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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-06-19 Cost of Government Commission MinutesCOST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION c/o Office of the Corporation Counsel, 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 325, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 MINUTES Thursday, June 19, 2014 – 1:00 p.m. County of Hawai‘i Aging and Disability Resource Center 1055 Kino‘ole Street, Suite 101 Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 Commission Members present: Susan E. Maddox, Chair Douglas A. Espejo, Commissioner Delan Perry, Commissioner Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Linda M. Kelly, Commissioner Also present: Katherine A. Garson, Assistant Corporation Counsel Mary E. Fujio, Secretary (temporary) Shanell K. Saruelo (assisting/observing) 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Maddox at 1:03 p.m. 2. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC No members of the public were present. 3. DISCUSSION REGARDING SUBCOMMITTEES’ MEETINGS WITH VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF GATHERING INFORMATION FOR THE FINAL REPORT Ms. Maddox reported that she and Ms. Kelly met with the Department of Human Resources, with Hawai‘i Police Department, and with the Office of Aging. Ms. Kierkiewicz reported that she and Ms. Maddox met last week with the Mayor’s executive team, including Randy Kurohara and Wally Lau, and then with Laverne Omori and Donn Mende of the Department of Research and Development. Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Mr. Perry, Mr. Espejo, and Ms. Kelly said they were not yet able to meet with departments but would be soon. Ms. Maddox said that John Mitchell was unable to come to today’s meeting, but he had been able to meet with the Finance Department. The commissioners discussed getting together with their various partners to schedule the interviews with departments, and exchanged contact information. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked whether they could discuss the contents of the meetings yet, and Ms. Garson said no, as it was not on today’s agenda. Anything they wanted to discuss would have to be on the agenda first in order to give fair notice to the public and the departments. This was necessary because members of the public as well as departmental staff need to be given the opportunity to be present and testify. The commissioners could prepare reports on their various meetings, and the reports could be agendized for discussion. An agenda should include details such as whether any recommendations were going to be discussed. An agenda needs to include enough information so people can decide whether they want to attend or testify. Ms. Garson said if any commissioner thinks of something to be discussed, just let the secretary know and she will put it on the agenda. Ms. Garson asked whether departmental staff had been cooperative in setting up the meetings. Ms. Kierkiewicz said Mitch Roth had told to her to go ahead and set up a meeting, but she had yet to hear back from his secretary, whom she had e-mailed. Ms. Maddox asked about the notes she takes at the departmental meetings and how to share the information. Ms. Garson said she could share the information however she wanted, but it would need to be on the agenda. For example, if she wanted to discuss recommendations about the Police Department, the agenda needed to be specific on what the recommendations were about, e.g., the subsidized vehicle program. If a commissioner wrote up a report on how a meeting went, the report could be listed on the agenda for discussion and even attached or made available. Ms. Maddox said she takes notes on key points but has not prepared a formal report. Ms. Garson said if she wanted to discuss her notes, it would need to be stated on the agenda. Whatever she shared with the commissioners would be public record. If she just used her notes for her own reference, that would be fine. Ms. Kelly asked whether it was preferable for them to share their notes in a discussion format or prepare a report based on their notes. Ms. Garson said it is up to them, but she believed they had decided earlier they wanted to be uniform in structure. Ms. Maddox explained that her notes provide context for the content of the report, but she is not at the point yet of making any recommendations. It would be good to come back as a group, discuss what they learned, and see what the questions are. Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Ms. Garson said that would work, as long as the subject areas to be discussed are detailed enough on the agenda. The agenda would not be about note-sharing, but what they want to talk about. For example, if they want to talk about the Department of Water Supply, what specifically about that department do they want to discuss? If it is the Energy Efficiency Program, that needs to be spelled out. Detail is needed, but not so much that they are restricted in their discussion. Ms. Maddox asked whether meetings had been scheduled with any other departments. Ms. Kelly said she and Mr. Espejo had been gone but should be able now to start scheduling the meetings. Mr. Espejo said they could split the phone calls, figure out their available dates, and then make the appointments. Ms. Kelly said if she needs to drive to Hilo for the meetings, it would be good to schedule multiple meetings in one day, or even on the day of the commission meeting. Ms. Maddox summarized that they will try to finish up scheduling as many of the meetings as they can. 4. ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON NEXT AGENDA Ms. Maddox said she would be sending specifics, but she should have at least five departments to share on at the next meeting. Discussion was held on whether the next meeting date of July 3, 2014, should be changed, as Ms. Maddox and Ms. Garson will not be available, and others may have plans since the following day was a holiday. July 17, 2014, was settled upon as the next meeting date. The deadline to post the agenda is July 10, 2014, six days prior. In discussing with each other what departments have been met with and those coming up, the commissioners decided the next agenda should include the Police Department, Office of Aging, Prosecutor’s Office, and Mass Transit. Ms. Garson instructed them to e-mail the secretary the items they want placed on the agenda. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked if another agenda would include the recommendations they want to explore, and Ms. Garson said either that, or recommendations could be included as an item under discussion for each department. The main thing is to give notice of what will be discussed at a meeting. If they are going to discuss getting rid of the subsidized vehicle plan, the agenda should say something like “Discussion on Discontinuance of Subsidized Vehicle Plan.” Or they could put “Subsidized Vehicle Plan” and then discuss whether or not to recommend discontinuing it. Ms. Garson said to just do the best they can at describing what they want to discuss at the next meeting, and e-mail it ahead of time to the secretary. The secretary will put together a draft agenda and give it to her for review and finalization. 3 Mr. Perry commented that some of the departmental meetings are set close to when their next commission meeting is, which may make it difficult to be specific on what is to be discussed. Ms. Garson suggested they check prior years’ commission agendas on-line to get ideas. Ms. Maddox said she did not want to get ahead of the process and make any recommendations until they were ready. At this point they were doing initial fact finding and sharing information. She asked Ms. Garson to check with Mr. Mitchell on what he wanted placed on the agenda, and Ms. Garson said she would ask the secretary to e- mail all the commissioners about what they want on the next agenda. Ms. Maddox said item 5 regarding meeting dates and locations should remain on the next agenda. 5. DISCUSSION REGARDING LOCATIONS/DATES/TIMES OF FUTURE MEETINGS/VIDEO CONFERENCING Ms. Garson said their July 17, 2014 meeting was scheduled for the Puna Conference Room with videoconferencing from the Kona Mayor’s Office. Ms. Garson asked Ms. Maddox how it worked out going to the various departments, and Ms. Maddox said it worked well. The staff was cooperative and forthcoming, and she got a lot of good information. 6. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Maddox announced the next meeting: July 17, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. in the Puna Conference Room of the County Building, with videoconferencing available from Kona. 7. ADJOURNMENT Motion and vote: Mr. Perry moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Kelly seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. The meeting adjourned at 1:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted: /s/ Mary E. Fujio Mary E. Fujio, Temporary Secretary 4