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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN CHC 1990-02-02 r • Minutes of Regular Meeting of the HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSION February 2, 1990 I . CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chair Greenwell called the meeting to order at approximately 9 : 11 a.m. at the Civic Center Conf. Room, Waimea, Hawaii . II. ROLL CALL: Members Sherwood Greenwell , Vice Chairman Present: Francine Duncan David Fuertes H. Peter L'Orange Aileen Lum Akira T. Omonaka Attorney: Christopher Yuen Secretary:R. Marie Jacobs Members Robert E. Bethea, Chairman Absent: Pamela F. Cushnie James O. Juvik Steven T. Nishikawa Patricia M. Poppe III. APPROVE MINUTES OF 01/19/90: Upon motion made by Mr. L'Orange and seconded by Mr . Omonaka, approval of the minutes was deferred until the next meeting, to enable members to have an opportunity to review them. IV. PUBLIC TESTIMONY: None offered. V. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: Single-Member Districts 1. Discussion: Yuen: Submitted a letter dated 01/31/90 (Exhibit A) showing the actual language to be used. Based on the changes (Tape 1: 1 :43) suggested , decided to further change Sec. 3-3 to read "resident and registered voter. " Motion No. 1 : L'Orange: Made a motion to approve Secs. 3-2 and 3-3 as Mr. Yuen drafted the paragraphs in Exhibit A, including also the insertion of the word 792 "resident" as suggested above. The motion was seconded by Mr. Fuertes. All were in favor. Motion carried. VI. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6 : Reapportionment 1. Discussion: L'Orange: Since there are only six members present, prefers to defer action on this item. Motion No. 2: Omonaka: Made a motion to defer this item until the next meeting; seconded by Mr. L'Orange. All were in favor. Motion carried. VII. AGENDA ITEM NO. 7: Mayor/Council Vacancies 1. Discussion: L'Orange: When a vacancy occurs , the present system works . Lum: Concern was if mayor vacated office for any reason, the managing director is not elected position. Yuen: Language needs to be drawn up for when mayor is removed, for a special election. L'Orange/Duncan: Leave filling Council vacancies as is . Motion No. 3 - Council Vacancies: L'Orange: Moved to retain the filling of Council vacancies as it is presently set up; and to defer taking any action on filling mayoral vacancies until the next meeting. Ms. Duncan seconded. All in favor. Motion carried. VIII. AGENDA ITEM NO. 8 : Board/Commission Members, Council Approval and Absenteeism 1. Discussion: Greenwell: See Yuen' s letter of 01/23/90 (Exhibit B) . Greenwell: Objection to 13-4 (m) ; feels if board/commission member misses three consecutive meetings , report should go to mayor. Would like wording: " . . .consecutive meetings , and shall also submit" to emphasize that two reports will go to the mayor. Motion No. 4: L'Orange: Made a motion to accept Mr. Yuen' s re-worded Sections (in Exhibit B) 13-4(d) , (j ) , (1) and adding the word "also" to (m) as stated above. Ms. Lum seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion carried. IX. AGENDA ITEM NO. 9 : Planning Director Qualifications 1. Discussion: Yuen: Motion last time was not passed because of a requirement of three years of administrative 793 experience. L'Orange: Still not in favor of that motion; since only have six members present , cannot vote. Greenwell : Will defer item until next meeting. X. AGENDA ITEM NO. 10: Article V 1 . Discussion: Greenwell: Will defer unfinished items until next meeting. XI . AGENDA ITEM NO. 11 : Art. VI 1. Discussion: Lum: Requested minimum qualifications for managing director be addressed. Yuen: Discussed that certain departments are under managing director and others are under mayor ' s control. L'Orange: Mayor has discretion to handle certain departments ; prefers to leave it as is. Motion No. 5 - M.D. /Mayor Agency Division: Duncan: Makes a motion to retain the wording in Art. VI concerning the division of agencies that fall under the supervision of the mayor and under the managing director; seconded by Mr. Fuertes (Tape 1: 1 : 12) . All were in favor . Motion carried. 2. Motion No. 6 - D.M.D. Position: L'Orange: Moved that a deputy managing director position be added to the Charter. Motion seconded by Ms. Duncan. All were in favor , except Mr. Omonaka, who opposed the motion. Motion failed. To be brought up next meeting when more members are present. 3 . Motion No. 7 - Public Works: Omonaka: Moves that Art . VI , Chp. 1 remain as is. The motion was seconded by Mr. L'Orange. All were in favor. Motion carried. 4. Discussion: Yuen: County Band being included in Charter was discussed. Whether mayor ' s office or P&R director appoints the deputy director was also discussed. Motion No. 8 - Parks : Lum: Moved that Art. VI , Chp. 3 concerning Parks remain as is. The motion was seconded by Mr. L'Orange. All were in favor. Motion passed. 794 5 . Discussion: Yuen: One suggested change was that the Fire Department be under a commission, similar to the Police Department. Fire Chief is appointed by the mayor. Jacobs: Minimum qualifications for Fire Chief was also brought up; this will be put on next agenda. Motion No. 9 - Fire: L'Orange: Moved that Art. VI , Chp. 4 concerning Fire remain the same. The motion was seconded by Ms . Lum. All were in favor , except Mr. Greenwell . Motion failed. So this will be put on agenda for next meeting. XII . AGENDA ITEM NO. 12: Art. VII 1 . Discussion on Chapter 1 , Civil Service. L'Orange: Mr. Luke suggested changing the number on the Civil Service Commission from 7 to 5 members to conform with state law. Yuen: They are presently functioning with 5 members ; but for accuracy' s sake, it should be changed. Lum: Mr . Luke also requested that geographical requirements for commission members be removed (Tape 1: 2: 26) . L'Orange: Not a geographical issue. Greenwell : Yuen will redraft language for next meeting. e: Made a motion to 10: C. S. : L'Orange:Motion No. g amend Art . VII , Chp. 1 to conform with state law. The motion was seconded by Mr . Omonaka. All were in favor. The motion carried. Further Discussion: Greenwell : Questioned Sec. 7-1 . 6 . Yuen: Bethea had questioned why some departments specifically mention "under the general supervision and control of the mayor , " and some do not. Found that the departments under commissions have the "general supervision" language. Motion No. 11: C. S. : Omonaka: Moved that the rest of Chp. 1 , Sec. 7-1 . 3 through Sec. 7-1 . 6 be accepted as is . The motion was seconded by Mr . L'Orange. All were in favor. Motion carried. 2. Discussion: L'Orange: Already discussed Chp. 2: Police Commission/Department . 3 . Discussion: Yuen: Liquor questioned board/ commission items . Also raised question of commission' s responsibility in conjunction with department head. Bibb wanted it made more clear that department head is respon- sible for running the department. L'Orange: Commission functions under state law. Yuen: Police Commission has clause: "Commission shall not involve itself in the administrative affairs of the department. " 795 Motion No. 12: Liquor: Omonaka: Made a motion to retain Chp. 3 , Liquor , as is. The motion was seconded by Mr. L'Orange. All were in favor; the motion carried. XIII . AGENDA ITEM NO. 13 : Art. VIII : Water 1. Discussion: L'Orange: Three items appear on Mr. Yuen' s check list: a) Delete provision that says "comes under the general supervision of the mayor" ; b) specify that the Water Commission has the power to set water rates; and c) require greater coordination between Water and Planning Depts. Motion No. 13 : Water: L'Orange: Made a motion to approve Art. VIII , as is . The motion was seconded by Mr. Omonaka. All were in favor, and the motion passed. XIV. AGENDA ITEM NO. 14 : Art . IX: Prosecutor 1 . Discussion: L'Orange: Two items on check list: a) Allow Prosecutor to send budget directly to Council rather than through the mayor; and b) Prosecutor running in non-partisan election. Yuen: Salary is established by ordinance via Council ; it could be established by a Salary Commission (Tape 2: 1 : 44) . Motion No. 14: Prosecutor: Lum: Moved that Art. IX be approved as is , with the exception of Sec. 9-3 , which may be altered. The motion was seconded by Mr. L'Orange. All were in favor and the motion passed. XV. GENERAL: Lum: Would like the topic of Charter Commission attendance on the next agenda. Omonaka: A set day and time would help. XVI . SET NEXT MEETING: Set for February 21st at 1 :00 p.m. in Hilo. XVII . ADJOURNMENT: Vice Chairman Greenwell adjourned the meeting at approximately 10: 50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, a717a1:1-20ed'12) R. Marie Jacobs Secretary-Assistant 796 CHRISTOPHER J. Yu EN HILO LAGOON CENTRE,SUITE 108 101 AUPUNI STREET HILO,HAWAII 96720 ATTORNEY AT LAW TEL.(808)935-4429 January 31, 1990 Hawaii County Charter Commission 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 235 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Single Member Districts and Reapportionment Commission Dear Members of the Charter Commission: I have drafted three new sections to the County Charter to effectuate the Charter Commission's vote at its last meeting to offer a single-member district council alternative to the voters. The first two are quite simple. We would replace the current Charter §3-2 with the following new language: Section 3-2 . Composition and Terms. There shall be a county council composed of nine members. One member shall be elected from each of nine districts. The terms of the council members shall be four years and shall begin at twelve o'clock meridian on the first Monday of December after their election. Candidates shall be nominated and elected in accordance with the election laws of the State. The current Charter §3-3 would be replaced with the following language: • Section 3-3. Qualifications. A person must be a citizen of the United States of America and have been a duly qualified registered voter of the county for at least one year immediately preceding election or appointment to the county council. A person must also have been a registered voter of the district from which the person is to be elected or appointed for at least ninety (90) days preceding the primary election or the appointment. In §3-3 , I deleted the language in the present §3-3 "where residency in a district is a requirement, " because if the -single- member district provision is adopted, residency will be a requirement for all councilmembers. I also changed the phrase "resident voter" to "registered voter" : "resident voter" does not have any definition that I'm aware of, whereas H.R.S. §11-13 contains several rules for being a "registered voter. " Generally, you must register from the place of your habitation or EXHIBIT A 797 (4 pages) dwelling, unless you are temporarily absent from your permanent home. If we wanted to tighten up the language further, we could require that someone be a "resident and registered voter" from the district. I also drafted an entirely new §3-18, establishing a Reapportionment Commission to draw the district boundaries. According to our minutes, it appears that the Charter Commission had a straw vote at the November 14, 1989 meeting to follow the present Police Commission in establishing the Reapportionment Commission: i.e. , seven members appointed by the mayor, confirmed by the council, with geographical representation from the present judicial districts. Accordingly, the §3-18 (b) I drafted follows that format; however, there are many other possibilities. The new section would read as follows: §3-18. Reapportionment Commission. (a) There shall be a reapportionment commission which shall establish the boundaries of the council districts. (b) The reapportionment commission shall consist of seven members, two of whom shall be residents of the combined judicial districts of North and South Hilo, one from the judicial district of Puna, one from the judicial district of Ka'u, one from the combined judicial districts of North and South Kona, one from the combined judicial districts of North and South Kohala, and one from the judicial district of Hamakua. The members shall .be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council in the manner prescribed in Section 13-4. (c) The year 1991 and every tenth year thereafter shall be reapportionment years. The reapportionment commission shall be appointed and confirmed by March 1 of the reapportionment year. It shall adopt a reapportionment plan by a majority vote of the members to which it is entitled and file the reapportionment plan with the county clerk by December 31 of the reapportionment year. The reapportionment commission shall be dissolved after the filing of the reapportionment plan. (d) The county clerk shall furnish all necessary technical and secretarial services for the reapportionment commission. The council shall appropriate necessary funds to enable the commission to carry out its duties. (e) The reapportionment commission shall be guided by the following criteria in establishing the boundaries of the council districts: (1) No district shall be drawn to unduly favor or penalize a person or political faction; (2) Insofar as possible, districts should be contiguous and compact; (3) District lines shall, where possible, follow permanent and easily recognizable features; (4) Districts shall have approximately equal resident populations as required by applicable constitutional provisions. 7.98 (f) The district boundaries as established by the reapportionment commission shall be in effect for the first regularly scheduled council election following the filing of the plan and for subsequent council election. The district boundaries in effect prior to the filing of the reapportionment plan shall remain in effect during the duration of the full term of the councilmembers holding office at the time of the filing of the reapportionment plan and shall remain in effect for any election held to fill an unexpired term under Section 3-5: (g) Any registered voter may petition the proper court to compel, by mandamus or otherwise, the appropriate person or persons to perform their duty or to correct any error made in a reapportionment plan, or the court may take such other action to effectuate the purposes of this section as it may deem appropriate. Any such petition must be filed within forty-five days of the date specified for any duty or within forty-five days after the filing of a reapportionment plan. The Reapportionment Commission would be constituted on March 1, 1991, and March 1, 2001, and every ten years thereafter. The complete census information is to be reported by March 31, 1991, and there should be preliminary data for the Commission to work with before that date. I checked with census officials, and very detailed population data will be available: the census will be broken down into geographical "blocks" of 35-85 people. The Commission would be required to adopt its plan and submit it to the clerk by December 31 of the year in which it was constituted. §3-18 (f) contains the "transitional" language, and I .hope that this is reasonably clear. Your comments and suggestions would be appreciated because this was difficult to draft. The first council election under the reapportionment plan would be in 1992 . Clearly, the councilmembers who are serving out their terms until the 1992 election should continue in office after the reapportionment plan is filed, and should continue to represent the same district boundaries from which they were elected (if they were elected from districts) . When the next Reapportionment Commission's plan is filed on December 31, 2001, the councilmembers who are then serving will have almost three years remaining on their terms. They need to know whether they must remain as residents of the old districts or become residents of the new ones, and whether they represent the old district boundaries or the new ones. The intent of the language I drafted is to provide that they continue to represent the old district until the term expires and should continue to reside within the old district. Also, there is the possibility of a mid-term election to fill a vacancy under §3-5. This language is intended 799 to make the mid-term election follow the old district boundary. Otherwise, a portion of the island could be unrepresented. Yours truly, r Christopher J. Y • 800 CHRISTOPHER J. YUEN HILO LAGOON CENTRE,SUITE 108 101 AUPUNI STREET HILO,HAWAII 96720 ATTORNEY AT LAW TEL.(808)935-4429 January 23 , 1990 Hawaii County Charter Commission 101 Aupuni St. , Suite 235 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Boards and Commissions Dear Charter Commission Members: At our meeting on January 22 , 1990, the Charter Commission voted to recommend several amendments to the County Charter provisions on boards and commissions to the voters. I have prepared a draft of the language which would implement the Commission's vote. The following would be the amendments proposed to §13-4 (material to be deleted is bracketed; new material is underlined) : §13-4 (d) . No member whose term has expired shall continue to serve on such board or commission[ . ] , except that if the member's term expires less than one month after the commencement of the term of a new mayor, the member shall hold over for thirty days, or until a successor is appointed and confirmed, whichever comes first. §13-4 (1) The council shall act to confirm or reject any appointment made to a board or commission by the mayor within forty-five days after receiving notice of the appointment from the mayor. If the council does not confirm or reject any such appointment within forty-five days, the appointee shall be deemed to have been confirmed. • §13-4 (m) The chair of each board or commission shall report in writing to the mayor if any member of the board or commission is absent for three consecutive meetings, and shalljsubmit a report of attendance in writing to the mayor on January 1 and July 1 of each year. The Commission also voted to amend §13-4 (j ) to provide explicitly that a quorum is a majority of members to which the board or commission is entitled. §13-4 (j ) would therefore read as follows: (j ) Each board and commission shall have the power to establish its rules of procedure necessary for the conduct of its business, which rules shall contain the time and place of all regular meetings[ . ] , and which shall specify that a quorum shall be a majority of the members to which the board or commission is entitled. EXHIBIT B 801 (2 pages) The Commission alsd discussed, but did not act upon, requiring that each board and commission have rules to deal with absenteeism. If the Commission were to recommend such a change in the Charter, the appropriate section would be at the end of §13-4 (j ) . Yours truly, (/-2 1_0.44 Christopher J. 7iuen 802