HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 050 Wille, M - Proposed AmendmentsTo Charter Commission
Fr: Margaret Wille
Re: Proposed Revisions to the County of Hawaii Charter
Date: October 2, 2009
I request to testify at the next Commission meeting scheduled for October
9th. I would like to discuss with more specificity the Charter amendments I
presented at the Commission’s public hearings and as set forth in
Commission Communication #30 (“Margaret Wille” and “Margaret Wille
Chart Summary”). I will include discussion of the following:
...Require that all Board meetings be listed on the County’s Calendar that
is made available on the internet and provide a link to the Board’s agenda.
...Require all board member applications to be available to the public at
least 30 days prior to submission to the Mayor for approval.
...Require that proposed board members swear an allegiance to serve the
interests of the community without regard to personal self interests,
business self interests, or special interests related to either of their
personal or business self interests.
...Require disclosure of potential conflicts of interest at board meetings in
advance of the item on the Board agenda.
...Require that meetings of the County Council, the Planning Commission,
and the Charter Commission (and any others you think appropriate) be live
broadcast, or at least made available by internet “on-demand” link within
24 hours of the meeting [captioned version for tv can be provided within a
week]
...Require that all development approvals be reviewed by the CDP action
committees – which is what is supposed to be happening now.
...Require that the make up of the Planning Commission and the CDP
action committees be broadly representative of community interests
including environmental and socio-cultural interests.
...Require that a separate attorney be appointed to represent the County
Council (legislative branch) and be independent from Corporation Counsel
who is part of the Mayor’s cabinet and whose allegiance is foremost to the
executive branch (which currently creates an obvious conflict of interest).
...Require that the County Clerk be elected rather than appointed (so he is
not a political pawn to the Chair of the County Council).
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Margaret Wille