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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-11-20 Cost of Government Commission MinutesCOST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION County of Hawaii MTN11TFC November 20, 2006 — 10:00 a.m. Office of the Corporation Counsel — Conference Room 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 325 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Commissioners Myles Y. Miyasato, Chair present: Wayne T. Joseph, Vice Chair Marilyn L. Nicholson, Commissioner Patricia Provalenko, Commissioner Melvyn K. Sakaguchi, Commissioner Barbara R. Stremski, Commissioner Also present: Nancy Crawford, Deputy Director, Finance Department Clayton Yugawa, Director, Data Systems Department Jason Armstrong, Staff Writer, Hawaii Tribune - Herald Katherine A. Garson, Deputy Corporation Counsel Mary E. Crosson, Secretary 1. CALL TO ORDER The Chair called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2006, MEETING Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to accept and file the minutes, Ms. Provalenko seconded the motion, and all members voted aye to accept and file the minutes of September 21, 2006. 3. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC No members of the public were present. 4. APPROVAL OF ADDENDUM AND /OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA There was no addendum or supplemental agenda. Ms. Garson informed the commissioners that Clayton Yugawa, the Director of the Data Systems Department, had conveyed that he was running late. The Chair therefore advanced to agenda item 9, while waiting for the presenters from the Data Systems and the Finance Department to appear. 9. DISCUSSION ON FINAL DRAFT OF REPORT AND THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS: a. Department of Environmental Management (Wastewater): Recommend looking into developing more opportunities in wastewater recycling, primarily for environmental reasons but also to generate revenue. The commissioners mentioned that there is currently only one facility, in Kona, which actually recycles wastewater for a golf course. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to include this recommendation in the report, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. b. Department of Environmental Management (Wastewater): Recommend development of a long -term strategic plan for staffing, facilities, replacements, etc., as the island is growing and is only going to get bigger. Mr. Joseph said that the DEM may already have a long -term strategic plan and that one would think most departments do, but the Chair recalled that the DEM did not seem to have anything solid. Ms. Nicholson questioned whether it was appropriate for them to recommend that only one section of the DEM develop a long -term strategic plan, or whether the whole department should have one. She said she has no problem supporting the recommendation that the Wastewater Division have a strategic plan, but is concerned that the plan needs to dovetail with the entire Department's plan, if there is one. The Chair said he would not like to put forth this recommendation if they already have a plan. Mr. Sakaguchi said they could either check if the Department has a plan already, or could put a caveat in their recommendation to develop a plan if none is presently available. Ms. Nicholson read aloud from the minutes of May 4, 2006, which stated that the Chair wanted the plan for the Wastewater Division, as he wanted to help Ms. Beck in staffing and other areas. The Chair said he remembered that Ms. Beck could not justify her request for additional staffing because there was no long -term plan for the Department. Planning was done month -to- month, so Ms. Beck could not get approvals and was scrambling by herself to do a lot of the work. He said the recommendation is broad, and he did not think it would help Ms. Beck unless it was more specific. Ms. Nicholson said it appeared that the DEM had staffing and space needs and that the recommendation could be salvaged if they focused on the Wastewater Division developing a plan for future staffing and space needs. The Chair stated he would be willing to withdraw the recommendation, as it did not have enough "teeth" to help Ms. Beck. 2 Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to not include the recommendation in their report, Mr. Sakaguchi seconded the motion, and all members voted aye on the motion. C. Department of Environmental Management (Solid Waste): Recommend that Mike Dworsky receive clerical assistance. Motion: Ms. Nicholson moved to amend this recommendation by taking out Mr. Dworsky's name and recommending that the Solid Waste Division receive additional clerical assistance. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. Ms. Garson said she saw in recent Council agendas requests for positions, although she was not sure specifically what positions were being requested. She said Solid Waste may already have gotten the help they needed. Vote: All members voted aye on the motion. d. Department of Environmental Management (Solid Waste): Recommend that CDL truck drivers be separated from heavy equipment operators, who work only at the landfills and should not need CDL licenses. Ms. Provalenko questioned whether the purpose of this recommendation was to keep the equipment operators off the highways, since they had CDL's but were not practiced at driving large trucks on the highways. The Chair said the concern was that it was difficult for Solid Waste to recruit equipment operators because of the requirement that they possess CDL's, and operators should not need CDL's since they would be working only in the landfills and not driving trucks on highways. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether a special employee category for truck drivers was needed, or whether the equipment operators could be exempted from the CDL requirement. The Chair felt the heavy equipment operators should be exempt from the CDL requirement and be designated as heavy equipment operators. Ms. Nicholson questioned who the recommendation should be addressed to, and Mr. Sakaguchi stated they should just make the recommendation and it would be up to others to address it to the right department. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to include this recommendation into the final report, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. e. Department of Environmental Management (Solid Waste): Recommend that contract terms be lengthened to multi year terms. Motion and Vote: Mr. Sakaguchi moved that this recommendation be adopted, with the clarification that it is regarding vendor contracts and not employee contracts. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye. f. Department of Environmental Management (Solid Waste): Recommend additional trainers to train transfer station attendants to become equipment operators, thus increasing their ability to multi function. The commissioners recollected that Mr. Dworsky of the Solid Waste Division had mentioned there was only one trainer and that he himself was multi - tasking and training others to do different functions. Motion and Vote: Mr. Sakaguchi moved to include this recommendation in the report, Ms. Provalenko seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye. g. Department of Environmental Management (Solid Waste): Recommend that employees be subject to random drug testing, which is to include current employees and not just new hires. Ms. Stremski noted that Mr. Ben, of the Civil Service Department (now the Department of Human Resources) had informed them that employees are covered by privacy laws and that the random drug testing can only include police officers, fire fighters, and CDL drivers. The Chair said this recommendation is a union issue. They could put forth this recommendation, but it would involve negotiations between the County and the unions. Mr. Sakaguchi questioned whether the Solid Waste chief was concerned primarily with random drug testing for truck drivers, or whether he wanted all employees to undergo the testing. Ms. Nicholson said the truck drivers were a part of the concern, but it also involved employees not showing up for work and leaving the Division short- handed. The issue went beyond public safety and involved absenteeism. Motion and Vote: Ms. Stremski moved to adopt this recommendation, Ms. Nicholson seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye. Ms. Garson introduced Nancy Crawford, who arrived from the Department of Finance. The Chair moved back to item 6 on the agenda. 6. QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WITH DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REGARDING (1) COUNTY'S USE OF AND PROBLEMS WITH "FRESH" COMPUTER SYSTEM; (2) PAYROLL LAG; AND (3) CONSOLIDATION OF PAYROLL/PERSONNEL FORMS Ms. Nicholson informed Ms. Crawford that they had concerns regarding the computer system, payroll lag, and consolidation of forms, as other departments had brought these issues up. Ms. Crawford stated she did not know the specific questions but would be glad to speak on them. She explained that FRESH is an acronym and represents the new software to which the County converted over a period of years. The first module was started in May, 2004, which in included the core financial information, general ledger, accounts payable, and purchasing components. This has been in place for two and a half years and has been working very well. One of the efficiencies of the system is that they are able to collect and report more information than before, which of course requires that more information be input into the system. In that sense, there is some increase in work for the employees that used to stamp and date various documents which ran around the County. Reports were all on paper and data was monthly, and if you wanted to know what happened, you had to look up each monthly report. Ms. Crawford said there has been a shift in what employees do. The amount of time employees spend typing and paper pushing has not changed very much, but the result is that the information is more widely available and quicker to access for those doing research. The Payroll and Human Resources systems for the County were never computerized. It was 100% paperwork. It mostly worked, but had many limitations. Now it has been customized for the in -house staff. She said it is important for control purposes to have the whole Human Resources package computerized and tied in with personnel information. Human Resources needs to have all information input before an employee can get a paycheck. They cannot fall behind and catch up another time, and this has resulted in overtime in some cases. Ultimately, everything has to done according to schedule for employees to be paid. When there is a change in pay rate or any other personnel change for an employee, that information has to be processed before the paycheck can be cut. Ms. Crawford said the time sheet entry itself changed a lot and was a bigger challenge than expected. The County has an incredibly complex payroll, and they did not want the payroll system to be reliant on a staff person who had written the program to handle it. They wanted it to be standardized and have upgraded software which would interface with the general ledger and accounting. About a dozen modules came with the system, and Human Resources and Payroll have a part. The impact on the departments has been that payroll data entry has increased. At the same time all this was happening, the County got new software with its own requirements. They also changed the way they report time. Before they could only report total hours for a pay period. All the information they had before FRESH was on the semi - monthly totals for a given employee, but it did not have a day -by -day breakdown. There are occasions when it is desirable to know exactly when an employee's overtime occurred, not just that ten hours of overtime were worked. The new system shows what type of overtime and when it occurred. In order to comply with the FLSA, it is important these requirements are met. Putting the time in daily instead of twice a month is a big leap. This is a change the County felt was needed and now finally has the ability to do. The changes impact not only the Finance Department but every department which enters payroll. However, there is a conversion period in getting used to a new system. The payroll change happened in August, 2005, so has only been in place a little over a year. Enhancements are being requested from vendor, and they are trying to sort out how to do things so as to increase the efficiency of the system and minimize the impact the change has had. She said there are many efficiencies with the new system, but not necessarily the same employees are enjoying those fruits. 5 Regarding a payroll lag, Ms. Crawford said the County does not have one, and life would be simpler if it did. She explained that employee paychecks include their regular salary and wages. Then there are timing issues and changes or corrections to be made. There is a one pay period lag before a paycheck reflects exception pay, such as overtime. One pay period later, the County pays the exception pay with any other adjustments. Each paycheck pays two things: the employee's regular salary /wages plus the exception pay from the prior pay period. The Chair said the payroll lag was being suggested to avoid having to make all the corrections. If there was a one -week lag, the County could work on getting the correct amounts on the paychecks. Ms. Crawford felt a five -day or one -week lag would not be enough time to complete the actual processing, printing, and distribution of payroll. Though it would give them more time, the exception time would still need to come on the next paycheck. The Chair asked whether a two -week lag would work, and Ms. Crawford said though it would be simpler to have the regular salary /wages with exception time cycling together, the reality is that it would put a financial burden on employees. The lag would involve delaying their regular salary and wages, and some would miss a paycheck, which is not acceptable. Also, the unions may take issue with a lag, even though the State has done it. She said she should talk to her own payroll people to see what they would recommend. She also said that even with a lag, the people who would be working the hardest are the one putting the time sheets in the front end. They have one to three days to get the timesheets in. Some put them in every week, and some wait until the end of the pay period. The departments have found a way to cope one way or another with whatever works best for them, and she would prefer to leave it with the departments. Each department is unique. Some are small and simple, but others, like Police and Fire, have large and complex payrolls and would have the greatest pressure. Ms. Nicholson said that the Commission heard complaints about the FRESH system from several departments, and also about the payroll system, specifically with employees being overpaid and the need for more paperwork to adjust for that. She explained that the Civil Service Department had said two years were spent and over $50,000 in overtime tweaking the program to make sure the FRESH payroll system was running correctly. They were told the system is so bad that two additional positions were created to accommodate it, which seems the opposite of what computerization is all about. There was also concern about who would input the data if the regular staff person who does so is sick. She said there were clearly some frustrations with the system and that Civil Service has not adjusted too well to it. Ms. Crawford said that Civil Service, now Human Resources, has had the largest adjustment to make, because they were never computerized before. They never had to input information and thus have a greater adjustment to make than departments who had already been doing payroll on the computer. She hoped that some of the overtime incurred related to the conversion and going live. It would be attributed as a temporary cost, which is unavoidable to some degree, of converting the system over. Ms. Nicholson pointed out that the cost is not temporary if two new positions had to be created and filled. Ms. Crawford said her answer is that the system is not the ideal one that Human Resources might have gotten for themselves. Ms. Stremski said the three -day window period to do the input is a difficult aspect. Ms. Crawford said they have been requesting modifications and enhancements, and they have 31 received a number of them. They are mostly aware of what Human Resources' concerns are and are trying to address them. One recommendation is for them to drop the FRESH package and get a human resources system that would be more efficient for them. A way would then need to be found to interface the systems. However, Human Resources and Payroll are so closely integrated that it works best when the same employee knows both sides. All of the correct information needs to be input in order to get the correct paycheck. This is new for Human Resources employees. Before, each employee had a paper form they filled out. Ms. Nicholson asked whether employees still need to fill out a paper form, which another employee would retype onto an electronic form that gets submitted, as part of the Commission's concern is consolidation of payroll and personnel forms. She asked whether the system is mostly computerized, or manual, or whether departments design their own forms, or whether the FRESH system contains standard forms that everyone uses. Ms. Crawford said the system is standardized. When a new employee is hired, all the information the employee put on the original application form, as well as the position number, bargaining unit, pay rate, and everything else related to that employee is put into the computer at the department level by that department's human resources person. If something changes, the change has to be put into the system. She did not believe departments designed their own forms to gather the information. For payroll, employees or their supervisors fill out a paper form. Data Systems and in -house staff are working on improving getting the information from the form into the computer. Ms. Nicholson said getting the information into the computer is part of the issue. There is labor and the need for accuracy involved in getting the information from a paper form into a computer, and she questioned whether this was a system problem or whether a payroll lag would help. Ms. Crawford said the lag would give more time to get the information in and check it. She said the data entry input into the FRESH payroll system, if it is a complex payroll, is not efficient, and the County will ultimately be paying for a modification from the vendor. However, Data Systems has written a "front end" which takes the information from the form and inputs it in a more efficient manner. It has windows for temporary assignments and other categories. This is now in the process of being tested. The form is designed for data functionality and is an improvement over what came from the vendor. Other departments have other record - keeping systems they use, such as the Highway Division, which includes where employees worked and on what project. A clerk takes the information, inputs it into the system, and generates a time sheet for the employee to sign. Both systems are being tested now but are not yet available to departments. She is hopeful that in a month or so decisions will be made to take advantage of one or the other. Mr. Sakaguchi said it would be easier to have a time sheet template and a clerk in the department go on line and enter the information. Ms. Crawford said she believed that is available now. Mr. Sakaguchi asked why it was not being done, rather than dealing with sheets of paper. He asked who the County's vendor was and what other counties were using the vendor. Ms. Crawford said that the vendor was Eden Systems, which was bought out by Tyler, which handles only municipal organizations across the United States. The County is their only Hawaii customer right now. Mr. Sakaguchi asked why the other counties and the State chose to go with other vendors, and Ms. Crawford said each bought systems at different times. Mr. Sakaguchi said municipalities should talk to each other, as their problems are the same. Everything is 7 customized, which adds to the cost. He asked whether the County had a system for evaluating the performance of the vendors, and Ms. Crawford said the system was acquired through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether it goes on ad infinitum, and Ms. Crawford said it is the County's option to stay with the vendor, and the cost to convert is high. She felt that overall, the system is performing pretty well, and the County is getting a lot of good things out of it. Also, payroll is the most difficult module with any vendor and would require customization with any vendor. Before the County did the RFP, they did a request for information and got responses from about 30 companies. They used the information they gathered for the specifications in the RFP and spent about two years selecting the software. In retrospect, the only thing Ms. Crawford felt she would change would be to take more time to bring all the modules on. Instead, they had an aggressive implementation schedule. She personally does not feel they need to go shopping for new software. The FRESH system requires more employee work than the old system, but it gathers a great deal more information. Ms. Nicholson asked whether the information was payroll related or other kinds of information, and Ms. Crawford said it is both payroll and human resources information. They are now keeping in the computer a lot of human resource information that used to be written on cards and in log books. Some people will tell you the manual system was more efficient, but having it online makes it accessible to more people. She recognizes that the system is stronger on its payroll side than its human resource side, and they are working hard with the vendor to implement improvements. There is also an annual conference in which all of the vendor's customers are invited to gather to lobby for improvements to the system. This is one reason the County brought software off the shelf, so there wouldn't be the problem of having it customized and something happening to the only person who knew how to use it. The Civil Service Department had a lot of issues that came up from having to change their system, and they also have legitimate complaints about inefficiencies. She felt the best thing they could do now is improve on those. She did not feel they would be better off bailing out on it. Mr. Sakaguchi said that many private companies turn over their whole payroll and human resource record - keeping to outside vendors and that these companies must be getting better service than the County is from its vendor. He asked how much the County is paying the vendor. Ms. Crawford said the entire system was originally bought for under $1 million and includes all the modules. They have done about $100,000 worth of modifications. They also pay annual licensing and support fees which she roughly estimated at about $50,000 to $60,000 per year. This provides the County with support for general operations problems, training, and fixing things that go wrong. Based on requests, the vendor upgrades the system in a big way twice a year and in smaller ways throughout the year to keep improving and adding enhancements. As a partner, the vendor has been very good in trying to help the County and respond to its needs. The County is one of the vendor's larger customers in terms of the number of employees and volume of data to process, and has tested the vendor's system or pushed the limits of what the system does. Mr. Sakaguchi said that the County was establishing its specifications by making its requests to the vendor, and Ms. Crawford agreed and explained that if the County requests something that is an enhancement for all the customers, the vendor will treat it another way. Mr. Sakaguchi said it seemed the front -end employees who input the data do not see the benefits the back -end employees have, and priority should be given to lessen their work in some way. Ms. Crawford agreed. In hindsight, she should not have been as aggressive in how quickly they brought on the modules. This is the first new computer system in over 20 years for the County. She has been involved with other computer conversions and has never seen a new system result in fewer employees, as there is more information to process. The County is trying to catch up now and get on line. The Chair asked whether the supervisory personnel were given the option on whether to do the time sheets daily, and whether it would help her Department to do it daily. Ms. Crawford said each department is unique, and for a division such as Highway Division, with laborers working on highways, it may work better if clerks enter the time daily. She did not feel it would help her Department to have it daily, because they do each department individually and do not run the process until the end of the pay period, when everything is entered. The Chair commented that this was crunching in the last three days, and Ms. Crawford said they try to give the departments latitude on when they put the time in. She believes the Public Works Department, for example, does it weekly rather than at the end of the pay period. The Chair asked whether a one -week or ultimately two -week lag would help the County, and Ms. Crawford said she would have to talk to the payroll people to see what they say, although it is obvious that if paychecks are not handed out until five days later, you have five days of time to input and process the information. They are trying to shorten the processing end to give the departments another day on data entering. It is a rigorous schedule to get time sheets in, especially when pay periods are short or have holidays. The payroll staff has been working overtime, and a lag would provide more time to get everything out. Mr. Joseph asked how much time is spent going back and making corrections of all the mistakes done on the payroll. Ms. Crawford said she did not know, but that corrections would not usually be for mistakes but for adjustments, since assumptions were made about what hours an employee works before the employee actually works them. Mr. Joseph asked how much time was spent making adjustments, and Ms. Crawford said she could not answer and did not know if payroll staff could say. Some pay adjustments are a part of normal processing. Mr. Joseph said that one of the biggest arguments for a payroll lag was due to the high level of adjustments that needed to be made, and five extra days would give time to have a more accurate payroll. Ms. Crawford said the main time that employees are overpaid and the County needs to get the money back is when they are paid a regular salary, have no more leave time, and don't come to work in the last few days of the pay period. These employees will get a paycheck that pays them more than they are entitled, which means the County has to get union approval to get paid back by the employee. She does not know how common this is, as she does not usually watch payroll processing. Mr. Joseph asked what the total number of paychecks is, and Ms. Crawford said about 2,300 in any given pay period. This is the total number of County positions, though not all are filled. Mr. Joseph asked how many salary, versus hourly, employees there are, and Ms. Crawford said almost all employees are on salary. Parks and Recreation has some part-time, M hourly people, but it is a small percentage. She said she was not sure she and Mr. Joseph were communicating the same thing. Mr. Joseph explained that he is a salaried employee, a teacher for the State, and that he is not paid hourly or paid overtime. Ms. Crawford said all employees are entitled to overtime, and each one gets a salary check with their base salary. Although they are called "salaried," their hours are being tracked, and all the hours they take off are recorded. Mr. Joseph asked whether adjustments would be substantial, and Ms. Crawford said that the top line of the time sheets employees turn in represents their regular time. Even if an employee did not turn in a time sheet, he /she would still get a paycheck for that regular time, as paying the salaries is automatically set. However, all the other time classifications, such as overtime, vacation leave, training time, etc., get entered on the time sheet and the pay is adjusted and paid the following pay period. So the adjustments are many, but they area routine payroll adjustments. Mr. Joseph asked whether the adjustments would result in a change of how much he received on his paycheck, and Ms. Crawford explained that it would affect his following paycheck. Mr. Joseph asked if overtime was the only monetary adjustment, and Ms. Crawford said that temporary assignment, meals compensation, shift differentials, or leave if the employee did not have leave time left would require adjustments. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether a five -day lag would take care of the overtime within that period's paycheck, and Ms. Crawford said it could not be done in five days and would have to be reflected on the next paycheck. She said she believed State employees also had their exception time reflected in the following period's paycheck. The commissioners thanked Ms. Crawford, who said to just write her if they wanted more information from her. She left the meeting at 11:05 a.m. (A break was called from 11: 05 to 11:10 a. m., at which time the Chair called the meeting back to order and went to number 5 on the agenda.) 5. PRESENTATION AND QUESTION /ANSWER SESSION BY THE DATA SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT The Chair introduced Clayton Yugawa, the director of the Data Systems Department. Mr. Yugawa apologized for being late, as he had a family emergency. The Chair asked Mr. Yugawa to go over the questions listed in the agenda, and Mr. Yugawa did so, utilizing his May 4, 2006, response to the COGC: a. Do you have any ideas about what your department can do to save money while not compromising essential services? Mr. Yugawa said there are a lot of things Data Systems can do to save the County money. They have been on an aggressive schedule to consolidate the County's telecommunication efforts. Everything before was on slow circuitry and cost 10 thousands of dollars each month. Now the County is on a new fiber optic network which it receives free from Oceanic Cable. This saves the County thousands each month and is more efficient. Mr. Yugawa said that the County also now has Voice Over IP, which will also save thousands of dollars. If the old County Building and new County Building go with Voice Over IP, he estimates it would save the County about $6,000 per month. Mr. Yugawa said he also would like to utilize the Police Department's microwave system, which goes across the island, rather than pay Hawaiian Telcom a monthly cost. He would like to connect the West Hawaii offices and give them greater speed, the ability to do video conferencing, and Voice Over IP. With the microwave network, he would also like to create wireless networks within the major urban areas. The Police Department is moving towards having mobile data terminals in their vehicles so they can receive information from Dispatch right away. Mr. Yugawa explained that the officers will be able to see on those terminals the picture of the addresses, etc., that Dispatch can see. Mr. Yugawa would like to set up a County wireless network with the microwave, rather than using a wireless carrier's network, which is costly. Using the microwave will save money as well as create the County's own network. Mr. Yugawa said he would recommend that all departments revisit their telecommunication invoices to make sure they actually have what they are paying for. Now that County offices are moving, they are discovering a lot of lines being paid for which are not being used. All departments need to do an audit on this. Eliminating the unused lines will save a lot of money in itself. b. Do you see any way to consolidate services, activities, and functions of a similar nature within your own department as well as with other departments? Mr. Yugawa said he would like Data Systems to become the focal point for all things data. They are trying to connect all the departments to the fiber network and eliminate redundant servers and duties. He would like all of this to come under Data Systems' control. Mr. Yugawa would like standardization of computer systems, as currently there are three different County groups which handle data —there are analysts at the Prosecutor's Office, at the Police Department, and at Data Systems itself. The groups at the Prosecutor's Office and Police Department do not come under the purview of Data Systems. They should all be under Data Systems' purview so that there is a standardized plan of what is required for all systems. They should all have the same standards and virus protection. Mr. Yugawa said that when he first started with the County, there were three different GIS map systems with three different departments. In order for the 11 departments to share maps and information, they needed to be using the same system. C. Are there any services, activities, and functions not necessary to efficient conduct of government that could be eliminated? Mr. Yugawa said that if an employee does not have any business on the internet, that employee should not have access. It appears now that every employee who has a computer has access to the Internet. If fewer employees had access, it would lower the County's need for virus protection and spyware. d. Can privatization help you? If so, in what ways? What would you privatize? Mr. Yugawa said he had no recommendations for privatization and that he would rather not privatize. He would rather have everything come under Data Systems so they would have better control. e. Can you suggest any modernization projects that might streamline your operations in lieu of privatizing functions? Mr. Yugawa said that he would like to become more responsive to the users, as Data Systems is a service organization. When the County's old Wang computers were being decommissioned, a group was formed to take all the calls from County employees to help with installation, repair, and troubleshooting. He said you can measure the progress that has been made and see how quickly his employees respond and how many issues to which they respond. f. Do you have any other ideas on how you can make your operations more efficient? Mr. Yugawa said that when he was employed with GTE, there were merit raises for employees who went beyond the call of duty. The raises were not permanent. They were around $100 per quarter and were to show that what an employee put in was recognized. He said this issue was also brought up with the last Cost of Government Commission, which said it was a union issue and they couldn't do it. However, he would still like to see this happen. It would be a way of motivating employees and showing them you recognize the work they do. With the unions, everyone gets a pay raise regardless of how they perform their job. He has also observed that employees who work well end up getting more work, and he would like to provide them with equities. Mr. Yugawa said that concluded his recommendations. Mr. Sakaguchi asked what was preventing the County from getting into voice orientation and why it couldn't be done next year. Mr. Yugawa said the County is moving towards this now, but it is an expensive proposition. With the current system, every phone in the County is charged $21 per month for the line, whether it is used or not. The Voice IP system is like PBX, where lines are pulled together and shared. So if a line is not being used, someone else can use it. It works over the computer network, with the phone and computer being plugged into the same jack. He is working with the Prosecutor's Office to do this. The system is being made 12 large enough to accommodate all the offices that will be moved into Aupuni Center, as well as the old County Building as offices move back there. All the phone lines will be eliminated. He said the infrastructure is there. Mr. Sakaguchi asked how much that would save per month, and Mr. Yugawa said possibly $4,000 to $6,000 per month. Mr. Sakaguchi asked why Mr. Yugawa was "avoiding" privatization, when he could work with an outside vendor, set up the specifications, and provide the oversight, and the vendor would do the work. Mr. Yugawa said the County's network use is highly technical. He could hire a company to maintain the network, but that would not improve the skills of his employees. His employees need to know how to network and troubleshoot. They need to be hands on. He asked why the County should pay for something that its own employees can do. Mr. Sakaguchi said the County could contract out and questioned why the County needs the employees, when it could keep a few of them and pay them more. Mr. Yugawa said that could be done, but pointed out that Mr. Sakaguchi had asked Nancy Crawford earlier about having another company do the payroll. The County did look into that, and some agencies on Oahu could do it. But all they would do is process the payroll and send the checks. They would not provide reports. The County would have to pay for a lot of "ala carte" things. If Data Systems' technology was transferred elsewhere, and there was a catastrophic event, his people would need to respond to it. Mr. Sakaguchi said the County is small at 2,000 and though there are safeguards and security issues, there must be a way around them. It takes the County such a long time to do things. He asked how the County could speed up the whole thing and said that privatization is a desperation measure. Mr. Yugawa said that was really a philosophical question. Mr. Sakaguchi said it was good to hear that the County was looking at new technology, and Mr. Yugawa said they had to and explained that there is a buzzword lately: "convergence of voice, video, data," and the County needs to move toward this. With the fiber network, they will be able to converge their networks and lower the cost of videoconferencing, Voice IP, etc. Ms. Nicholson said that Mr. Yugawa had mentioned two things that would be hard to do. One was suggesting that departments revisit their telecommunication costs and audit their lines, and the other was to standardize the internet security policy across the County. She asked what was hard about those things. Mr. Yugawa said it is hard to see what other people are doing. He explained that the Police Department is hooked up to the County, but it has a firewall. "They can come into us, but we can't come into them." The Prosecutor's Office also has a firewall. The County needs virus protection for its PC's, servers, and networks. He does not know if the Police Department maintains the same standard of virus protection, and it could put others at risk. He said the County's fiber network is hooked up to the State Building, and the State has a firewall on its end. The County received a call from the State in Honolulu, complaining that someone in the County was hammering their firewall. It turned out to be the Laupahoehoe Police Station, which had no virus protection. The County bought virus protection for the Police, but Data Systems does not know if it is being complied with, since they do not have control over it. He would like it to be consolidated under one standard. 13 Ms. Nicholson asked him about the auditing of the phone lines in departments, and Mr. Yugawa said Finance should issue a memo mandating that departments look at their phone lines. It should not come from Data Systems. Mr. Sakaguchi asked if an outside vendor could do this, and Mr. Yugawa said he thought so. However, the easiest way would be to turn off a line and find out if someone complains, as the phone company cannot tell you what the line is for. Ms. Nicholson asked how they could go about eliminating unnecessary access to the internet and whether that was a Data Systems function. Mr. Yugawa said it is a Data Systems function, but there needs to be a County policy. When he started with the County, an internet e- mail policy was set up which sets forth what you can and cannot do. He said he is able to monitor the internet access. Employees were sending chain letters, which look like viruses. There needs to be a County policy setting up restrictions, because every employee that has a PC can go on the internet. One department requested that Data Systems restrict eBay in the department, and Data Systems was able to block it. Use of "My Space" was also rampant. Employees have been downloading videos now from "YouTube," and this takes up a lot of bandwidth. A County internet policy would increase efficiency, but make him the most hated person in the County. Mr. Sakaguchi said the COGC can take unpopular decisions and recommend them. He asked how much time employees spend in internet shopping, and Mr. Yugawa said he is in the process of buying software which will show that. Mr. Joseph said that Mr. Yugawa's recommendations were very good and asked whether he had proposed any of them to the Mayor or the Council. Mr. Yugawa said he brought up the VoIP to the Mayor about a year ago, but there was not enough money in the budget. He thinks a committee should be formed with the stakeholders, who will agree on a policy and have the mayor sign off. He said he did not get as far as making a policy on internet access. Mr. Joseph said the ideas are good and should have been implemented a long time ago by those in authority. Mr. Yugawa said they did an internet e -mail policy which told employees what they could and could not do, but they did not take the next step on who should have internet access. Data Systems would have to take the lead on it, but the stakeholders, the managers from the departments, would all have to agree to it. Mr. Joseph asked whether Mr. Yugawa had brought up consolidating all departments into one computer system, and Mr. Yugawa said no. Mr. Joseph asked him why there was reluctance in doing that, and Mr. Yugawa said that it is because employees would have to report to a different person. However, he felt it would make sense, because the Police and Prosecutor's Office have fairly large networks, and if they need help, Data Systems could help them. Mr. Joseph asked if there was a benefit for the Police and Prosecutor's Office to maintain their independent system, and Mr. Yugawa said yes, as they did not have to abide by any standards and no one knew what they are doing. If they had merged, Data Systems could help them, and they could help Data Systems. Information, which is power, could pass between the 14 networks. For example, the County network has videostream for Council meetings so employees can watch the meetings from their office and know when they need to be at the Council. The Police should be able to do this, too, but their own firewall is blocking them. Mr. Yugawa said he told them to open up their firewall. Mr. Joseph asked if this had been discussed. Mr. Yugawa said it had been brought up, but not taken further. It was just talked about. Mr. Joseph asked if it would be a more efficient system which might save the County money, and Mr. Yugawa said yes. Mr. Joseph asked why there was reluctance to talk about it at the County level, and Mr. Yugawa said it was because people's feelings would be hurt, like they would be in taking away the internet. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether Data Systems could get together with the Police Department and Prosecutor's Office, not to control what they do, but for the purpose of setting up standards. Mr. Yugawa said that would work, if it was a collaborative effort. Mr. Sakaguchi said he had technical questions about the Police microwave towers: Could cell phone companies install their transmitters or receivers on the towers, to ensure that everyone on the island has reasonably good coverage? Could it technically be done, and would it generate revenue for the County? Mr. Yugawa said yes, and that he had entertained that idea. He had approached Hawaiian Telcom to see if they wanted to partner with the County, which would give them easements and access to the towers. Hawaiian Telcom was reluctant to do so, and he assumes this is because it would take revenue away. He also approached Pacific LightNet about it, and they were also reluctant. He said that T- Mobile, Singular, or Verizon have adequate coverage as it is. Mr. Sakaguchi said in looking at it as a public safety issue, when there is a tsunami or earthquake, everybody is trying to call everybody else, but the phones don't work. Mr. Yugawa said the phones work, but how do you convince cell phone companies to put towers out there. Mr. Sakaguchi said there needs to be a competitor. Mr. Sakaguchi asked about the County setting up its own system, and Mr. Yugawa said he has entertained that idea. He spoke to Pacific Wireless Corp. about setting up a grid network for a major metropolitan area. It would be expensive, about $100,000 per square mile. Mr. Yugawa said that he has many ideas, but how they would be implemented is important. The County is moving forward. It is getting a wireless 911 system so that tourists and people dialing 911 on their cell phones will be able to be tracked. The County is procuring it and will be working with the cell phone companies to be sure about triangulation and that GPS coordinates are accurate. The State Wireless Board is funding it, and it will be a good feature for public safety. After no further questions, Mr. Yugawa thanked the Commission and left at 11:45 a.m. 15 7. DISCUSSION /ACTION ON ITEMS TO ADD TO FINAL REPORT BASED ON PRESENTATION BY THE DATA SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT Motion: Ms. Nicholson moved to include all of Mr. Yugawa's recommendations under No. 1 in his response in their report. Mr. Sakaguchi seconded the motion. [These recommendations are: - allow Data Systems to become the central point for all PC /Peripherals /Software purchases for the entire County of Hawai `i. - Utilize the Police Microwave system to replace the monthly recurring costs of Frame Relay /DSL circuits. - Create a wireless network for the major urban areas of Hawai `i island, i.e., Kona, South Kohala, Waimea, Hilo, and Puna, to be used by the Public Safety sector. - Suggest that all departments revisit their telecommunication costs and verify the number of lines within their department. ] Discussion: Ms. Nicholson said that the last one would need to be directed to the Finance Department, as it is not an action Data Systems should do. However, the first three recommendations would be directed to Data Systems. Vote: All commissioners voted in favor of the motion, with the first three recommendations to fall under Data Systems and the fourth under the Finance Department. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved that all three of Mr. Yugawa's recommendations under No. 2 in his response be accepted. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion and all members voted aye. [These recommendations are: - Consolidate all analyst activities from other departments under Data Systems (to include analysts from the Police Department, Prosecutor's Office, Parks and Recreation, and the Office of Aging). - Standardize the PC, LANIWAN security and internet policies across the entire County of Hawai `i network. - Consolidate and standardize GIS applications (ESRI versus Intergraph).] Motion: Ms. Nicholson moved that Mr. Yugawa's recommendation under No. 3 in his response be reworded to say that Data Systems be given the authority to develop an internet policy on who has access and non - access to internet websites and that they work with all departments on formulating thatpolicy. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. 16 Mr. Yugawa's recommendation under No. 3 was: - Eliminate unnecessary access to the Internet. Discussion: Mr. Sakaguchi questioned whether access to e -mail was included in the motion, and Ms. Nicholson said employees would still have e -mail. Mr. Sakaguchi said that e- mail should be permitted but not access to non - essential, commercial websites. Vote: All commissioners voted aye on the motion. Ms. Nicholson noted that Mr. Yugawa's recommendation under No. 5 in his response was more informational. After no further recommendations based on Mr. Yugawa's presentation, the Chair directed the meeting to Ms. Crawford's presentation. Motion: Mr. Joseph moved to recommend the five -day payroll lag. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. Discussion: The Chair pointed out that the State has been successful with its pay lag, and Ms. Provalenko said that Ms. Crawford had said they could not incorporate the changes into that first paycheck. The Chair said he did not understand why they did not input the hours daily. Ms. Stremski said she could not believe there are not a lot of over - payments. Mr. Sakaguchi questioned whether the lag would be for the purpose of cutting back on adjustments or to avoid overpaying, and the Chair said it would be for overall efficiency. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether they should push the recommendation to include the overtime pay, and Mr. Joseph said he would leave it up to Finance. The Chair said that Finance gave the departments options on how to do the hours rather than setting a policy on the matter. Vote: All commissioners voted aye on the motion. There being no other recommendations on the Finance Department, the Chair moved the agenda to item 8. 8. DISCUSSION /ACTION ON LETTER FROM MIKE BEN, CIVIL SERVICE DEPARTMENT, REGARDING SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY (Communication No. 2006 -82) Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to file the letter, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. 17 Mr. Sakaguchi asked if they could advance to agenda item 17, as he needed to leave the meeting. 17. DISCUSSION ON DATE FOR NEXT MEETING AND ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON ITS AGENDA The Chair stated he felt they should work on their recommendation list before hearing any more department presentations. Ms. Nicholson felt they could talk to a smaller department, like Research and Development, at the same meeting. Ms. Garson pointed out that next on the list of priorities was the Department of Parks and Recreation, and then Research and Development. Mr. Joseph said they should look at finalizing their last few meeting dates first. Everyone indicated they could appear at the December 7 meeting except for Mr. Sakaguchi, who said he needed to check his schedule. However, a quorum would still be met, so December 7, 2006, was settled upon as the next meeting date. Mr. Joseph suggested that after the December 7 meeting, the next meeting be held on December 19 instead of December 21 because of the holidays. All commissioners except Mr. Sakaguchi confirmed December 19, 2006, would work for them. 2007. Ms. Garson reminded the commissioners that their report would be due on January 15, The commissioners agreed to a last meeting date of January 9, 2006. Mr. Joseph said that on December 19 and January 9, there should be no time limitations on the length of the meetings. Ms. Nicholson said she had to be somewhere by 1:30 p.m. on December 19, 2006. December 7, 2006, December 19, 2006, and January 9, 2007, were settled upon as the final meeting dates. (Mr. Sakaguchi left the meeting at 12:0 7 p. m.) The secretary asked the commissioners if they wanted to hear from both Parks and Recreation as well as Research and Development on December 7, 2006. Ms. Nicholson asked whether the Council had approved a new grants writer position, or whether it was in the works. Ms. Stremski said she believed Mr. Dworsky got clerical help, too. Mr. Joseph stated that he did not really want to talk to Parks due to the limited time frame, but he would go along with whatever the others wanted. Ms. Stremski pointed out that it was former commissioner Pamela Cushnie who wanted to talk to Parks. She said it was fine In with her if they skipped Parks, and the Chair indicated that it was also fine with him to skip Parks. It was decided to delete Parks and Recreation from the list of priorities, leaving Research and Development (R &D) as the final department to give a presentation. Ms. Garson asked whether there was any background to give R &D, other than grant writing issues, and the Chair said no. Mr. Joseph asked whether he would need to recuse himself, as he had written and received grants from R &D, as he did not want there to be any question about the propriety of his being there. Ms. Nicholson said that she, too, had dealt with R &D. Ms. Garson said that their being grant recipients did not mean they needed to recuse themselves. If there is a specific issue, it can be disclosed at that time. The topics for R &D should be general in nature. She suggested that the commissioners get through as many agenda items as possible at this meeting so the secretary can start plugging their recommendations into their report. The Chair directed the meeting back to agenda item 9(h). 9. DISCUSSION ON FINAL DRAFT OF REPORT AND THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS: h. Department of Environmental Management (or all departments): Recommend consolidating personnel forms (e.g., vacation, sick leave, etc) into one form. Ms. Garson pointed out that this issue would be for the Finance Department. Motion: Ms. Nicholson moved that they recommend that the Finance Department look at consolidating personnel forms, and leave it at that. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. Discussion: Ms. Nicholson said they should actually look at consolidating and standardizing the personnel forms. Ms. Garson asked whether the examples were being left out, and Ms. Nicholson said yes. Ms. Garson said that some forms, such as vacation /sick leave forms, would probably be part of the Finance Department. Other forms, such as personnel forms, would be Civil Service Department forms. The Chair said that when the recommendation first came out, it was specific as to vacation and sick leave, as there was a separate form for each. The Environmental Management Department had different forms for each type of leave, and they wanted it to be consolidated onto one form. Ms. Garson had samples from Environmental Management of the forms they were using. One form had both sick leave and vacation on it. 19 Ms. Stremski asked whether there was another form for leave without pay, and Ms. Garson said the leave of absence form included that. In looking at the form, Mr. Joseph said it appeared to be consolidated already, listing vacation, sick leave, funeral leave, etc. Motion Withdrawn: Ms. Nicholson withdrew her motion. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to delete this recommendation from their list. Ms. Provalenko seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. Department of Environmental Management: Recommend hiring an additional engineer (or exploring the position and having a long -term plan to fund it, or having a long -term vision plan). Ms. Stremski said she saw something recently on the Council agenda about hiring an engineer, but she did not know which department it was for. She said it could be on their list anyway, and if it was already provided for, that would be fine. Ms. Garson said they could include it, and she would check if it was already provided for, in which case they could delete it later. Ms. Nicholson said the recommendation was not clear and needed clarification regarding the long -term vision plan. She said they could recommend that DEM determine the need for hiring and whether there would be a cost savings associated with hiring additional engineers. The Chair said he recalled that the engineer was doing the grant- writing and multi- tasking and falling behind in his engineering because of doing these other duties. Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to defer i and j to the next agenda, as he said he needs to review what was said at the earlier meetings. Ms. Nicholson seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. k. Department of Public Works (Highway Maintenance): Recommend pursuing negotiations with the union to go to a 10 -hour, 4 -day work schedule for employees. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to include this recommendation in their report, Mr. Joseph seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. 1. Department of Public Works (Highway Maintenance): Recommend that incorporating or consolidating all the State highways into the County highways system be pursued. Mr. Joseph said that although Joseph Kamelamela had spoken to the Commission about his opposition to this recommendation because of liability matters, the head of the Highway Maintenance Division, Stanley Nakasone, was for it. Mr. Joseph felt the consolidation made good sense and would save the County money. Funds could be pursued from both the State and 20 Federal governments. Mr. Joseph felt that Mr. Nakasone is intuitive about these things, and he supports his recommendation. Ms. Provalenko asked whether the County could just negotiate with the State and Federal governments for funds to maintain the roads, but not necessarily to take on the liability. Ms. Garson said that with maintenance comes liability. Ms. Nicholson recalled that the federal government did not want to be approached by various counties and would only deal with and funnel funds through the state agencies. Ms. Provalenko asked whether the Commission was saying it wanted ownership of the State roads, and Mr. Joseph said he wanted only maintenance, not ownership. He said he believed it would be cost effective, would save taxpayers money, and made good sense. He said that although he does not believe it will happen, he wants to make the recommendation. Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to recommend that County and State highways be condensed into one, with the County handling all the maintenance of the State highways. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. M. Department of Public Works (Building Division): Recommend providing them with an adequate travel budget in which certification and training opportunities would be available to staff. Mr. Joseph felt this recommendation was vague. Ms. Nicholson recalled that there was a need to have certification for certain employees. There was a specific reference to the need for certification of building inspectors, and the County did not have the money for it. Ms. Provalenko said she believed this was Mr. Sakaguchi's recommendation. Mr. Joseph said he would like to leave the recommendation alone or come back to it later. Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to defer this recommendation until Mr. Sakaguchi could be present. Ms. Nicholson seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye on the deferral. n. Department of Public Works: Recommend investigating the creation of a traffic hotline, pursuant to item 4a of the DPW's response. Mr. Joseph asked whether this was about calling in and reporting potholes, and the Chair said there already is a number to call for that. (The commissioners spent time reviewing their records.) Ms. Nicholson read from the Public Works response letter: "Currently, this function is handled on an emergency basis as problems arise. If there was a central place all motorists could call to get up -to -date traffic information about road closures due to accidents, flooding, 21 construction work, etc., that would be extremely helpful for motorists. It would also help the various government agencies and utility companies that do construction work in the roads better coordinate how work is scheduled to minimize negative impacts to the public." She said that in thinking about the recent earthquake, it would have been good to have a number to call to find out which roads and highways were closed due to landslides, or when Bayfront Highway is closed due to flooding. The commissioners discussed that if a hotline were to be effective, it would need to be manned 24 hours per day and would require at least two employees to answer it. They also felt it likely that people would still call the Police for the information. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to delete this recommendation from their list. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye in favor of deleting this recommendation. o. Police Department: Recommend implementation of the 311 County -wide information telephone number. Motion and Vote: Ms. Stremski moved to adopt this recommendation, Mr. Joseph seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye. A Police Department: Recommend consolidating the Police and Fire Departments' Dispatch into one unit. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to include this recommendation, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye. q. Police Department: Recommend taking the abandoned/derelict vehicle program out of the Police Department and placing it with the Department of Environmental Management. Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to adopt this recommendation, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. Police Department: Recommend that entry -level police officers be compensated at a higher level to help the County recruit and retain officers. Motion and Vote: Ms. Stremski moved to adopt this recommendation, saying that the Police are having a hard time getting a new recruit class together. Ms. Nicholson said she is not sure this would solve the problem, but Mr. Joseph said it would help in attracting eligible people to the field. He seconded the motion. All commissioners present voted aye. Police Department: Recommend the Department go ahead with its Mobile Data Terminal program. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to adopt this recommendation. Ms. Provalenko seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. 22 Planning Department (and Department of Public Works, Building Division): Recommend exploring consolidating the review of building permits (so two departments are not reviewing the same thing). Motion and Vote: Ms. Provalenko moved to adopt this recommendation, explaining that she used to manage a place for years and saw a lot of duplication of services. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. U. Planning Department: Recommend that it give high priority to moving forward on the computerization of records and providing on -line services. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to adopt this recommendation, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. V. Pension Board: Recommend (or pass on to the Mayor) studying the number of people that would be most effective to serve on the Pension Board. Ms. Stremski noted that they never found out how many people collect these pensions. Ms. Garson stated that the recommendation came from a member of the Pension Board. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to include this recommendation in their report, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. W. Finance Department or appropriate department: Recommend that the County explore the possibility of leasing County vehicles. Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to adopt this recommendation, saying that the word "exploring" is good. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. 10. DISCUSSION ON THE QUALIFICATIONS OF DEPARTMENT HEADS (including Communication No. 2006 -72, letter from Katherine A. Garson, regarding the Qualifications of Department Heads) Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved to file the communication, Ms. Provalenko seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. 11. DISCUSSION /ACTION ON POLICE COMMISSION RESPONSE TO THE COMMISSION'S LETTER DATED APRIL 10, 2006 (Comm. No. 2006 -68) Ms. Nicholson said the only recommendation she could see is for an updated computer, which everyone seems to need. Ms. Garson said there is a rotation schedule for computers, and some employees have newer computers than others. 23 Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to file the response, Mr. Joseph seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. 12. DISCUSSION /ACTION ON CIVIL DEFENSE AGENCY RESPONSE TO THE COMMISSION'S LETTER DATED APRIL 10, 2006 (Communication No. 2006 -76) Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to file the response, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted in favor of filing the response. 13. DISCUSSION /ACTION ON OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK RESPONSE TO THE COMMISSION'S LETTER DATED APRIL 10, 2006 (Comm. Nos. 2006 -77 and 2006 -81). Motion: Ms. Nicholson moved to add to their recommendations that the County Clerk pursue the introduction of vote centers. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. Mr. Joseph wanted clarification on what the County Clerk wanted, and Ms. Nicholson said that with vote centers, a voter could live in any district and vote at the nearest polling place. Ms. Provalenko said a voter could choose what vote center would be most convenient to use. Mr. Joseph felt having vote centers might create a bigger problem, and the Chair pointed out that district ballots would have to be brought to each center. The Chair said that he did not agree with voting centers doing manual voting, as many extra ballots would have to be printed which would not get used. It would be better if voters voted electronically or back in their own district. Motion: Ms. Nicholson moved to recommend that each polling place have the ability to accommodate out -of- district voters through electronic voting only. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. Ms. Nicholson explained that she withdrew her first motion. Vote: Ms. Nicholson, Ms. Stremski, Ms. Provalenko, and the Chair voted aye on the motion to recommend that polling places accommodate out -of- district voters through electronic voting only. Mr. Joseph voted nay. 14. DISCUSSION /ACTION ON OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE TO THE COMMISSION'S LETTER DATED APRIL 10, 2006 (Comm. No. 2006 -78). Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to file the response, Mr. Joseph seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. 15. DISCUSSION /ACTION ON RHONDA HILTON'S RESPONSE TO THE COMMISSION'S LETTER DATED APRIL 10, 2006, REGARDING THE 24 AQUATICS DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION (Comm. No. 2006 -79). The Chair noted that they had decided not to review the Parks and Recreation Department. Ms. Stremski said the letter was about the time - keeping system. Ms. Garson said that employees should be required to sign off on their timesheets, which is one of the reasons why there is a section where they certify how many hours they worked. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to file way this response, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. 16. DISCUSSION /ACTION REGARDING PRIORITIZING DEPARTMENTS/ BOARDS /COMMISSIONS OR ISSUES TO ACCOMPLISH THE MANDATE OF THE COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION Ms. Garson asked the commissioners to let her know what she and her secretary can do to help with drafting the report. Ms. Nicholson said that for each recommendation it would be helpful to have an explanation as to why the recommendation was made, rather than just referencing the minutes. Mr. Joseph said he wanted a general summary and recommendations for each department they reviewed, and that the recommendations should say "we recommend," rather than having someone's name. Ms. Nicholson said she wanted each explanation numbered. Ms. Garson said they could also include a little introduction, including the date a presentation was heard. Ms. Stremski said they should recommend that the next Cost of Government Commission have more time to do its job. Ms. Garson said they could make a recommendation to amend the 11 -month time period in the County Charter. Mr. Joseph said that the County should put something together to make it more clear what the COGC does so that potential commissioners understand what they're getting into and that they will need to make a commitment for those months. 18. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were no statements from the public. 19. ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chair announced that the next meeting was scheduled for December 7, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. at the conference room at the Hilo Department of Liquor Control. 25 N N The Chair also announced the additional, tentative meeting dates of December 19, 2006, and January 9, 2007, with the venues to be determined. Ms. Nicholson asked if they could return to agenda item 17. 17. DISCUSSION OF DATE FOR NEXT MEETING AND ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON ITS AGENDA Ms. Nicholson stated that she wanted to have a discussion on merit, or incentive awards for employees, as the issue came up with several departments. She wanted to be able to close the issue out, whether or not they came to a conclusion. 20. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Joseph moved to adjourn, Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted: --M q: � `t- Mary E. osson, Secretary 26