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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-13 Minutes Salary CommissionCOUNTY OF HAWAII SALARY COMMISSION February 13, 2013 MINUTES Chair Handgis called the meeting to order at 9:45 a.m. in the Conference Room of the Prosecuting Attorney, 633 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo, Hawaii. Present: Mr. George Handgis, Chair (via teleconferencing at West Hawaii Civic Center) Ms. Karolyn P. Lundkvist, Vice Chairperson Ms. Marcella L. Stroh, Secretary Mr. Brian De Lima, Member Ms. Pudding Lassiter, Member Mr. Michael Sumja, Member Excused: Ms. Gloria Wong, Member Others present: Ms. Molly Lugo, Deputy Corporation Counsel Mr. Ronald K. Takahashi, Director of Human Resources Ms. Sharon Toriano, Deputy Director of Human Resources (via teleconferencing at West Hawaii Civic Center) Ms. Joney Nitahara, Human Resources Manager Ms. Jennifer Sakamoto, Human Resources Program Specialist Ms. Velma Y. Menezes, Secretary- Reporter MINUTES OF APRIL 30, 2012 MOTION: Ms. Lundkvist moved that the minutes of April 30, 2012 be approved as circulated. The motion was seconded by Ms. Stroh and unanimously carried. Election of Chair and Vice Chair for Calendar Year 2013 MOTION: Ms. Lundkvist nominated Ms. Lassiter as Vice Chair. The motion was seconded by Ms. Stroh and unanimously carried. Hawaii County is an EquaCOpportunity Provider and EmpCoyer MOTION: Ms. Lassiter nominated Ms. Lundkvist as Chair. The motion was seconded by Ms. Stroh and unanimously carried. Ms. Lundkvist was elected to serve as Chair and Ms. Lassiter Vice Chair for calendar year 2013. Chair Handgis turned the meeting over to Ms. Lundkvist at this time. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A) Review of existing pay plan to include restructuring current salaries of executives and elected officials and adjusting accordingly. (Mr. De Lima arrived at this time at 10:02 a.m.) Ms. Stebbins noted that at the last meeting, Ms. Lassiter and Ms. Stroh were appointed to the subcommittee with Mr. Handgis planning to participate as he was able. The subcommittee can proceed with just two members, or if the Commission wants to appoint a third member to the subcommittee, it may do that as well. To clarify, this subcommittee was appointed to review the existing pay plan and investigate possible changes. They were going to be meeting with Human Resources Director Ron Takahashi to come up with some proposals. MOTION: Ms. Stroh moved to add Mr. Sumja to the subcommittee. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Lassiter and unanimously carried. Chair Lundkvist asked that the subcommittee meet as soon as possible and inquired into the normal meeting dates of the Commission itself, noting that they're currently into February 2013 and the Commission had not met since April 2012. Ms. Stebbins stated that Commission rules provide for regular meetings to be held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, although obviously the Commission hasn't been meeting as frequently as monthly. As to when to schedule the next meeting, that would be up to the Commission to decide. With proper notice, the Commission can schedule a meeting at any time. Chair Lundkvist clarified that the purpose of her question on meeting dates was so they could determine when to expect the subcommittee to report back to the Commission. Mr. De Lima stated that he thinks the Commission should meet next month, and he thinks the subcommittee should meet prior to next month, the reason being that right now the County is working on the budget. The final action on the budget would be after the legislature adjourns, probably at the end of April, so the Council's final decision is usually made at the May meeting. So if the Commission met the fourth Wednesday in March, that would give sufficient time for the subcommittee to meet and consider what revisions they may want to make to the salary schedule. Mr. De Lima, for one, thinks that at a minimum they should increase the salary for the Parks & Recreation director and deputy to receive the same pay scale as the other cabinet officials. Mr. De Lima explained that at some point back, there was a concept that a distinction should be made between certain departments. Quite frankly he doesn't know what logic was used in terms of Parks & Recreation, one of the largest departments, with the biggest responsibilities and the most complaints in context of whether parks are being maintained and are clean; and that director gets paid in the lower tier rather than the higher tier. Another is the Director of Information Technology, which is most critical in terms of technology, and he is paid in the lower tier. Research and Development, another department very important to our County, is placed in the lower tier. Again, he doesn't know what logic went into it, but he thinks the same logic they recently employed to Council members having all the same pay should be applied to the directors and the deputies as well. He believes the Commission can make a quick correction to this, with minimal impact, prior to the budget being finalized. Thereafter, whether the Commission wants to do bigger things in terms of adjusting the Mayor's salary and adjusting everything accordingly is something that the subcommittee can discuss, but the Commission can at least take quick action on the directors and deputy directors before the budget gets finalized. Vice Chair Lassiter stated that she agrees with Mr. De Lima, but she also disagrees, as she believes Mr. De Lima left out two key departments that the Commission talked about before and passed over, and that's the Police Department and the Fire Department. Those department heads should be brought up to where they are not making less than their subordinates. The assistant chiefs, for example, make more than the Police Chief. She's all for Parks and Recreation, but they don't patrol the streets, they don't put out fires. That's something the Commission needs to discuss. Mr. De Lima noted that the Commission took action on the Fire Chief's salary last year to bring that position in equity with the Police Chief. Right now, the Prosecuting Attorney, the Fire Chief, and the Chief of Police all get paid more than the Mayor. He's not averse to what Vice Chair Lassiter is saying; all he's trying to point out is that the others are lower. Vice Chair Lassiter stated that it's the responsibility of the subcommittee to pull it together and come up with recommendations. 3 Mr. De Lima agreed, stating that it should be done before the budget is final. (Note for the record, Mr. Handgis had been cut off during this discussion and was back on at this point.) Chair Lundkvist briefed Mr. Handgis on the discussion above. Chair Lundkvist stated that she would like to step back for a quick second to decide when the Commission will meet again and how often they should meet, as that's indicative of when the subcommittee will meet. MOTION: Vice Chair Lassiter moved that the Commission meet on the fourth Wednesday of March. The motion was seconded by Mr. De Lima. Discussion: Mr. Roth asked whether the Commission would like him to check on the availability of this room. Mr. De Lima stated that he doesn't like meeting here, and the reason is because the public has to go through the security procedure. It looks like the Commission is having a secret meeting even though they're not. Ms. Menezes informed the Commission that they could meet in the Puna Conference Room (at the County Building). She could not get the Puna Conference Room for today's meeting, and the reason they met here is because this was the only place she could get with video equipment. Chair Lundkvist requested that Ms. Menezes try for the Puna Conference Room for next month's meeting. Mr. Roth stated that if that room is not available, what they could do is open the doors between the two conference rooms here so that people do not have to check in. They can come in from the side door. Mr. De Lima stated that he would be comfortable with that. Mr. Sumja asked whether the subcommittee is limited to the number currently assigned. Ms. Stebbins replied in the affirmative, stating that it's less than a quorum. The subcommittee can arrange amongst its members when to meet and coordinate it with Mr. Takahashi. Mr. Sumja asked if there was any way they could have Mr. De Lima involved in the subcommittee, to which Mr. De Lima responded in the negative, explaining that it's actually called a permitted interaction group, and under the sunshine law, they're not allowed to have conversations about matters outside of public meetings except when a permitted interaction group has been approved to meet for a specific reason and a specific duration. Therefore, if the Commission hadn't taken this action, it wouldn't M be permissible. If they had four members in this permitted interaction group, it would be beyond what's permitted. Mr. Takahashi will provide the information that the group needs, and he will staff it. Mr. Roth reported that upon checking on availability of his conference rooms, both rooms are available for March 2 7, which would allow for the side door to be open for the public to come in. Vice Chair Lassiter stated that the meetings should be consistent. It's a disadvantage that they've had almost a full year without any meeting. They should have a consistent date so that everybody's responsible and makes the effort to be at the meeting. Chair Lundkvist agreed, stating that that's the reason for her proposing the fourth Wednesday of each month. MOTION: Vice Chair Lassiter moved that the Commission meet the fourth Wednesday of every month unless prevented otherwise. Ms. Stroh seconded the motion. Discussion: Chair Lundkvist noted that the time would at 9:30 a.m., and Ms. Menezes will confirm each month's meeting with Commission members. The motion was voted on and carried unanimously. Mr. Roth noted that his office will reserve the room from 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon. In summary, Mr. De Lima noted that the discussion on item A of Unfinished Business seems to have been adequately covered. Vice Chair Lassiter spoke to the need to have pay equity among people who head a particular department where employees received collective bargaining step increases resulting in the department head being paid less than the subordinate. Vice Chair Lassiter wants that inequity corrected. Mr. De Lima himself spoke to the need of equalizing pay among directors and deputies in the cabinet, which thereupon speaks to the fact that the head of our County government, the Mayor, is being paid less than some of his cabinet members and less than some other County employees, and whether the pay should be restructured. All those elements have been spoken to in terms of equity, and as Mr. De Lima understands it, the subcommittee is going to meet with Mr. Takahashi and look at all of those issues. Mr. Takahashi would probably provide the subcommittee with information about what other counties are doing for their employees in dealing with similar types of issues, and then the subcommittee will prepare a report for the full Commission's consideration at the next meeting. Whether the Commission takes action on 19 all of the items or some of the items or none of the items is something they can consider at the next meeting. However, if they want it implemented as part of the budget, then they need to take action sooner rather than later. If they take action later, then its impact can only be adjusted if there's a budget to do so. Mr. De Lima further noted that their decisions are final, and being final, they have a responsibility to communicate that to the Council to make whatever necessary adjustments. To be fair to the Mayor, who's ultimately responsible, the sooner they make the decisions, the sooner they can make those adjustments. MOTION: Mr. De Lima moved that this matter be deferred to the Commission's next meeting pending the report from the subcommittee. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Lassiter and carried unanimously. Chair Lundkvist gave Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth the floor. Mr. Roth noted a concern, not only for the deputies in his office, because they're pegged to his salary, but also for Deputy Corporation Counsels, whose salaries are also pegged to his. He felt it very important that the salaries of these hardworking people not be reduced. With the unfortunate murder -type cases that have happened since December 16, he and his deputies have been spending an inordinate amount of time on these big cases, working on Saturdays and Sundays, often till 8 -9 -10:00 in the evening. Mr. Takahashi confirmed that by County Code, deputy attorneys' salaries in both the Prosecutor's office and Corporation Counsel's office, are pegged to no more than 90% of whichever salary is higher, the Prosecutor's or the Corporation Counsel's. In this case, the Prosecutor's salary is higher. Mr. De Lima inquired into whether there are Deputy Corporation Counsels making more than the Corporation Counsel, to which Mr. Takahashi answered in the affirmative. Mr. De Lima noted that that has to be adjusted as well. Mr. Roth stated that he believes the Corporation Counsel's salary is too low, and the Commission should really look into raising that salary to what other Corporation Counsels or attorneys leading a similarly sized law firm are making. In addition, Mr. Roth's first deputy, Dale Ross, had to take a reduction in pay to accept the position of first deputy. Ms. Ross has about 28 years of experience. She has been commuting back forth between Kona and Hilo, pretty much on her own time, but they're actually trying to keep her more on the Kona side, as they need to have good people there. He thinks it's unfair and a shame that she had to take a cut in pay, and her pay should be increased. Mr. Roth added that he's not asking for himself, but he is asking I for his department. He also can't say enough about the people working in the Corporation Counsel's office; they deserve to also have that ability to increase their pay. Chair Lundkvist thanked Mr. Roth for his comments and stated that she's sure the subcommittee will do a good job in its review. NEXT MEETING DATE The Commission scheduled its next meeting for March 27, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. AD.IOURNMENT MOTION: Ms. Stroh moved that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sumja and unanimously carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:34 a.m. vym 7 Respectfully submitted, Karolyn P. Lundkvist, Chair