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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-11-16 Merit Appeals Board Minutes Hilo, Hawai‘i Wednesday, November 16, 2011 The regular meeting of the Merit Appeals Board, County of Hawai‘i, was held in the conference room of the Department of Human Resources, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 2, Hilo, Hawai‘i, on Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Present: Mr. Gary Yoshiyama, Chair Mr. Kenneth Rowe, Vice Chair Mr. Henry “Hank” Silva, Member Mr. Brian De Lima, Member Mr. Jubilee “Jube” Kuewa, Member Mr. Ronald K. Takahashi, Director of Human Resources Ms. Diane Noda, Deputy Corporation Counsel Ms. Velma Y. Menezes, Secretary-Reporter Chair Yoshiyama called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. MINUTES OF OCTOBER 26, 2011 MOTION: Mr. De Lima moved that the minutes of October 26, 2011 be approved as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Silva and unanimously carried. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A)Formulate procedures for annual evaluations of the Director of Human Resources Ms. Toriano referred to the handout of performance categories and ratings and stated that this is what she took from the suggestions that were in the minutes of the last meeting. It would be helpful to look at the performance criteria being applied for the evaluation and assign survey questions to one of Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. the categories. The numbers in the rating column correspond to the survey , which will be distributed to the directors and Mayor. The Board had discussed applicants as being part of their customer base and felt that receiving feedback would be a good idea. Ms. Toriano noted that the questionnaire is the first draft; she will look at it further and refine it. The questions would be housed in the NeoGov recruitment system and therefore be optional for the applicant to complete; but the results would then be brought back to the Board in May. Mr. De Lima commented that he has no problems with any of this, but he just finished the annual evaluation of their State Librarian and used the form he had suggested the Merit Appeals Board use. He thinks the process the State uses for the evaluation of high-level departmental executives greatly helps the managers, so he will discuss a longer evaluation process with Mr. Takahashi during the next few months. However, the Board, in the meantime, should do what they have set up to do here. Mr. De Lima noted that when they went through the recent Librarian evaluation process, they started off with everything being satisfactory; and in order to get more points, the cabinet director had to articulate what additional things he did to exceed the expectations. The State Librarian himself indicated that when he had to articulate the objectives and criteria, it really helped him in terms of implementing his strategic goals for the year. The Merit Appeals Board’s is general. There is no doubt Mr. Takahashi is doing more than satisfactory work, so Mr. De Lima understands why a short form would work. They don’t want Mr. Takahashi to spend more time than he needs to, but on the other hand there’s utility of actually doing a self-evaluation, putting down thoughts in a way to be able to codify and quantify what his objectives are and how people can view his accomplishments. The bottom line, however, is that Mr. De Lima has no problem with this and feels Mr. Takahashi is doing a good job. He just wanted to reflect that there may be another tool to help him to grow professionally. Mr. Kuewa stated that he agrees with Mr. De Lima. They should allow Mr. Takahashi the opportunity to show how well he’s performing rather than just “meets” or “does not meet.” Perhaps adding another rating on a revised form to include “exceeds” or “exceeds standards” might do that, and if there is a situation where Mr. Takahashi “exceeds” or “doesn’t meet,” they could ask for a 2 write up justification. Mr. Kuewa doesn’t expect a “does not meet” but if there’s an “exceeds” in a certain area, that would give Mr. Takahashi the opportunity to share how he has exceeded, and that would be good narrative that would showcase what he does and how well he does it. Mr. De Lima stated that he does not want to change this. He believes they should adopt it. He’s just suggesting that when they come up with goals and objectives for next fiscal year, Mr. Takahashi look at it again. Mr. Kuewa clarified that it would just be a matter of rewording the document at the top. Ms. Toriano noted that the Board can only give one of two ratings, which is meet or does not meet. Chair Yoshiyama stated that that’s what the Board would come up with as the bottom line. Ms. Toriano will add the comment to the top. MOTION: Mr. De Lima moved to approve the procedures. The motion was seconded by Mr. Silva and unanimously carried. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Takahashi reported the following: A) Update on collective bargaining. As shown in the news, UPW has reached a tentative agreement with the employer group. They are in the ratification phase this week and part of next week. The County of Hawai‘i will be asking UPW to enter into a supplemental agreement with terms almost identical to HGEA’s supplemental agreement. They met with County departments yesterday that have UPW employees and asked the departments to give them a plan on how they will implement the 12 furlough days a year. They are on a tight deadline. The new contract was implemented December 1 and is retroactive to July 1. With that closure, that leaves HFFA and SHOPO remaining, which Mr. Takahashi believes will end up in interest arbitration left in the hands of a third party. 3 Additionally, Mr. Takahashi reported that there are six vacancies in his office. Two new employees came on board November 1 to fill vacancies – Lee Botelho, HR program specialist, and Stacie Iwasaki, Clerk . One person is retiring at the end of this month, and Mr. Takahashi is going to actively try to fill that position. They are going to end up with five vacancies. The trainer’s position is still vacant; however, he is concentrating more on transactions positions right now. The department has been able to do without the driver trainer position. There is another Clerk III vacancy, and those two positions will be left vacant for now. Mr. Takahashi is working on an office reorganization and will report on it at the next meeting. NEXT MEETING DATE The Board scheduled its next meeting for Wednesday, December 21, 2011, at 9:30 a.m.; however, if there are no items requiring immediate action, the Board will meet instead on January 18, 2012. The meeting adjourned at 9:52 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Ronald K. Takahashi Secretary APPROVED: Gary N. Yoshiyama Chair vym 4