HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-01-14 Cost of Government Commission Agenda
COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
c/o Office of the Corporation Counsel, 101 Aupuni Street,
Suite 325, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
AGENDA
Friday,January 14, 2011 –10:00 a.m.
Liquor Control Conference Room
Hilo Lagoon Centre
101 Aupuni Street, Suite 230
Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
1.CALL TO ORDER
2.STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
3.APPROVAL OF MINUTES (December 10, 2010)
4.DISCUSSION, AND QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WITH
COUNCILMEMBER PETE HOFFMANN REGARDING RESPONSE TO
QUESTIONS IN THE COST OF GOVERNMENT’S DECEMBER 7, 2010
LETTER TO ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS
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5.CORRESPONDENCE
A.Comm.2010-145:Response from Guy Toyama, Energy Advisory
Commission Re: August 5, 2010 letter requesting responses.
B.Comm. 2010-146: Response from Fred Blas, Council Member.
C.Comm. 2010-147: Response from Eric Tanouye, Agricultural Advisory
Commission Re: August 5, 2010 letter requesting responses.
D.Comm. 2010-148: Response from Department of Information Technology.
E.Comm. 2010-149: Response from Brittany Smart, Council Member,
Re: December 7, 2010 letter requesting responses.
6.REPORTS FROM SUBCOMMITTEES
A.Operations, Budget, and Consolidation (G. Wong, G. Matsuda)
B.Revenue Enhancement and Collections (K. Armour, P. Provalenko)
C.Technology Recommendations and Adoption (E. O’Hara, M. Nicholson)
7.DISCUSSION REGARDING ITEMS PREVIOUSLY RECOMMENDED TO BE
PLACED IN DRAFT REPORT
A.Review the process for qualifying agricultural property tax exemptions and
consider including financial documentation to show agricultural activity
(November 3, 2010 Minutes,page 25; December 10, 2010 Minutes,
page 34);
Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
B.Implement software solutions to coordinate collection of tipping fees at the
scale house and insure accounting systems are able to read the data
(November 3, 2010 Minutes,page 25; December 10, 2010 Minutes,
page 34);
C.Department of Environmental Management regulate septic and grease
haulers and collect an annual fee for registration commensurate with fees
of other counties in Hawai‘i (November 3, 2010 Minutes,page 25;
December 10, 2010 Minutes, page 35);
D.Explore annual renewal fee for solid waste haulers and require all haulers
to be current on solid waste bills to reduce delinquencies (November 3,
2010 Minutes,page 27);
E.Consolidate Enforcement (November 17, 2010 meeting and
Comm. 210-105);
F.Eliminate Homeowner’s Real Property Exemption for Unpermitted
Dwellings (November 17, 2010 meeting and Comm. 2010-105);
G.Require that all commercial buses that accommodate 40 passengers or
more when registered in the County of Hawai‘i for use are required to
demonstrate that they comply with trade-in program (November 17, 2010
meeting and Comm. 2010-105;December 10, 2010 Minutes, page 38);
H.Recommend that the first time a vehicle is registered in the county an auto
salvage fee is assessed (November 17, 2010 meeting and
Comm. 2010-105; December 10, 2010 Minutes, page 38);
I.Recommend the county establish a schedule for reviewing and updating
the County Code (November 17, 2010 meeting and Comm. 2010-105;
December 10, 2010 Minutes, page 39);
J.The County of Hawai‘i allow standardized modular housing that meets the
minimum health and safety requirements and may include such things as
minimum square footage, composting toilets and water catchments
(November 17, 2010 meeting and Comm. 2010-105; December 10, 2010
Minutes, page 41);
K.County implementation of Laserfiche, video conferencing, multimedia
communication in lieu of face-to-face meetings where/when practical
(Operation, Budget and Consolidation subcommittee report on October 8,
2010);
L.Boards and commissions evaluate the scheduling of their meetings
monthly to quarterly or otherwise (Operation, Budget and Consolidation
subcommittee report on October 8, 2010);
M.Recommend creating a position dedicated to focusing on health care and
education industries (Operation, Budget and Consolidation subcommittee
report on October 8, 2010; and Comm. 2010-123; December 10, 2010
Minutes, page 43);
N.Centralize grant writing efforts by creating a Grant Specialist position to
work with all departments in the county to improve the county’s ability to
receive funds from various sources (Operation, Budget and Consolidation
subcommittee report on October 8, 2010;December 10, 2010 Minutes,
page 45);
O.Implement a county-wide technology management plan (November 17,
2010 meeting);
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P.The County continue to update and enforce its internet use policy for all
county employees (December 10, 2010 meeting, Comm. 2010-144;
page 27);
Q.Have the Fire Department investigate implementing a jet ski program with
our Ocean Safety Division, including the cost effectiveness of
implementing a jet ski program (December 10, 2010 meeting,
Comm. 2010-144, page 29).
8.DISCUSSION REGARDING ITEMS TO BE ADDED TO THE LIST OF
RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE PLACED IN DRAFT REPORT
Discussion and recommendations may encompass anyitem contained or
discussed inany communication (Comm. 2010-001 through Comm. 2010-0149),
or subcommittee report or presentation given at any prior meeting (see previous
Agendas and Minutes), including but not limited to:
Work Hours/Benefits Pay:
A.Allow employees to work 10 hours/4 days per week.
Potential impacts: save on electricity, reduce overtime costs for staff
required to attend evening public meetings.
B.Institute performance-based reward program. Rewards might be a bonus,
time off, raise, etc.
C.Use flex time to reduce overtime costs.
D.Make employees accountable for their full day of work; abuse of lunch
hours, break time, and clean-up time is rampant.
E.Link pay cuts to an economic index that would restore cuts as the
economy improves.
F.Focus work-hour cuts on positions that have a less direct impact on
County revenues.
G.Focus work-hour cuts on personnel in departments that have less demand
for their services in a slow economy.
H.Focus efforts at controlling overtime pay on those who are higher on the
pay scale.
I.Establish a ‘voluntary temporary furlough’ program. Suggested format is:
1.Department head decides which positions or whether any positions
can accommodate the personnel time reduction on a temporary
basis only.
2.Any employee may apply.
3.Maximum of one day per week (2 days per pay period) per full-time
employee.
4.Minimum of one day per month (1 day per pay period) per full-time
employee.
5.90-day commitment period per agreement, renewal by application
at least 20 days prior to expiration (for accounting management
needs). Manager may require reduction to minimum (1 day per
month) or deny, based on personnel needs.
6.No reduction in vacation or sick leave accruals or other benefits.
J.Reduce paid holidays by eliminating Good Friday and Prince Kuhio Day.
Employees could use vacation time if they wish to take these days off.
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K.Reduce monthly accrual of vacation or sick leave from 14 hours per month
(4.5 weeks per year for each) to 10 hours per month (3 weeks year) in
place of current furloughs.
L.Instead of lay offs, require all county employees to take a uniform pay cut.
M.Establish an early retirement incentive plan.
N.Require employees to take one work day off per month, with the employee
choosing to use vacation time or leave without pay.
0.In place of current furlough system, require all employees to take one day
off per month, but allow an optional three days for employees who want to
work less.
P.Freeze pay increases until the economy improves.
Q.Change overtime so that it is triggered after working 40 hours per week,
not after 8 hours per day.
R.Consider consolidating vacation and sick time into personal time off.
Potential impacts would allow employees more flexibility to schedule
personal time off, would reduce abuse of sick time.
Reimbursements/Per Diem
A.Eliminate meal reimbursement when travel is in more than two districts.
B.Replace set per diem with actual expenses, capped at per diem amount.
Travel/Vehicle Use
A.Limit attendance at off-island conferences and/or hold off-island
conferences via Skype or video conferencing.
B.Eliminate County take-home vehicles. Replace with vehicle pool that
would allow employees to check out a vehicle if needed.
C.Hold all department and division meetings via video conferencing.
D.When on-island travel is required, send qualified lower paid staff to
represent department.
Department-Specific Suggestions
A.Streamline the re-contracting process for continuing, part-time temporary
staff.
B.Eliminate the yearly physical exam requirement for continuing,
re-contracted temporary employees.
C.Consolidate at least one DEM divisions’ administrative offices with the
primary DEM Administrative and Business Services section.
D.In the Solid Waste Division, create separate position for heavy equipment
operators who work only at landfills and don’t need a CDL license from
those who drive off-site and do need a CDL license (this recommendation
carried forward from prior COG report).
E.Reduce Solid Waste supervisor overtime abuses at landfill through better
scheduling.
F.Eliminate the Personnel Officer position for smaller departments and
centralize this task with a specialist in Human Resources.
G.Reorganize the Human Resources Department to decrease staffing
needs.
H.Base fuel reimbursement for all Police Department personnel on actual
mileage rather than an open mileage for higher ranking officers.
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I.Use private security in place of extra duty police for traffic control.
J.Develop a notification system for police officers who have been
subpoenaed for court hearings to let them know if the hearing has been
cancelled or postponed, thus avoiding unnecessary travel and overtime
pay.
K.Cut the monthly car allowance for police officers and replace it with a
yearly servicing and maintenance allowance.
L.Use a hiring agency to staff temporary election clerk positions.
M.Examine overtime policies within the Fire Department to determine if the
policies are fair, unambiguous, and effective in reducing overtime.
N.Require applicants for permits to pay private engineers/architects for
reviews, inspections, and certificates of occupancy, rather than having the
County provide these services.
O.Consolidate enforcement functions for zoning, subdivision, SMA and
building code violations.
Staffing/Consolidations
A.Work with the unions to make it easier to release non-productive workers.
B.Cross train employees to improve efficiencies.
C.Implement a web-based recruitment program for all County jobs.
D.Pool clerical staff where possible.
E.Encourage the recruitment and use of volunteers and volunteer groups at
all levels of County operations.
F.Designate one Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) officer for the entire
County, rather than having multiple EEO officers in various departments.
G.Centralize complaint processing for all County complaints, which would
then be referred to the appropriate department for response/action.
Impacts: better serve the public, better follow-up.
H.Outsource more services to the private sector, such as park maintenance
and trash hauling.
I.Eliminate positions that have been vacant for more than 12 months.
Miscellaneous
A.Human Resources and/or Management should solicit employee input on a
regular basis. Encouraging input on finding ways to save money should
be part of the solicitation.
B.Eliminate the Annual Clerical Appreciation Conference.
C.Eliminate the Public Works, Planning and Corporation Counsel’s annual
conference.
D.Review the minimum qualifications to determine which position really
should trigger State licensing as a requirement for employment.
E.All County employees should be subject to random drug testing.
F.Reduce the use of temporary assignments amount County employees.
9.DISCUSSION REGARDING CONSOLIDATION OF BOARDS AND
COMMISSIONS
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10.DISCUSSION REGARDING APPROACH TO TAKE TO TIMELY ACCOMPLISH
MANDATE OF THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
A.Subcommittee progress, problems, further definition of subcommittee
needed, further information needed, etc.
11.DISCUSSION REGARDING FUTURE MEETING DATES
12.ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON NEXT AGENDA
13.ANNOUNCEMENTS
The next meeting of the Cost of Government Commission will be held on Friday,
January 28,2011, at 10:00 a.m., at the Liquor Control Conference Room, Hilo
Lagoon Centre, 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 230, Hilo, HI 96720.
14.ADJOURNMENT
NOTE: If you require an accommodation or auxiliary aid and/or services to
participate in this meeting (i.e., sign language interpreter, large print, etc.)
please call 961-8251.
SUBMITTING TESTIMONY
Those wishing to testify in person must register with the Commission Secretary at the meeting.
Those submitting written testimony at the meeting should bring ten (10) copies for distribution. Testimony
may also be submitted (1) by mail to Sandy Arriola c/o Corporation Counsel, 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 325,
Hilo HI 96720; (2) by facsimile to (808) 961-8622; or (3) by e-mail to sarriola@co.hawaii.hi.us.Please
submit separate testimony for each item. Copies will be distributed by the Commission Secretary at the
meeting only if they are received before 12:00 noon on the business day prior to the meeting. All oral
and written testimony will be public record.
NOTICE TO LOBBYISTS
If you are a lobbyist, you must register with the Hawai‘i County Clerk within five days of becoming a
lobbyist (Article 15, Section 2-91.3(b), Hawai‘i County Code).
A lobbyist means “any individual engaged for pay or other consideration who spends more than five hours
in any month or $275 in any six-month period for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or
administrative action by communicating or urging others to communicate with public officials.” (Article 15,
Section 2-91.3(a)(6), Hawai‘i County Code.)
Registration forms and expenditure report documents are available at the Office of the County Clerk-
Council, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720.
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