decision, back then, the Board approved the motion to combine/consolidate the above hearings concerning the issue of whether they have jurisdiction to hear the appeals. Page 7 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 The purpose of today’s meeting is to set a hearing date and deadlines for the submission of memoranda concerning the issue of whether these appeals should continue to be combined and consolidated into one hearing or whether to hear each of the appeals separately. The merits of the appeals will not be discussed today. Now, because we have two new Board members that were not on the Board—taking us th back to August 12, 2024—I need to just explain a little bit why it has taken so very long. I’m not happy about it—two years, having eight employees of the Hawaiʻi Police Department wait so patiently. I’m not happy about it and I can say safely—I don’t think the Board members are either. Two years is just really too long. But what happened was because of the issue as to whether, we, the Board, had jurisdiction to hear the Appellant’s hearings, we wrote—our Deputy Attorney General at that time—wrote to the Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board, which, by law is the proper procedure to follow when there is a jurisdictional issue. Well, the Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board pretty much, sent it back to us saying, “Oh, we can decide for ourselves”—but that’s not the purpose of the Merit Appeals Board when there is a jurisdictional issue. It’s the responsibility of the Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board to do so. And so, what happened was—to make a long story short—it ended up going to the Circuit Court—that’s why it took so long because they didn’t want to do it. And so, the Circuit Court remanded the issue back to the Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board. And then, of course, again—bureaucracy—taking long. Months went by. And here we are waiting for it, and we kept on asking the Attorney General’s Office, who has the authority over the Board when we have hearings—it’s not the Corp. Counsel because we have Corp. Counsel here representing the County—that would be a conflict. So, it goes to the Attorney General’s Office. And we waited, and we waited, and we waited—finally, HLRB has a hearing in Hilo, and our Attorney General went at that time, was now, a new attorney, Trisha Gibo—and she represented MAB. We didn’t go ‘cause she told us not to, that she would carry it forward. So, she did. And the decision came back recently that, yes, MAB now has jurisdiction. And so, this is why we are here today. And I have to really thank the eight employees for their gracious patience and the County as well, because this is just like lingering over everyone’s heads. So, that’s the timeline, why it took two years in a nutshell. Any questions from the new Board members especially? No? Okay. MR. THOMAS: I do. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, you have a question—okay, go ahead, Niel. Page 8 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MR. THOMAS: The part that I—I read all of this yesterday and I thank Glynis for getting Danny to bring the package that came out Wednesday (inaudible), up to Waimea, so I could read it yesterday afternoon. And that, sort of, dialed me into who’s on first, and who’s on second, and who represents who in all of this. The document that we did have earlier in our in our package was the HLRB decision, which ends with Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. And right before that, on Page 9, there’s a section called Petitioner—or Section “E.” called “Petitioner MAB’s Misuse of the Board’s Declaratory Ruling Procedure.” I won’t bother to read all of this—it speaks for itself. But I remember scratching a note on that last paragraph that basically says, “Yikes! It sounds like we’re getting bawled out for something that I really don’t quite understand”—and I wonder who would be in a position to comment on what was written there. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, thank you. ‘Cause that is important. And, yes, the word “misuse” stuck out to me as well because I believe we were following the guidance of our Attorney General—that’s why we have an Attorney Gen—a Deputy Attorney General guiding the Board—Number one. Number two, I do not believe we mis-used our responsibility in terms of determining jurisdiction because this issue is really a complicated issue. It involves eight employees who did receive a—what we call in HR— reallocation. But—and they got a retro pay to a certain date, but they believe— (At this time, Ms. Jo-Ann Tallett, Appellant, responded from the audience, which was inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Oh, you didn’t get any? MS. TALLETT: (Inaudible.) (At this time, Ms. Yamada asked Ms. Tallett to speak into the microphone.) CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. Yes, please have me—okay, coming up to the dais is Jo-Ann Tallett. (At this time, Ms. Jo-Ann Tallett, Former Employee of the Police Department/Appellant, came forward.) CHR. CABANAS: Good morning, Jo-Ann. So, okay, you didn’t get any retro pay? MS. TALLETT: No, we didn’t get any retro pay. The paperwork was signed in October of the previous year. We didn’t get it until January of the following year. Page 9 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. BOND: So, that’s ’24-’25? MS. TALLETT: Yeah. MS. BOND: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: So, you got it—to that day? MS. TALLETT: No, it had to be ’23-’24 ‘cause I retired in ’24. CHR. CABANAS: Right. So, you got paid back to that date, though? MS. TALLETT: No. CHR. CABANAS: You didn’t get anything? MS. TALLETT: No, that’s the reason for this thing. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Yeah, that’s what I kind of thought. Okay, so let me correct myself. You did not get any retro pay. Why don’t we leave it there. MS. TALLETT: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Because otherwise we’re going to go into the merit of the case. MS. TALLETT: No problem. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, so I don’t want to, you know. Okay, so going back to your question, I need to call upon our Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Smith on Mr. Thomas’s concern about the Board’s misuse—what was the language? (At this time, Mr. Elbridge Z. Smith (“EZ” Smith), Deputy Attorney General, Department of the Attorney General, addressed the Board Members via Zoom.) MR. THOMAS: Well, the language was “Misuse of the Board’s Declaratory Ruling Procedure”—so, I guess, in that respect it might be helpful to hear from Counsel for the Board first, on that—and then have our Attorney General speak in response. CHR. CABANAS: He is the Counsel. MR. THOMAS: I’m very concerned that this statement (inaudible) sets out their un-responded to and unanswered and I would appreciate Counsel, for the Board— Page 10 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: He is the Counsel. MR. THOMAS: —not us, but the HLRB speaking to this particular paragraph and what import it may have on what we were expected to be doing and allegedly failed to do. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Smith, I know you’re subbing today for Ms. Gibo, but I know she told me that she briefed you and updated you about this matter. MR. SMITH: So, I mean to the extent that you’re asking for a comment on the Board’s comment—HLRB’s comment? CHR. CABANAS: Yes. HLRB’s written comment. Yeah. MR. THOMAS: Paragraph “E” basically, on page 9 of the decision. MR. SMITH: I don’t have any comment on how the Board arrives at anything that it arrives at. We don’t represent Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board—we’re not their Counsel. CHR. CABANAS: No, but— MR. THOMAS: Who does? Has there been a change of personnel over the last couple years? MR. SMITH: HLRB has their own staff attorneys. MR. THOMAS: Yes. I’ve heard they have a permanent staff at HLRB, so that means that on any particular day or time when something is to be taken up in court, you don’t have any real way of knowing or who was representing HLRB, or who actually wrote the opinion that I’m questioning here? Could be anybody? MR. SMITH: Right. We don’t—our office doesn’t write opinions for HLRB. MR. THOMAS: No, you represented us in this matter, I believe, right? MR. SMITH: I believe our office did. Yes. MR. THOMAS: Yeah. So, it sounds like I’ve got a question that isn’t answerable because nobody representing HLRB happens to be present today. CHR. CABANAS: That’s correct. The history with HLRB was, not only did they do the same thing—not only did they send the matter back to Hawaiʻi County, they did the same thing with Maui County. They didn’t want to hear Maui County’s appeal. So, it’s not only Hawaiʻi County that had a problematic situation with HLRB—they did the same thing with Maui and told Maui, “You can decide, if you want to hear your appeal or not.” It was on a different matter. Page 11 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 But it just raises the concern that HLRB was not standing up to do what they’re supposed to be doing, according to—because they decide on whether—when there’s a jurisdictional issue. They’re the body that decides on the jurisdiction. And so, that’s how the Court got involved because it went to the Court, and the Court remanded HLRB to hear this case. So, it’s HLRB saying we misused our responsibility. I don’t believe we did, and I’m going to stand strong on that because that’s what they’re supposed to do. MR. THOMAS: I hate to characterize comments like that as snarky, but I have to say that. CHR. CABANAS: Well— MR. THOMAS: I hate to have something out there, on the record. CHR. CABANAS: I know what you mean. It’s like—maybe the Attorney General’s Office should correspond back to HLRB, but— MR. THOMAS: It’s not the AG’s Office, though. HLRB has its own internal counsel. CHR. CABANAS: Yes, but they are our attorneys. MS. BOND: So, if we’re not happy with what they said, we’d have to go through— CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. BOND: —our attorney to go talk to their attorney. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MR. THOMAS: Yes, I understand that part. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. BOND: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: And I agree with you. It shouldn’t be listed like that, described like that—on the record, ‘cause they’re making us look bad. But, at this point, my focus really—and our focus should be on this—on the—moving this forward for the eight employees. Page 12 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MR. THOMAS: Yeah, I share your concern and that is the matter, really, that’s in front of us. So, I’m sort of complaining about something that I understand is a set of circumstances and a request that can come up again—has, in fact, come up in the past. And it would be nice if there’s a way to either understand HLRB’s concern with us and these kinds of requests or to settle it down, so that we know what’s to happen and how quickly it should be expected to happen. There was—I don’t know if I can quickly lay my hands on it, but there was some comments—I think, from our Counsel, when we were told that it would be judicious for us to send this case to HLRB for a determination, where I think we were told back in— two years ago—that they tend to turn these things around pretty quickly—I think there was something in that—in a couple of places. We were led to believe, if I read right what’s here—that going to HLRB for a determination of our ability to hear a matter, which had been challenged by—I think, maybe, some former staff people at Personnel—that had been challenged on the grounds that we needed a decision or we ended up deciding that we needed a decision from HLRB. Well, okay, fine, no big deal—we said we would follow that procedure. We followed the advice of Counsel. And then, this long (inaudible) develops for reasons that probably still aren’t particularly clear to me, or maybe you two, and Mr. Aguinaldo. MS. BOND: One of the issues— MR. THOMAS: We don’t want to see this repeated. MS. BOND: One of the issues was that they were having a hard time getting anybody—getting quorum for the HLRB—to me. MR. THOMAS: A-huh. MS. BOND: So, there was a lot of la, la, la—that went along with that. And so—and then, when they finally did, they said, “Oh, we want to throw it to the Court”—and so, they threw it to the Court. So, these poor people have been used as a ping pong ball for way too long. Yeah. MR. THOMAS: So— MS. BOND: No matter what happens, it’s just—it’s not right that this— CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. BOND: ‘Cause I first ran into this, and I had been on the Board for three months. I’m just trying to figure out what they were talking about was a challenge—I’ve had two more years, and I still am like— Page 13 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MR. THOMAS: Well, there’s a Podcast called “The Rest is History”—and I think this one really is history. And where our concern, I think, should be is, “Okay, this is a fairly routine request that should get acted on quickly—that we were told in good faith would be acted on quickly.” How do we avoid having a (inaudible) like this develop again, short of it being an issue of an inadequate quorum? CHR. CABANAS: Well, we have adequate quorum— SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Well, yeah, they didn’t but— MR. THOMAS: They didn’t? CHR. CABANAS: —but, at this point, we have the green light to move this forward, so I would like for the Board to re-focus on what our mission is for today. MR. THOMAS: I’m done complaining. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, now that I have kind of refreshed everybody’s memory a little bit and brought up to speed our Board members that weren’t on the Board back on August 12, 2024—does that help you, Ms. Tavares, regarding your concerns about the hearings—separate hearings for the Appellants? MS. TAVARES: Is it the Board’s position that you want to just have one hearing for all eight appeals? That’s what I need clarification on because as I raised back in 2024, the filing dates on each of these—some of them missed deadlines and, therefore, if we are to apply the rules as they are written, I’ll be moving to dismiss those appeals because of the lack of compliance with the rules. And so, to do it all as one is not judicious in that situation, but I defer to the Board to decide that, and I will file my appropriate motions based on the decision. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, so noted. Let me put it this way, Ms. Tallett was the supervisor over the seven Appellants, is that correct, Jo-Ann? MS. TALLETT: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. And the seven Appellants went through—some went through the whole process to file an appeal with MAB—and I believe one or two did not follow the steps leading up to filing an appeal with MAB. SPEAKER: Correct. Page 14 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: They didn’t go through—it appears they did not go through the Internal Complaint Process first. However—that’s why it gets complicated because all seven employees—Monica, Chenoa, Diza, Shy-ann, Sonya, Sheryl, and Noelani—they are all Police Reports Reviewer II’s correct? MS. TALLETT: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. They all work together. They’re in the same division. So, even if two get knocked off for not following proper procedure, and the five remain and move forward with their appeals—I would think whatever occurs down the road is going to affect all seven of them. MS. TAVARES: I’m not in a position to make that—to answer that. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MS. TAVARES: —‘cause I’m not DHR. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MS. TAVARES: But, presumably, if this Board determines that it has jurisdiction over retroactive pay, which the County maintains it does not because that is not the jurisdictional question that was presented to the HLRB—and that took two years for them to decide, “You get to decide it yourself”—essentially, is what that Order says, like, “Don’t ask us to tell you if you have jurisdiction. You decide if you have jurisdiction”— the County’s position has not changed. But if, ultimately, this Board decides that it has jurisdiction over retroactive pay and an Order is issued, it would presumptively be issued for all of those positions. But, again, I’m not the one to make that official determination, but that is what I would presume would occur. However, looking at the rules as they are, some individuals did not appeal initially, which is automatic grounds for dismissal pursuant to the rules. Some were filed untimely—and so, that is why I raised the concern that when we’re talking about the appeal—they are not all uniform. CHR. CABANAS: Does everyone understand that, as expressed by Ms. Tavares? Mr. Thomas. MR. THOMAS: Yeah, I do understand that argument. Where I’m having trouble was figuring out who represents whom. It’d be nice to have a chart of—well, there’s MAB, there was HLRB—they’ve now— Page 15 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. TAVARES: So, they’re completely done, unless the Board— MR. THOMAS: They’re completely done—yeah. MS. TAVARES: —chooses to apea—to send another question to HLRB— MR. THOMAS: They don’t want to hear it. MS. TAVARES: —that Order—they’re done. Yeah, there’s nothing pending before HLRB at this time, that I’m aware of with regards to these appeals. MR. THOMAS: So, are all of the eight Appellants represented by you? MS. TAVARES: By themselves. I represent the Department of Human Resources— CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. TAVARES: —for the County. They’re appealing a decision that the County made. MR. THOMAS: Oh, I think all eight—that’s right. All of the eight Appellants— MS. TAVARES: Are pro se. MR. THOMAS: —are pro se. MS. TAVARES: Correct. MR. THOMAS: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. Mm-hmm. MR. THOMAS: And J, here, doesn’t represent us— CHR. CABANAS: No. MR. THOMAS: —because it had to bump up to the AG’s Office. CHR. CABANAS: Because this is a hearing. Yes. This is going to be a hearing. MR. THOMAS: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: You got it. MR. THOMAS: Sort of. Page 16 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MR. THOMAS: Thank you. MS. TAVARES: So, Mr. Smith, essentially, is your attorney. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MS. TAVARES: —in this proceeding. MR. THOMAS: Good. CHR. CABANAS: Are there other questions? Suzi, you have questions? MS. BOND: No. CHR. CABANAS: No? MS. BOND: No. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. You got it now. MR. THOMAS: We all hope so. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Tallett? MS. TALLETT: I have a question. So, if MAB is not—how did you say it—you have jurisdiction over retro pay, then why did we have to go through MAB? MS. TAVARES: I didn’t say— MS. TALLETT: That’s my question. MS. TAVARES: You filed the appeal and that’s why we’re here. MS. TALLETT: So, we’re only on the appeal, we’re not on the who has jurisdiction, then? CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, we’re only discussing the scheduling of the hearing today. MS. TALLETT: Got it. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. TALLETT: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, so— Page 17 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MR. THOMAS: And that’s what this page does, then, the second page of this— CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MR. THOMAS: —yellow document— CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MR. THOMAS: —if you have seen it— CHR. CABANAS: But then, is it one hearing or is it going to be a number of hearings. MS. TAVARES: Did the Board issue a schedule because that was not provided to— CHR. CABANAS: No, but we’re prepared to— MS. TAVARES: Oh, okay. CHR. CABANAS: —provide a schedule this morning. MS. TAVARES: Understood. CHR. CABANAS: But I believe, I think, we may need to go into executive session. MR. THOMAS: I’m told this document is just for our own information, nobody else has it. CHR. CABANAS: Yes, nobody else has it—we have it. MR. THOMAS: But it’s a suggestion that could become a proposal. CHR. CABANAS: Yes, absolutely. MR. THOMAS: Got it. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MR. THOMAS: And, that conversation between us about how to schedule this needs to be in executive session? MS. BOND: What needs is to—so that we can determine, right, whether it’s one or eight appeals? CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. Page 18 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. BOND: And that’s what we need to decide now. MR. THOMAS: Okay. MS. BOND: Right, Glynis? CHR. CABANAS: But we may need to go into executive session. MS. YAMADA: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Okay, very good. Okay, I got clarification from our Secretary- Reporter. So, what she has advised the Board is this, that we schedule a hearing for November—and with the outline or the timeline that I will present to all eight Appellants. The information, the documents you provide will help the Board determine whether it’s going to be one hearing or a number of hearings. So, let me reiterate, the purpose of today’s meeting is to set a hearing date and deadlines for the submission of memoranda concerning the issue of whether the appeals should continue to be combined and consolidated into one hearing, or whether to hear each of the appeals separately. The merits of the appeals will not be discussed. So, we’re looking at November 24, 2026, as the hearing day—that’s a Tuesday, at 9 a.m., here, in the Hilo Council Chambers, of the Hawaiʻi County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Now, there’s deadlines for both parties for the County—who represents Department of th Human Resources—and the eight Appellants. So, the first deadline is October 20, 2026—that’s a Tuesday. And this deadline is for the parties—both the Appellants and the County—to submit documents, like, memorandums—and that deadline is close of th business, 4:30 p.m., October 20. MS. TALLETT: Just to clarify, you guys have all the paperwork that we submitted, right? CHR. CABANAS: Yes, we do. MS. TALLETT: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Our Secretary has everything. But now, if you want to provide more information, this is the time to do it—as to why you would be combined or go separately, noting that the County will oppose, probably, a few who did not follow proper procedure and timelines. Page 19 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 So, you folks need to—I hate to say it that way, but—Appellants, you need to decide how you are going to submit additional information. Your appeals were separate. SPEAKER: Oh, I can’t do that now—okay. th CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, this October 20 deadline is 15-calendar days prior to the th next deadline. The next deadline is November 4, 2026—that’s a Wednesday, 4:30 p.m., close of business. And that’s a deadline for the parties to respond—it’s the responsive pleadings. So, once you get the initial information, you can respond, again, to whatever was received. And you need to submit all documents to Glynis, our Board Secretary, via email and regular mail, or it can be hand-delivered; and to the opposing party. So, to Glynis and to the Office of the Corporation Counsel, attention Ms. Tavares. And whatever you submit requires one original and eight copies for all submittals. Okay. And one copy to the opposing party. And that once these—once the date and deadlines are agreed upon, MAB will send a certified letter to all parties—the eight Appellants and to Ms. Tavares—notifying you of the date, time, location, and deadlines. So, now at this point, I need a motion for us to schedule the hearing—the proposal is th November 24. MS. TALLETT: And we can turn this in email—but we have to make the one copy, I mean—one original, eight-copies, right? CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MS. TALLETT: Okay. CHR. CABANAS: Email and regular mail—email or hand-delivered—and to the opposing party. So, if you have five documents to submit, it’s one original and eight copies—each of the five. th Okay, so the proposal for the hearing is November 24, 9 a.m., here, in the Hilo Council Chambers. Do I have a motion to schedule this hearing? MS. BOND: So moved. MR. AGUINALDO: I second. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you. Any discussion? Page 20 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MR. AGUINALDO: No. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, I’ll start a rollcall vote with Ms. Bond. MS. BOND: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Aguinaldo. MR. AGUINALDO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Thomas. MR. THOMAS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. th Motion carried. Okay, so the hearing is scheduled for November 24, 2026, at 9 a.m., in the Hilo Council Chambers; and we will send a certified letter to all. Okay, thank you very much for everyone’s patience. MR. THOMAS: Two days before Thanksgiving. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MR. THOMAS: Can we have turkey for lunch? SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Jo-Ann, for coming—and thank you, Ladies, from the Records Division for appearing via Zoom. Thank you. Okay, going back to our agenda. Thank you, Mr. Smith, will you please advise Ms. Gibo of the next hearing date? MR. SMITH: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, thank you so much. MR. SMITH: Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Ms. Tavares Page 21 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 Director’s Report (Item 5) A. MAB Monthly Divisional Activity Report: August 2026 (Administrative Services Division, Classification & Pay Division, Equal Opportunity/ADA Division, Health & Safety Division, Labor Relations Division, Personnel & Organizational Development Division, Recruitment & Examination Division, Workers’ Compensation Division) CHR. CABANAS: Okay, going back to our agenda. We are now on the “Director’s Report”—if we could have Sommer Tokihiro come up to the dais, and she will be covering MAB’s Monthly Divisional Activity Report for the month of August 2026—and note that there are eight divisions in the department. The report is filed in our folder. (At this time, Ms. Sommer J. Tokihiro, Director, Human Resources Department, came forward. MS. TOKIHIRO: Good morning, everyone. CHR. CABANAS: Good morning, Sommer. MS. BOND: Good morning, Sommer. MS. TOKIHIRO: So, you all have the report. I’m happy to address any areas of question or— CHR. CABANAS: Have you all had the opportunity to read the August 2026 Monthly Report? Are there any questions for the Director? Niel? MR. THOMAS: We have a case coming up, as we all know, in November, that involves a lot of work by Classification and Pay. Without getting into the weeds of the merits of that case, I have to say, there’s some technical terms that are used within Classification and Pay—of “reclassification” and a couple of other terms. I don’t know whether that would be a fit topic for a future briefing for us, or would everybody feel that that was giving the department an opportunity to have their thumb on the (inaudible), or can we at least get an understanding of the definition of different things that occur within Classification and Pay—“reclassification”—I forget what the other terms are, but— MS. TOKIHIRO: I think the term is probably “reallocation”— MR. THOMAS: Yeah. Page 22 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. TOKIHIRO: Yeah. So, if the Board would like to request definitions, we could provide that. I think that that would—providing the definitions of the terms would not get into process questions, which may be part of the upcoming appeal. MR. THOMAS: As usual, I may be the only one in the room that doesn’t understand these things, but it would be helpful, at least, to me. CHR. CABANAS: We had received a whole list of HR definitions— MR. THOMAS: Mm-hmm. CHR. CABANAS: —that governs all eight divisions. I would be okay with that, rather than focusing in on the Classification Division, ‘cause I feel it’s too close. MR. THOMAS: I thought of that. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MR. THOMAS: So, we can have that document re-distributed some time, I might find it useful. CHR. CABANAS: Glynis, maybe Glynis— MR. THOMAS: Do we have that? MS. YAMADA: Yeah. MR. THOMAS: Yeah, okay. CHR. CABANAS: It was submitted previously. MS. TOKIHIRO: I believe that’s in the general definitions, yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Yes. Yeah. MR. THOMAS: Yeah. Okay, thank you. That would be helpful. CHR. CABANAS: Mm-hmm. Any other questions for Sommer? If not, I’ll entertain a motion to accept and file the August 2026 Monthly Activity Report. MS. BOND: So moved. MR. THOMAS: Second. CHR. CABANAS: Any discussion? If not, I’ll start with Ms. Bond. Page 23 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. BOND: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Aguinaldo. MR. AGUINALDO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Thomas. MR. THOMAS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. Four ayes. Motion carried. B. 15-Minute Briefing Concerning Training Programs Offered/Conducted By The Divisions Within The Department Of Human Resources: Briefing By The Personnel And Organizational Development Division; MAB May Determine Which Division Will Provide A Briefing At Its Next Meeting CHR. CABANAS: We will now have a 15-minute briefing concerning training programs offered and conducted by the division within the Department of Human Resources, specifically, today, we’ll have a briefing by the Personnel and Organizational Development Division. And so, we welcome Ms. Jenny Sakamoto, the Manager of this division. Thank you, Sommer, for your report. (At this time, Ms. Jennifer Sakamoto, Human Resources Manager II, Personnel and Organizational Development Division; and Ms. Nawaipuhia Higa, Employee Development Assistant, Human Resources Department, came forward.) MS. SAKAMOTO: Hi, good morning. CHR. CABANAS: And then, also accompanying Jenny is Nawai. MS. BOND: You can move up, Nawai. You can pretend like we (inaudible). CHR. CABANAS: Yeah—no, you can sit up next to Jenny. Yeah. MS. BOND: You have such a pretty outfit on (inaudible) see the whole thing. CHR. CABANAS: Okay— Page 24 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. SAKAMOTO: Hi, good morning. I’m Jenny Sakamoto, I am the HR Manager in charge of Personnel and Organizational Development—and I thank all of you for inviting us to do a short presentation on what our division does. With me today, we have Nawai Higa, she is—she kind of runs our place—but she’s our Employee Development Assistant; and missing today is Uluwehi Hinojosa—she, actually, because of the storm, she had to reschedule her New Hire Orientation. So, she’s busy training this morning. She wanted to be here but, yeah, unfortunately, we had to make-up that session, so. (At this time, Ms. Sakamoto proceeded to present their power point presentation.) MS. BOND: So, we’re going to get these from everybody, right—isn’t that the whole point of this—is that we were going— MS. TOKIHIRO: Well, the question that was raised at the—last month, was training— specifically. And so, that was when we were talking about, like, the training that the different divisions provides. And so, Personnel and Organizational Development is our training position. So, we’re going to, kind of, start from there. So, it’s up to the Board— MS. YAMADA: (Inaudible) microphone. MS. TOKIHIRO: (Inaudible.) MS. YAMADA: Okay. MS. TOKIHIRO: It’s up to the Board what kind of (inaudible)—like, continuing on training, every division does some training and it kind of varies. So, what I’m in the process of compiling is a list for the Board of all of the different trainings that the divisions provide. So, I don’t know if you want to have another division come in and explain their training or if the Board is seeking to have the divisions come and give a (inaudible) overview of their division. So, I’ll leave that to the Board. The question at the last meeting was pretty specific to training, so that’s where we were starting. MR. THOMAS: And in raising the possibility of having sessions like this, I think my suggestion was that we learn more about what these divisions do—the terminology they use. These things show up in reports and, for some of us, it flies over our heads and then we discover later that we don’t understand what it’s about. Page 25 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. SAKAMOTO: Well, ours is very simple. MR. THOMAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah, so— MR. THOMAS: So, it’s a good place to start. MS. SAKAMOTO: —it’s good you start with us. Yeah. So, I—you should have a handout in front of you, just kind of follow along, but it’s just very—a brief overview of what our section does (SEE ATT. A). So, I kind of got ahead of myself, but here we are. So, this is me and my staff. And just to give you a little bit of history—even just a couple of years ago, it was just me. I was a division of one. And so, I had to coordinate all of the different trainings, then we started to develop new programs. We inherited other divisions programs. So, that’s why now we have more staff to help us get all of this stuff done. So, I mentioned, I already introduced Nawai and then Ulu is busy doing a training this morning. So, she just joined our staff, I think it was in February of this year, so she just recently completed her probation—so, that’s why she’s off on her own now— independent. Okay, so this is a little bit more about what we do. We, basically, coordinate and we provide Countywide training programs. So, I’m going to go a little bit more into detail of what that means—oh, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened (Note: Experiencing technical difficulties with the power point presentation). But, maybe, you can just follow along on the handout. And then, we also recent—maybe within, like, the last few years have been tasked with also developing employee engagement programs—and that’s—engagement programs are really tied to retention of employees. And so, there was more of an effort to try, not only just to bring in more people into the County, but also to keep them here and happy—so that they want to stay. So, that’s part of what we do—is our side projects— are to help develop some of those types of programs. Okay, so, as far as our in-house training programs, these are the ones that we actually provide. We do all of the presentations, we do the development of the training—so we research the materials and then we provide it directly to the employees. So, some of them are mandated and some of them are optional. The main one everybody needs to go to that we provide is the New Hire Orientation. So, that’s basically, it’s conducted every month. We alternate between Hilo and Kona, and we give employees of both sides of the island the opportunity to attend. We do, do additional sessions for Fire and Police recruit classes because it’s a little bit easier for Page 26 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 them in their scheduling. And, basically, what our New Hire Orientation covers is the essential information for all—that all new hires need to know about, which includes like our benefits, all of the different policies and procedures that new hires need to know about. And then, we also do, like, a short section on, like, basic customer service and also employee conduct. So, that’s all done within, like, a three-hour orientation program—and then, we also include the different Unions that will then meet with them to discuss membership. So, that’s done, again, every month. And then, the other one that we do on a regular basis is our Customer Service Training. So, that’s provided every other month, and it covers basic customer service skills—like, mostly about communication. And we talk about doing customer service in-person, on the phone, and through like written communication. And then, the second half of that training, in the same session—we focus more on how to deal with irate customers because, unfortunately, when you’re a public servant and you’re dealing with the public—we’re not always making everyone happy. So, a lot of it is just how do they manage that and deal with those situations and focus on how they deliver that information and deal with, like, trying to deescalate situations. So, that’s offered every other month, and we do provide some of the trainings out in Kona as well. And then the next one on that list is our—it’s more of our supervisory training that we provide. Some of them are mandated and some of them are voluntary. So, the Performance Appraisal Review is the one that everybody needs to go to, if you’re required to do a Performance Appraisal Review with any of your employees. So, they have to come to that class so that they understand how to use our forms, the importance of doing these PAR’s—and, also, just how to give basic feedback so that you—it can be effective, so that you can get that person to want to make those changes and to be more encouraging and helpful and supportive to your staff. So, that one is, kind of, our gateway into our Supervisory Training Program. So our Supervisory Training Program, it used to be six-months—it used to be one-year—and it went down to six-months. So, now we got it down to maybe about three or four months long and it—we—what we had to do was, we had to kind of divide it into two parts—so let me just explain that. So, the first part, we call the Core Program and that’s, basically, three classes. And the—what we did was we kind of pulled out the essential, like, soft skill development for those supervisors or those that want to become a supervisor—so you don’t, actually, have to be supervisor. But if they’re looking to become a supervisor and they want to start developing those skills they can take this class or the series of classes. Page 27 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 And, basically, what we do is it covers supervisory conduct, employee relations, and then conflict management. So, those three classes will help them to identify, like, what are the necessary things that they need to have or foster in their workplace, to make it a more productive, efficient, and effective workplace—where people want to come to work and want to stay here and we can retain them. So, that’s the first class. The second class is how do we get there? So, it gives the supervisors the tools and guidance on, like, the different things that they can do to help foster that, which is like checking in with your employee, creating a psychological safe environment, and all of these other things—giving them feedback and coaching. And then, the third class is just to kind of help them get through any kind of conflict situations that come up, ‘cause a lot of people—especially here in Hawaiʻi, we tend to be conflict avoiders, and we don’t want to deal with situations that make us uncomfortable. So, it’s getting the supervisors to feel more comfortable in dealing with it and understanding the importance of having to deal with these issues. So, those are the first three classes that we require them to take before they can move on to the Foundation Program. Foundation Program is a little bit more, like, for those that are already supervisors. It’s—a lot of the procedures and the policies and the laws that we have to look at and understand, so that we can be effective supervisors. ‘Cause whenever you come to government, especially County government, we have all of these other things that we need to be aware of. So, it’s not only just, like, employment laws—but you also need to understand civil service laws, the different contracts, all of our policies and procedures. So, a lot of times, supervisors become frustrated, or they don’t even know what they don’t know. And so, this program helps them to just get that basic information to be a successful supervisor. So, the remaining classes in the Foundation Program, there’s six of them—and we cover all of the different areas of HR, basically. So, we give them a little bit of an understanding or a background in Classification and Pay—that also includes our Interview and Selection Process in Recruitment. We do a whole session just on how to develop interview questions and—what is it called—assessment exercises. And then, we get into, like, setting your employee up for success. So, we do an onboarding module. We have one on—we call it Admin. Services—but, really, it’s like just the definitions that they need to understand. So, I know you mentioned, like, you don’t understand—in HR we speak a different language, right. So, it’s just understanding, like, the different status of employees—like, are they permanent or temporary or civil service or non-civil service, exempt, appointed—there’s all these different classifications of just the status of employees that make a difference in the type of guidance that our office gives. And so, that makes the difference sometimes in what Page 28 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 path that we—how we advise departments. So, it’s to give them that understanding of all of that. And then, the last part of that one class is Reasonable Accommodation. So, we have Alika Cockett come in. She’s our Manager for EEO and ADA. And so, she helps them understand what their role is in reasonable accommodation. The other half of the—that program is focusing on Labor Relations. So, we give them an overview, we talk about the importance of labor relations with the Unions, we go over our drug testing programs, we do how to conduct an internal investigation where we actually run through a mock investigation. And then, the last class is on Performance Management and going through, like, how to determine discipline, discharge, and the appeals process. So, it’s more procedural so that they understand there is a process that you have to follow. And if you follow that process and you do all of these things—the document— whatever kind of action you may have to take in the future will be more solid and supportive—like, for you guys, if you guys get an appeal and that kind of thing. Okay, so that’s our Supervisory Training Program—I’m sorry, I get really dry, so I have to drink a little. So, that just kind of gives them, like, the basic foundation of just understanding what they need to understand in order to be an effective supervisor here, at the County. Okay, but that’s not, of course, going to cover every single thing. So, then, as we started moving towards Employee Engagement and Retention, we actually developed another training program, specifically, for supervisors, called our “Employee Engagement & Retention Program for Supervisors.” And what that does, it’s—what it takes us the first three classes that we talked about in the Core—and we go a lot deeper into that. So, we’ve already identified what those characteristic traits are that we need supervisors to be able to do, but we hold their hands during the process, basically—and we get them to try and implement it. So, the way the class is structured is that we introduce a concept, we practice, and then we give them homework. They come back, they try to implement it, they come back, we do reflection, and we talk about how did it work? Did it not work? We give them suggestions on how they can tweak it. So, there’s various things that we cover in that, like, how to do check-ins, how to give feedback, coaching, team building—all of that is part of that program. So, that’s about eight classes long. Page 29 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 Okay, we also help to coordinate the different trainings that our Employee Assistance Training Program provides by contract. So, these are more of, like, required classes that our employees need to take. So, we contract out through Employee Assistance of the Pacific, so they come in and they do several of these sessions per year. So, that’s where Nawai comes and helps us out. She helps to coordinate all of that, so that she can, like, bring them in and make sure that the classes run smoothly. So, that includes our Violence in the Workplace Prevention Training, which is required for all employees to take, and we do two separate sessions—one for employees, one for supervisors. And then, the other one that they provide is Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors. So, that’s basically, if somebody suspects that somebody is, like, high— like either on drugs or alcohol—they can actually do an assessment and based off of that training, they can then refer them for a drug test. So, they have to be trained in order for them to be able to do that. So, that’s all done by EAP, so they come in about three times a year to do both of those types of trainings. Yeah? MS. BOND: So, the Reasonable Suspicion—that’s, basically, just for drugs or alcohol kind of thing— MS. SAKAMOTO: Mm-hmm, yes. MS. BOND: —not like harassment or— MS. SAKAMOTO: No, that’s separate. MS. BOND: Okay. MS. SAKAMOTO: That’s under Alika. Yeah, so she trains them on that as well. Yeah, so that’s why it was a little confusing, right, so Sommer’s going to give you a list, in its entirety of what each division—what training each division provides. Yeah. Okay, so we do offer supplemental training. So, these are things that are not normally on our regular training catalog or calendar. These are just different things that have come up by request or we thought that it would be a really good thing based off of what we hear in the classes and feedback from other supervisors. So, previous topics have included—we work with a lot with Kuʻikahi Mediation Center. They have a lot of different trainings that we can bring them in on and, recently, the County has funded a Training Fund where we can access that fund to bring in additional training that we can’t provide in-house. So, we’ve done Basic Facilitation Training through them. We also have done the Project Management Training—so, that was in previous years. We also have done— Page 30 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 oh, and sorry—they also did Community Engagement Training, so that helps our staff understand how to work better with the communities when they have to go out and meet with them. We’ve also worked with Grant Writing USA to bring in grant writing workshops and grant management workshops. So, those—they’re very comprehensive. It’s usually two or three days and it gives our employees more skills in how to search for grants, and write grants, and then manage the grants—that was really good when they came in last year. So, we’ll probably bring them in again. We had a request—so I guess this is more on our customized training. We had a request from a department to bring in something on how to help employees deal with the houseless community. And so, we worked with our Police Department, and they were able to come in and do—we did one session in the Spring—and we already have another session planned for the other side of the island coming up pretty soon, like, next month or October. So, that just was recently announced. And then, Office—so, sorry—we’ve also done the Office Support Staff Conference. So, that, basically, was something that it was done over ten years ago. And then, because of funding and other issues it kind of, like, disappeared. And then, I actually got a request from one department saying, “Are you guys ever going to bring something back for, like, the rest of our staff—especially, like, clerical staff”—‘cause they don’t have a whole lot of training opportunities. And so, at that time, it was just me—and I’m like, “Oh, my God, I have to do all of the regular training.” But once I started to get more staff, we’re like, “Okay, let’s just try and see if we can bring this thing back.” And we didn’t have a budget but, luckily, we were able to tap into that Training Fund money. And we offered two days—it’s the same information that was provided on both days—but mainly did that for operations, so that they can have coverage and still allow their employees to attend. So, we held it at UH and it was very well-received. The employees who attended were very happy. They—we did various topics like time management; communication skills; I think one was on, like, conflict management; we had business writing; and then we do, like, other fun stuff, so that they can get to meet other people from other departments while also trying to develop themselves. So, those—that was our—we’ve been trying to offer that at least once a year. And then, other customized training that we—it’s mostly “by request” from departments. So we’ve had one department come in and ask us to help—kind of do, like, strategic planning. So, we did that last year. And then, this year we had a request on, like, something more in terms of customer service, ‘cause their staff was struggling. So, they Page 31 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 actually gave us their specific examples of issues they were having, just within their own department. And so, we customized the training just, specifically, for them. So, it depends on what the request is, we’ll see if we can do it in-house or I try to go out and find something else that might be able to help them with whatever issues that they’re having. MS. BOND: After dealing with the DMV and the new situation that they have over there, they might need some re-training on, like, dealing with customers that—there was one lady who was doing really well, but the other two were just—had gotten to the snark mode. It might have been ‘cause it was close to lunch, but it was still—I just might suggest, after having been through it. MS. SAKAMOTO: They actually invited us to come in. MS. BOND: I know they had also just moved the office two days before, so they were like— MS. SAKAMOTO: Oh, yeah. Yeah. MS. BOND: It’s not even—figuring out—but that might be helpful to them to have you guys come in and say, “Hey, can we help you?” MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah. We offered that to departments that can’t, like, send each employee individually, if it’s easier for us to just do it one time. We do offer that, outside of the regular scheduled classes, too. So, we’ve done one for, like, Real Property Tax. They actually did request us to come in and it didn’t work out in the scheduling, so we’re probably going to have to reschedule something, yeah. MS. BOND: Yeah, ‘cause they’re definitely struggling with some customer service issues. MS. SAKAMOTO: I’d be happy to just work with just— MS. BOND: Just smile, you know. It’s one of those things, if you smile it automatically changes your attitude. MS. SAKAMOTO: Exactly. Yeah, I talk about that in my class. MS. BOND: So. MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah. And then, so the other ones that we’re excited—we just got approval to do some new classes for the Fall—mainly, working with Kuʻikahi, ‘cause they have a real—a lot of good resources that they work with. Page 32 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 So, we’re going to bring in Civility in the Workplace, so that our employees can work better together—that one focuses on, like, communication skills and just like a little bit of conflict management, delivery—it’s real basics. The other one is Master of the Storm—that one is specific to conflict management. The Power of Stories—it includes more, like, respect in the workplace, but it’s similar to the Civility in the Workplace—but it helps them to utilize storytelling as a tool, to help them, like, I guess connect better with each other. And then, we’re going to bring back that Project Management Training ‘cause that one was really popular when we offered that the other time. So, those are all scheduled and we’re starting to get people signed up for that. So, the next one is our Employee Engagement Programs. So, I’ve already told you about the training that we developed and that’s mainly for supervisors. But we also— employee engagement is not just that one program, it’s all of these different things that help employees have some kind of connection to their work. And so, that part—that training helps the supervisor provide that kind of connection and helps them to create an environment where employees don’t feel reluctant to speak up or bring up questions or whatever, right. So, that’s what they’re doing on that side. And our side, we’re trying to get them to be interested in something and have some kind of connection. So, one of the things that we’ve established is our Employee Engagement Committee, and that Committee will then—we have representatives from a lot of different departments, and their purpose is to help us give feedback on what kind of programs they think would be of interest to our employees. So, it’s kind of, like, school, right—like, why can’t we have, like, little clubs and things where people can get together and do other projects or other things—and get to know each other, so that we can be more willing and comfortable reaching out when we need help from other departments; and just creating a more sense of we’re one company, right—instead of just our little silos. So, that’s what we’re trying to do is bring the whole County together through some of these programs. So, a few of their programs that the Engagement Committee has come up with, it’s been more like networking, social kind of programs—which is where they wanted to start. So, we did a bowling tournament—that was done last March, this past March in Kona. Unfortunately, we don’t have a bowling alley here anymore, so that was done in Kona. That was really well-received. So, everybody’s asking us to do that again, so we’ll probably do it again next year. We have two new events coming up this Fall. So, and they’re—unfortunately, they’re both in October but that’s just, kind of, how it worked out. We’re going to do a Page 33 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 pottery/painting little small thing at one of our—the company’s here—and that one’s almost full. I think we have, like 18 slots and we have 16 out of 18—so that one was pretty popular. And our other one is we’re going to do like a murder/mystery, eighties prom thing/event. And, basically, just to get people, like to mix and, like, meet new people from other departments and in a fun setting—like, not necessarily at work. So, that will be all held in October. The other program that we’ve already established—we’re in our third year—is our Mentor Program. So, our Mentor Program is, basically, employees who want to be a Mentee can sign up; and then, we try to pair them, based off of what they’re looking for, whether it be someone in a specific type of field or they just want anyone who’s been in the County for a long time or whatever. So, we try to base it off what the Mentee is requesting and find them a partner, then they’ll be meeting every month to talk about whatever they want to talk about—and we give them about an hour every month just to meet and then that way they have somebody that they can ask for guidance on. A lot of times it’s not even, like, career-oriented. It’s more like, “How do I deal with my co-worker” or “How do I deal with my supervisor”—and those kinds of things. So, that has been very helpful for the people who have gotten through the program. So, that’s about to kick-off. We’re going to do some training with them first and then we’ll start the program in October. Employee Recognition Programs, we’re now responsible for the Employee of the Year Program, the Service Awards, and the Retirement Awards—so that falls under us. “County Talks” Informational Sessions—that’s a new program that recently started this past year. And that’s—we’re doing, like, more Zoom where people can sign up and listen. Basically, what we’re doing is we’re highlighting all the different departments that provide services and what kind of services are available to everybody—just so people can get to know what we do here in the County, but also that these services are available to them. So, we’ve done, like, “How to File a Building Permit,” how—Lisa Miura just came in and did “How to Lower Your Real Property Taxes”—like that kind of stuff. So, those were some of our topics. And then, the last one on this slide is our County Tuition Reimbursement Program. So, this has been very popular within the last few years, we’ve gotten more funding. And so, now we have about half-a-million dollars that we can use towards helping all of our employees that want to further develop themselves with that financial assistance. So, there are some requirements, like, mainly they need to be working with the County for about a year, and then—it’s tied into retention that’s why. And then, after they do that, then they can start to either go get their degree, it can even be a graduate or a master’s degree or even somebody was trying to get their law degree. They can go get professional certifications and licenses that are not already mandated by their job. So, like, if I wanted to go get a HR certification, I can go and do that. Page 34 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 And then, we also provide, like, any kind of skills development. So, if they see something out there that they want to go get training on, like, “I want to be a mediator”— Kuʻikahi offers a mediation training program, then I can go do that—and then seek reimbursement for that. So, we’re offering a lot more other development opportunities for them and then we have a Committee that reviews it. So, we just do the administrative part, and the Committee decides who’s going to get that award. We do have a couple of new programs starting up this year. One of them, I think, you’ve already heard the last—in the last meeting when Sommer delivered her goals. So we have the third goal, which is our new ʻImi Ka ʻIke ‘Imi Ka Hana Program, which means “to seek knowledge and explore work”—and, basically, that’s the one where we’re going go into the high schools and we’re going to recruit high school students. We have ten positions and we’re going to try to get them interested in government work, basically, is what it is—and give them that exposure. And then, in the process we’re also going to be providing them with training on understanding how to get through our processes, but also like developing them as a, hopefully, viable applicant pool for our future. So, we’ve already connected with about three high schools—mostly, in the rural areas— KKP—which is our Kaāhoa Districtū, Keaʻʻau, Ps. They’re the main ones that have expressed interest at this point. We’ve already put out—like, if people want to— students want to apply, I have already received over ten applications. So, we might already be filling all of those slots, but I think the main thing was to connect with the high schools. They’re very excited that we’re offering this type of program—and the students came out—I just came back yesterday from Keaʻau High School and the students—we filled up, like, one session where they wanted to just learn more about the program and what the County does. So, we did a little bit of, like, career paths and so forth with them. So, that’s been really interesting, like, to see that—but, like, they really don’t know what we do. They don’t know, like, what benefits are and all of that. So, it was interesting trying to educate them on just what we do here—just so that they know we have jobs that will be available for them. So, that’s a big chunk of what we’re doing this year. And then, the other new program that we just launched is—it’s actually a training and we’re calling it Navigating the Multi-Generational Workplace. So, it’ll help people who may be—have a hard time working with different generations understand each other better—and then, hopefully, we’ll give them tips on how to work together better. So, that one will be rolling out—we’re going do one in Hilo and one in Kona in the Fall. Page 35 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 And that’s all I have. I don’t know if I went over 15-minutes. Sorry about that, but—do you guys have any questions for me? MR. THOMAS: You painted with a broad brush and that’s exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you. How do you evaluate the programs that are offered? Are there some that you know are winners because of the feedback you get from the participants? Which programs are the most difficult to teach? MS. SAKAMOTO: Well, it’s really hard, right, because we can get the feedback from the participants and a lot of times they’ll go, “Oh, this is great”—but we don’t really know if they actually go and do what we’re suggesting, right. Sometimes I do get former students come back and ask me for advice or they want to tell me what’s going on. Sometimes I’ll see them in other trainings and then they’ll tell me that they’ve tried to do some of the things—and so, that’s how I feel like we get our successes, if we know that people are actually trying to utilize the things that we’re teaching them. But the reality is—I mean, we don’t know the actual, like, if people are actually doing what we’re suggesting. But at least we provided them with the information and that opportunity to ask questions and learn the right way of doing things, so that we’re not making, like, silly mistakes that make us—make things harder for us, right. So—I don’t know—sometimes I think I’m getting through to everybody but I’m not always sure that I am. MR. THOMAS: Now that you have more staff, how do you—what skills do you look for in staff people to mount these programs, and what sort of backgrounds do you folks have in doing this kind of thing? MS. SAKAMOTO: Well, I know what kind of Manager I am and what I want from my staff. And I have pretty high expectations in terms of, like, I just want to give you the assignment and let you do it. And my staff has been very good at being able to execute, but I’m here for guidance and support—and, usually, I mean, I have the final say but they’re pretty motivated and they’re very reliable in making sure that all of the work gets done when it needs to get done. I’m not exactly sure what you’re—how to answer your question. It really depends on the level—so Ulu is a Trainer, so she’s helping me with taking over the everyday trainings that we need to do on a regular basis—so, that’s why she’s not here today, ‘cause she’s doing New Hire. But, eventually, I want her to start being able to develop her own trainings in different topics. Page 36 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 Our goal in the long run is to actually provide more training for everybody, not just supervisors and not just the mandatory stuff. We want to do more development, and communication skills, and conflict management—but more at the lower levels, so that everybody has that opportunity to learn and grow. So, I want her to help me to start developing those other—we want to do critical thinking and all of that. So, I want her to help me with some of those, and she can take on some of those, and she’s also going to help me take on some of the engagement stuff. MS. TOKIHIRO: I think there’s a general characteristic of the kinds of qualities that Jenny is evaluating when she’s selecting staff. Of course, you need someone who’s able to be outgoing so I think Jenny and I would—or I would describe myself as an introvert most of the time, but when the situation calls for it, that you’re able to engage with people, right. Because doing that training and keeping a room of 30 to 50 participants interested and awake and hearing what you have to say requires that dynamic personality and ability to connect with people, ability to read a room—but I think in her staff, too, also a lot of creativity, right. Just being able to take something— because different departments will come with an issue and so her team is really good at then, kind of going, “Okay, how do we attack this”—and try and attack it in a new and different way. How do we capture the information in a new and different way, in order to kind of break through whatever the issue is that the department is addressing. So, I see a lot of creativity in Jenny’s team and those qualities work well as far as the development of training but also identifying outside resources when we don’t have the ability to put together a whole training program—where can we find those resources. I did want to just touch on the feedback—how we know whether or not things are effective and how we, kind of, adapt or Jenny and her team adapt to that. And the Supervisory Training Program is a good example of that. The Supervisory Training Program was actually developed initially and that had—it was a longer duration because it really covers everything to help someone to be successful as a supervisor in the County. So it provides a lot of foundational information, too. And what we were finding over the last several years was because of all of our vacancies and we were seeing a lot of people promoted from within that may not have had supervisory experience or didn’t have much supervisory experience. And so, there was a need to pull out the three core classes that she mentioned, to be able to offer that kind of basic training—how do we talk to employees, conflict management—those kinds of things, so that we could offer that more often, so that we could address the needs of our new supervisors that may have come to their roles without that experience. We also have had a lot of individuals that are on Temporary Assignment to a higher level or a supervisory position. And so—especially in those cases, those are individuals that aren’t required to have any prior supervisory experience and so, more so, Jenny and her team being able to adapt to that need—and then adjusting how they were offering the whole—the more lengthy supervisory training program. Page 37 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 And so, those are the kinds of things. So whether it’s feedback from participants, I mean, she does surveys at the end of all the training sessions to get feedback, which is helpful. We also take a lot of—we make adjustments based on what we see in enrollment numbers—maybe if there’s not as big of an interest in one area, she may pivot and go in a different direction. But then, just overall, I think we became aware of some of the issues that we were having with our newer supervisors—even through things like the grievances that we would see—grievances that were coming in from the Union, feedback from departments reaching out to our Labor Relations Division to say, “How do we handle this? How do we address this issue?” And so, it becomes a real collaborative effort to then take that information, bring it back to Jenny and her team—and they’re amazing at taking that feedback, and making those adjustments, and coming up with new suggestions as well. MS. SAKAMOTO: Can I just give you an example of what she is talking about—the creativity. So, I told you I was just a division of one—so it was just whatever’s in my head, right. And then, as I started to get more staff, they have a lot of—they’re younger—so they have more fresher ideas. And, like, so we were doing this informational session thing and, like, it was—I wouldn’t say it was, like, boring—but like it was—I mean, I don’t know—like, it was just kind of okay. And so, one of the suggestions early was, “Why don’t we do a podcast”—and I’m like, “How are we going to do a podcast in training” and whatever. Then we ended up doing it through the informational sessions—and I got to say, it’s a lot more interesting to listen to—I think we’re starting to get more people sign up for these things, so maybe that’ll be, like, a draw for people in the future. But, like, just different methods and different ideas on how we can capture and interest our employees to be able to listen the different information that we’re providing. ‘Cause, like, not everybody just wants to listen to me talk all day, right? So. Anything else? CHR. CABANAS: Very good— MS. SAKAMOTO: Thank you so much. CHR. CABANAS: —a lot of creativity makes it interesting and fun. MS. SAKAMOTO: It’s not easy. CHR. CABANAS: No. MR. AGUINALDO: I like what you mentioned because I think now days are the younger generation, like, for employees—like when, I don’t how—I no like say “older”—as an Page 38 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 older—again—older person applying for one position, we are faced that because we’re older—we’re so used to what works. And you get these young ones that, “Whoa, like, where did you come from with all these ideas?” As an employer, myself, I collaborate in excel—I always execute and excel because I let them have the freedom—like what you do—so, they feel more important, engaged— CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MS. SAKAMOTO: Exactly. MR. AGUINALDO: —in—‘cause, like, I get real all old school—like, “No, it’s working”— or “It’s been working why going change?” I, like, “Eh, I never know.” It’s just—you have the last say, but when you collab. you’re making the employee feel important. MS. SAKAMOTO: Exactly. MR. AGUINALDO: But you got to cut some slack in order for them to grow, they got to fail in a certain way, they’re going, “Oh, shoot”—but I allow that for growth— MS. SAKAMOTO: Mm-hmm. MR. AGUINALDO: —and effectiveness—but, yeah, the younger generation, I look at it, ‘cause my son— MS. SAKAMOTO: They teach me a lot. MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. Like, “How did they do that?!” MS. SAKAMOTO: They teach me a lot every day. MR. AGUINALDO: Like, you say, “podcast”— MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah. MR. AGUINALDO: Now you giving me ideas—“podcast”—only hear about it. MS. SAKAMOTO: Oh, no—that’s the way to go now for a lot of stuff. MR. AGUINALDO: See look, you got—she got hooked! MS. SAKAMOTO: (Inaudible.) MR. AGUINALDO: You know you learn—you engage. Page 39 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah. MR. AGUINALDO: So, I just think that you guys’ department are doing a damn good job. Now, it’s like—almost, like, taking notes—like, yeah, can improve my workplace. MS. SAKAMOTO: You come to my class (inaudible). MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah, like, no—but I’m proud of you folks engaging in high school. Like, nobody know right—they just see government employees. That’s all they see, but the opportunities and what you guys provide and—look, you might have one great work ethic kid or children that now can work for the County, and they can steadily get funding for go to school? Wow! MS. SAKAMOTO: I mean, I think the major concern that a lot—we’ve heard a lot is that our kids go away to college and they don’t come back. MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: Because there’s no opportunities here, they can’t make a living. And, like, look at our recruitment list, right? This is the most we’ve had—when I came in 20 years ago, there was like five—maybe not even five on a continuous recruitment. And, like, there was hardly any opportunity back then. But now, there’s so much and the kids—we just want them to know, if you want to come back or you don’t want to go to college and you want to just have a job—we can provide a good job for you. And so, that’s what a lot of the message that we were sending yesterday when we went to go meet with the students— MR. AGUINALDO: Wow. MS. SAKAMOTO: —is that we do have opportunities. And then, we’re partnering with R&D to—and they have monies to provide training and other resources. So, we’re partnering with them, with Americas Job Centers. MR. AGUINALDO: And there’s another one, so I’ve been—oh, I think 24 years with them—Hawaiʻi Island Contractor Association. MS. SAKAMOTO: I think Clinton works with the Unions (inaudible). MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. But if you guys did, like, I see on your guy’s recruitment, like, Equipment Operator or Truck Driver—you know that kind of stuff, ʻcause it’s good. ‘Cause you—to be honest, you guys’ pave roads, you guys get—majority, of course, young boys, young girls may want to have that opportunity. If you guys just make one County—and do it on your own, like, one career day—oh, my gosh, and your guy’s staff can kind of show them. There’s a lot of people on the outside, kind of, promoting their Page 40 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 business. They do, like—what do you call it—“Dirt Works”—but if the County did that, too, kind of—evolves from there. Next thing you know, there might be you guys Building Inspector, Engineers—you never know—but they got to start somewhere. But I think because—Neil is in—Neil is good in that. Oh, guarantee—Azevedo—that would be something cool, too, you guys might get one massive turnout. MS. TOKIHIRO: And I think it’s important and that’s why we’re really excited about the new program with the high schools, too, because it’s a chance to really reiterate that we are here to create careers in government service— MR. AGUINALDO: Mm-hmm. MS. TOKIHIRO: —and a career working for the County does not need to be a 30-year career in the job that you’re initially hired in because through all of the different programs, promotional opportunities—opportunities to advance your education to qualify for other positions. You start at the County in one position—and I could use myself as an example, right—I started as an Account Clerk at the Department of Environmental Management; and then I went, I worked at the Building Division; and then I worked for Housing; and then I worked for HR. So, all of these different—your path in a career in government service does not need to be a straight line. It can be whatever you make it. And so, we’re excited about being able to work with the students, to be able to show them that these careers exist in the communities where they live, where they go to school. And so, really, we needed to get the program—this is the pilot, so we’re kind of building it—Jenny and her team is building it as we go. But the eventual goal is to make sure that we have internship opportunities reserved for every high school around the island. MR. AGUINALDO: And the beauty to it—I have a friend—his other half was working in a hospital—I don’t know, for kids—I guess, in the surgical. Believe it or not, working for the State, took a job for the County—yeah, in the Housing. And she has a—she has her real estate license as well—it’s like, “Wow, that going benefit the County”—I said, “Wow, going benefit the County and for…”—I was like, surprised. She said, “Oh, she leaving her job in the hospital.” I said, “Where she going work?” “Oh, for the County she going start pretty soon.” I said, “Where?” She said, “The Housing Department.” And that’s the beauty to it—and I said she’s going to enjoy her job. And that’s the thing—more and more now, I see even for doctors—a lot of doctors now, because of medical, they leaving their practice for work at the hospital. I, like, too bad— the County didn’t have, like, some kind of medical program also—that, ho, guarantee, a lot of students going to take that in the Hawaiʻi Community College—in just for acute care—like, simple stuff—like urgent care kind of thing. Page 41 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 And that’s more and more I see we going face because I took my mom to her doctor’s appointment last week. They said, “Oh, Gilbert, we moving.” I say, “Where are you heading your practice?” “Oh, no, we leaving our practice. We’re going to work for the hospital and we’re going see outpatient care.” I, like, “Why?” “Because of medical costs”—like—I don’t know—something like that. But that’s one thing—I like what you said about you like the kids stay here. That’s one steppingstone. I tell you, they’re our future and I keep telling from past mayor’s and this mayor now, I says, “Eh, Mr. Mayor, you guys got to develop more infrastructure to give these kids the opportunity that they going like stay home because they get one job at home. Because it isn’t affordable to buy a home—they just afraid of going school, so if you give them one job, they going go from there—baby steps.” Now, you giving them, “Eh, you got an opportunity to move around or here’s money funding for get one degree or for their tuition.” MS. SAKAMOTO: I think the main purpose is to just give them exposure. MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: (Inaudible), job—like, if you don’t want to go, like, college then—but you want to do blue-collar, maybe you want to do, like, a trade— MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: —or get your operator license, so you can still make good money being a Wastewater Treatment Operator, like, those kinds of things. So, just to show them, like, what we have available and just—I mean, I try to talk benefits to them, but they don’t know what a pension is, like, I had to explain all of that to them. MR. AGUINALDO: They don’t. MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah, like, they don’t know some of these terms, so I’m like—they’re like, “Can you explain what that is?” I’m like, “Oh, okay”—but it was just, like, just understanding, like, these kids don’t know anything about what we do—and just to give them a little bit of insight and, like, just a little bit of experience. So, we’re encouraging the departments to not only just give them, like, easy tasks—but also, like, give them a project or invite them to come to your community meeting or a hearing or whatever it is—just so they can hear exactly what it is that we go through as government employees to give them a taste of it—that’s, kind of, what it’s more for, like, to—it’s to service the students to give them that exposure that they’re looking for. MR. AGUINALDO: Wow. Page 42 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 AUDIO VOICE: I’m sorry. MR. AGUINALDO: Amazing. Good job. MS. SAKAMOTO: My watch talks to me, I’m so sorry. MR. AGUINALDO: Can tell you passion—can tell you love your job. MS. SAKAMOTO: I do. MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. I can tell. MS. SAKAMOTO: I found my calling, I think. MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah, good job. MS. SAKAMOTO: Thank you. Any other questions? CHR. CABANAS: Thank you, Jenny, for a wonderful presentation. MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: And for accompanying her, Nawai, nice to see you both. Keep up the good work. MR. AGUINALDO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: I have one question. About how many people applied for the Tuition Reimbursement—just ballpark. Is it a lot? SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: That’s a lot of money. MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Half-a-million dollars? SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, used to very little. Holy, moly. Can go back to school. MR. THOMAS: I remember asking a question some months ago about— Page 43 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: Yes, you did. MR. THOMAS: —this huge pot of money that didn’t get spent actually. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, wow. MS. HIGA: Hi, again, everybody, I’m Nawai— CHR. CABANAS: Hi. MS. HIGA: —Employee Development Assistant for Jenny’s Division. I think we have, maybe, like, 30 every year and we’re slowly starting to get more. So, this last deadline to turn in new applications for this round is going to be December st 31. But I’ve already gotten maybe, like, six applications. So, we’re going to continue to get more until that deadline. So, I expect to be maybe, like, hopefully, 15 at the least. CHR. CABANAS: Wow. MS. HIGA: But, yeah, we’re starting to get more, so I’m starting to see more people interested in it. And then, once some of the departments get it, they start telling their co-workers, like, “Hey, like, did you even know about his program?” And so, their peers are starting to turn in applications as well. CHR. CABANAS: So, what are they doing—are they taking online courses or—just on the average. MS. HIGA: A lot of them are at UH and then some of them are taking online courses as well. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. MS. HIGA: Yeah. But most of the applications are for the degree program. CHR. CABANAS: Oh. MS. HIGA: Yeah. ‘Cause we have, like, Toastmasters—we’ve gotten, like, maybe two or three interested in Toastmasters as well, but most of them are for the degree program. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, terrific. MS. HIGA: Yeah. Page 44 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. TOKIHIRO: And I think that the highlights that we just completed—I think last year we reimbursed people, it was about $70,000.00. MS. HIGA: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Wow. MS. TOKIHIRO: So, and I— CHR. CABANAS: That’s really a good benefit for them— MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: —and to improve themselves. MR. AGUINALDO: And it’s a win-win, too, for them going to our University. ‘Cause, it’s kind of, like, you get the education but we also helping the University, but it also benefits the County. That’s good. MS. HIGA: Yeah. So, I’ve been getting more questions about the program. So, I’m looking forward to going over the applications the next round. CHR. CABANAS: So, if they’re taking in-person classes at, let’s say, UH-Hilo—what does the department do? They have them take vacation or— MS. TOKIHIRO: So, participation—to be reimbursed under the Program, you have to be going to school on your own time. So, it wouldn’t be paid time at work. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. MS. TOKIHIRO: Yeah. So, as far as—I don’t know if there may be—because the County now also offers some different scheduling opportunities, like 4-10’s, even for our employees in, like, our HGEA Bargaining Units—it could be that there’re some schedule adjustment, it could be that there’s a combination of online and in-person courses. So—but, yeah, the time spent in the educational program has to be on the employees’ own time. CHR. CABANAS: Terrific. Wow. It’s nice to see that they’re taking advantage of an opportunity because—wow. SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Yes. Yeah. Page 45 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. That’s nice. Oh, thank you so much. MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah, I didn’t realize how much marketing was part of this job. So, we’re trying to market it more, so that people know about it. And then—so, we do a big push in New Hire, so we give them something to look forward to. But, also, we just did a info. session on that. We actually had two—where people were logging in just to hear more about the program. And then, we get a lot of questions in between, so I think the word is, kind of, getting out, again, but it’s—I mean, people got to then enroll and then they’ll start to ask us more questions about the receipts and all of that. MR. AGUINALDO: So as far as what you just said—marketing, is that a separate division with HR? MS. SAKAMOTO: No, it’s us. MR. AGUINALDO: Wow. MS. SAKAMOTO: We’re—we have to come up with how we’re going to market (inaudible) to everybody. MR. AGUINALDO: Wow. MS. SAKAMOTO: Because our problem is we have all these great programs and nobody knows about it. MR. AGUINALDO: Wow. MS. SAKAMOTO: When we ask them, like, “Oh, are you going to come to our 80’s Prom Night”—“Oh, we don’t know anything about it”—so, we’re—we need a way to be able to spread the word about all the things that we’re doing, so that we can get more participation. That’s the harder—that’s the challenge of what we’re doing. MS. TOKIHIRO: And I think it was—it became more of a challenge when our training catalog went online through the CoHnect system. So, it makes it more accessible, so employees, in theory, can go and look at the available training and then make their request to their supervisor that they’d like to attend a particular training—but, I think, what it—because it now requires that people actually go in and look at the training catalog, whereas, the way we distributed in the past, one or two times a year—that was, kind of, more, like, an email going out saying, “Here’s the new Training Catalog”—and so, it kind of got peoples’ attention. Page 46 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 So, kind of making some adjustments and figuring out how we want to promote these things a little differently, so we can get more participation. CHR. CABANAS: The University, when I took my grandson swimming—they have that—I don’t know what you call it—you would know—it’s that LED— MR. AGUINALDO: (Inaudible) board. CHR. CABANAS: —yeah, board—an LED board and it has verbiage about UH, welcome, or whatever. So, I don’t know how much that costs— SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: (Inaudible) board. CHR. CABANAS: I know they are, but people pay attention to that. MS. TOKIHIRO: I’d like to get one of those, I’m going to put it on the outside of the County Building— CHR. CABANAS: There you go. MS. TOKIHIRO: Yeah. In the parking area where all of the employee’s park so they can see— CHR. CABANAS: All that you need is one board and employees who may not work at the Aupuni Center but who still travel to do business or whatever—word spreads. ‘Cause I was—I really—that really caught my eye at the UH—it’s the Upper Campus. MS. SAKAMOTO: So, we find that we get the most participation from those in our Engagement Committee. So, we ask them can you help us, like, get people to come to our stuff— CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: —and then, when we see the turnout, it’s like, from all of those departments—because everybody else, we send them the information but because they’re not, like, associated with it or helping us plan it or even like—so, we want to reach more people. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: —but— Page 47 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MR. AGUINALDO: (Inaudible.) MS. SAKAMOTO: Oh, yeah, I know what you’re talking about. I was like “What?”— CHR. CABANAS: But all you need is one board because I’m thinking—I don’t know how it works, but it—I’m thinking, you could even do it for Recruitment, you could do it for— SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, each division, if you wanted to—but since you’re talking about marketing your training— MS. SAKAMOTO: Well, we used to do payroll stuffers— CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: —but now everything is online, right— CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MS. SAKAMOTO: —our new system. So, like, we don’t—we can’t do that anymore. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: So, we’re always having to come up with different ideas on how we can promote our programs. CHR. CABANAS: Or maybe the Jobs Ameri—the Jobs Center, if they have money, they could buy one for you folks and you folks can— MS. SAKAMOTO: For Recruitment. CHR. CABANAS: I think—yeah—I think that would be—that’s exciting. MS. SAKAMOTO: Thank you for that idea. MS. TOKIHIRO: Come up with catchy slogans when we don’t have a new training we want to highlight—just to get attention for our board. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. BOND: Should put banners of—over their tiny (inaudible)—80’s Prom Night. Page 48 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah, I’m waiting for them to tell us in CoHnect that we can put, like, a, “Hey, this is new.” CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. BOND: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: But they’re not quite there yet, but that’s on my radar to follow-up once they—once we get settled. MS. TOKIHIRO: Especially because everybody has to go to the login page. And so, on the login page, on that first landing page where you can—yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah, we want to be able to put announcements. CHR. CABANAS: You can’t put, like, a board or a page. MS. SAKAMOTO: That’s why we want to put announcements. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: But we don’t have the ability to do that, yet. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: But maybe (inaudible) could do it. MS. SAKAMOTO: But I’m going to ask them when will that be. Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: When that comes out, I’m going to ask them. CHR. CABANAS: ‘Cause that really will— MS. SAKAMOTO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: —take off to a whole bunch of things. MS. SAKAMOTO: At least they’ll see it, right? CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. No—they’ll see it but—I mean, I always said, “Plant seeds,” right? Page 49 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Plant the seed and then if you have some shrubs growing, then the shrubs develop into small trees. MS. SAKAMOTO: Yeah, so that’s why the bowling, like, since a lot of people had fun— now, more people are asking about it. It’s all word of mouth, right, so— CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, too bad we don’t have—well, there are people on the island that have millions of dollars. It’s too bad they can’t develop (inaudible) a bowling center to Hilo. MS. SAKAMOTO: That was great when we had it before, yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, you can go to KMC but Hilo—that bowling center was— MS. SAKAMOTO: It was so popular, yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, gosh, it was the focal center for Kupuna, for our high-schoolers, for young kinds—oh, my gosh. MS. SAKAMOTO: There used to be a league, right—a County league. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. SAKAMOTO: Didn’t they have— CHR. CABANAS: We used to have HGEA leagues and so we would play with state and County employees. Yeah. Yeah, instead we have— MS. SAKAMOTO: Okay, (inaudible) a board—a LED board. Thank you, guys. SPEAKERS: Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, yeah. MS. BOND: Okay. I have a question about— CHR. CABANAS: Is it on the agenda? MS. BOND: Well, it’s from before, earlier in the day. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, I kind of think I know where you’re going. Okay. Page 50 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 MS. BOND: I just want to—the whole—J, this is for you as to whether or not I can even ask this question. The whole—and maybe we put it on the agenda for the next time, the full thing about the missed deadlines and should they be put in the same—all of that. Can we discuss th that before we get to the meeting on the 24? CHR. CABANAS: She’s talking about— SPEAKER: Going back to the appeals. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. I think it’s more AG— MS. BOND: The police seven. CHR. CABANAS: It’s more of an AG question. He’s not part of it. MS. BOND: No. But, whether or not I can even ask that question now, was what I was asking. CHR. CABANAS: No, ‘cause it’s not on the agenda. Next meeting. MR. YOSHIMOTO: Not now, yeah—next meeting. MS. BOND: So, if I want to put it on the agenda for next meeting that we actually talk about that—that’s what I need to know. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah. MS. BOND: Okay. Glynis— CHR. CABANAS: The other thing, too, is— MS. BOND: Can we get the AG to come in so that we can answer that question? CHR. CABANAS : Yeah. I think Trisha needs to be present for the Sept—well, she needs to be for the September— SPEAKER: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Yeah—and the thing is to just how it bothered Mr. Thomas, I’m sure it must bother all of us—but how that particular part says how the Board misused— MR. YOSHIMOTO: You should not— Page 51 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: Yeah—no, no—to put it on the agenda for the next meeting. And then, we can go into executive session. Yeah. And so, okay, we are still— MS. BOND: That was the question. CHR. CABANAS: —with our Director— MS. BOND: And I knew I couldn’t ask it. CHR. CABANAS: —of Human Resources. So, I’m going to ask, does the Board want additional briefings at the next meeting? MS. BOND: Another division-type—that kind of thing? CHR. CABANAS: Yes. MS. BOND: Yeah, I think we should—it would be nice to have them do little informational things about what they do. I think it’s helpful, don’t you? MR. AGUINALDO: Yeah. MS. BOND: Yeah. He’s nodding, we just can’t hear it. CHR. CABANAS: Any area that— MR. THOMAS: I haven’t said anything. CHR. CABANAS: Any area that you’d like more info. on that would not put us in conflict with any upcoming hearings. MR. AGUINALDO: I just felt that I didn’t know that had some people miss the deadline—that kind of stuff, right. That was the only thing—I thought everybody did them. Yeah. MS. BOND: We just had Recruitment—no. Personnel and— CHR. CABANAS: We had Personnel and Organizational Development. MS. BOND: So, what division would we want next? Health and Safety, Equal Opportunity— CHR. CABANAS: Maybe we should have Alika. Yeah. MS. BOND: Alika is the ADA— Page 52 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, I think we should have— MS. TOKIHIRO: She’s the Equal Opportunity/ADA— MS. BOND: Yeah, let’s do that one. CHR. CABANAS: Because Jenny also mentioned Alika does training on harassment— MS. TOKIHIRO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: And other kinds of training as well. MS. TOKIHIRO: The—I’m going to have to check with Alika to make sure that I don’t have a scheduling conflict because I think that I did mention to her after the last meeting that I was going to have Jenny present, and then her at the next meeting, and she may have a schedule conflict. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. MS. TOKIHIRO: In the event that she’s not available, is there another— CHR. CABANAS: Second choice. MS. BOND: Pick another choice. Okay, let’s look through the thing, again. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, Labor. MS. BOND: Labor Relations. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, Glynis says in July—possible briefing was with Labor Relations. MS. TOKIHIRO: So, Labor Relations will cover employee grievances but also addresses collective bargaining, the different policies and procedures that they’re providing guidance to the departments on— MS. BOND: That works to me. MR. THOMAS: Well, that would get us into the area of what’s the differences between the kind of cases or issues that we are empowered to handle and if there are any differences between them with what the Union contracts can provide. MS. TOKIHIRO: Yeah, so I think addressing—yeah, there could be a conflict with the pending hearing just the internal complaint procedure versus the grievance process. So, maybe as an alternative I should see if our Health and Safety Division is available. Page 53 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 There’s a lot of programs that are—training programs that are provided through our Health and Safety Division. And then, we have completed a re-organization and added staff in that division as well. So, that may be—that’s an area that’s not going to provide a conflict. MR. THOMAS: We, certainly, would want to include training but I don’t think that’s the only subject you focus on in the department, in short you want to know what they do. MR. TOKIHIRO: Yeah, so it’ll be all kinds of things. MR. THOMAS: Yeah. MS. TOKIHIRO: So, it’s—yeah. CHR. CABANAS: Okay, so Health and Safety for September—oh, you’re going to check with Alika first? MS. TOKIHIRO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: But, if not, the next plan or option would be Health and Safety. MS. TOKIHIRO: Yes. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. We won’t have a hearing that day, though, huh? Oh, it’s going to take—the hearing could take us through December? MS. YAMADA: (Inaudible.) CHR. CABANAS: Yikes—the following year? Oh. I won’t be here, yeah. In January the Board will select or elect a new Chair. I was hoping that we could get that fifth position filled. Okay, so we’re moving on now to “Announcements.” MR. YOSHIMOTO: Wait—you should make a motion— CHR. CABANAS: Oh, yes. A motion to have the next briefing for September with either Equal Opportunity/ADA with Alika Cockett or next option would be— MS. BOND: Health and Safety. CHR. CABANAS: —Health and Safety depending on their availability. MS. BOND: So moved. MR. THOMAS: Second. Page 54 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: Any discussion? If not, I’ll start with Suzi for a rollcall vote. MS. BOND: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Aguinaldo. MR. AGUINALDO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Thomas. MR. THOMAS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. Four ayes. Motion carried. So, thank you, Sommer. MS. TOKIHIRO: Thank you. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, great. MR. AGUINALDO: Good job. Communications (Item 6) (There was none.) New Business (Item 7) (There was none.) Unfinished Business (Item 8) Communication No. 25-06.06, Received August 5, 2026, From Deputy Attorney General Trisha C. Gibo, Transmitting The “Order Declining To Issue Declaratory Rulings And Order Sua Sponte Remanding Case To Merit Appeals Board, County Of Hawaiʻi.” Board Action Required: Setting A Hearing Date And Deadlines For The Submittal Of Documents (Previously taken out of order.) Page 55 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 Announcements (Item 9) CHR. CABANAS: So, for “Announcements” that fifth position had—for the Board—had a nominee but we learned today that the Administration pulled the nomination. So— MS. BOND: They were ducking me at the EOC the other day. CHR. CABANAS: So, I really would want that position filled especially with the upcoming hearings. Good Lord. So, Glynis, you think the hearings would be in January? Oh, my. MR. AGUINALDO: November, December— MS. YAMADA: In November, yeah, it’s the (inaudible) to consolidate or not— CHR. CABANAS: Right, consolidation. MS. YAMADA: —(inaudible) schedule the hearings after that, depending on the outcome. CHR. CABANAS: Yeah, so the hearing could start in December? MS. YAMADA: I don’t know if we’re going to have deadlines, again. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, Lord. MR. AGUINALDO: But, we’re going to have—Glynis, we going have hearings, December, too? MS. YAMADA: Probably not—on the appeals. MR. AGUINALDO: Oh. CHR. CABANAS: But, if there’s no additional deadlines, we could have it in December, right? MS. YAMADA: That’s a Trisha question. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. THOMAS: What Council District are we focused on for another nominee—or does that matter. Page 56 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: Kona. MR. THOMAS: Kona—well, that shouldn’t be hard to find. MS. BOND: That’s what you say. CHR. CABANAS: It’s been—you know how many years? Almost three. Yeah, so, anyway—any other “Announcements?” Schedule Next Meeting Date (Item 10) The Merit Appeals Board Will Convene Its Next Meeting On Friday, September 18, 2026, At 9:00 A.M., At The Hilo Council Chambers, Hawaiʻi County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, Hilo, HI 96720 CHR. CABANAS: If not, our next meeting will be Friday, September 18, 2026— MS. BOND: I won’t be here. I’ll be in Denver. CHR. CABANAS: Oh, okay. MS. BOND: I’m at a convention in Denver. CHR. CABANAS: It’s at 9 a.m., at the Hilo Council Chambers, Hawaiʻi County Building, 25 Aupuni Street, First Floor, Room 1401, in Hilo. So, Mr. Aguinaldo and Mr. Thomas, and myself—you will be here September 18? MR. AGUINALDO: Yes, ma’am. CHR. CABANAS: Otherwise, we won’t have quorum. MR. THOMAS: Yes, I’m good. th CHR. CABANAS: Okay, so September 18, 2026, at 9 a.m., is our next meeting— that’s a Friday. And I’ll follow-up, again, on that Kona position. Adjournment (Item 11) CHR. CABANAS: Okay, so may I have a motion to adjourn today’s meeting? MS. BOND: So moved. MR. THOMAS: Second. Page 57 Merit Appeals Board August 28, 2026 CHR. CABANAS: Okay, any discussion? MR. AGUINALDO: No. CHR. CABANAS: If not, I’ll start a rollcall vote with Ms. Bond. MS. BOND: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Aguinaldo. MR. AGUINALDO: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Mr. Thomas. MR. THOMAS: Aye. CHR. CABANAS: Ms. Cabanas—aye. Four ayes. Motion carried. Today’s meeting is adjourned at 11:04 a.m. Thank you, all, for attending today. Respectfully submitted, Glynis Yamada, Secretary-Reporter APPROVED: Gabriella M. Cabanas, Chair Merit Appeals Board Page 58 C O Z cn H O W O C., m CO3 O O Q 0 yeQ = Co, LaJ■ copF_ cc 0 _ Z E-+ Z Z Z M Q ■=MN W a M O O H-06 co ■—MO Z M O F- 0 o O � Q N W ■ MEI C Z C C 4.11.1 Q (1) 0 rm a cri E . _ 0NE > W arM C al CD z co, ail cc a) co o > cl_ 0_ cm 00 ii_ o( a) * 0 ,„f .1. , ..,* mi. .4_, v, ._ ca 4 -I-, QJ L Q lit rt3 tic +-1 Nr. ._ v, Q ca ■ C In O In • L 0 CO O CO Q a3 . >. 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