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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN CHC 1990-04-09 Minutes of Regular Meeting of the HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSION April 9 , 1990 I . CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Bethea called the meeting to order at approximately 9 :02 a.m. at the conference room of the Themla Parker branch of the State Library, Waimea, Hawaii . II. ROLL CALL: Members Robert E. Bethea, Chairman Present: Sherwood Greenwell , Vice Chairman Pamela F. Cushnie Francine Duncan David Fuertes H. Peter L'Orange Aileen Lum Steven T. Nishikawa Akira T. Omonaka Patricia M. Poppe Attorney: Christopher Yuen Secretary:R. Marie Jacobs Members James O. Juvik Absent: III . APPROVE MINUTES OF 03/28/90: The minutes were not complete yet . Upon motion made by Mr. Greenwell and seconded by Mr. L'Orange, the review of them will be deferred until next meeting. IV. PUBLIC TESTIMONY: None was offered. V. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5 : Salary Commission Yuen: According to his proposed wording, the Salary Commission would decide the salaries of all elected officials per his 03/22/90 letter (Exhibit A) . Explained there is no reason to set salaries at Civil Service' s SR ratings. Wording: "all elected county officials. " Bethea: Questioned whether the new wording should go in Article XIII. Yuen: It can, although there is no particular place it should go. 850 New wording changes : " (a) The salary of all elected county officials shall be established by a salary commission. . . . " " (d) The commission shall review and compensate all county elected officials so that their salaries have a reasonable relationship to the salaries of civil service employees , given due consideration for the duties and responsibilities of the officials. " MOTION NO. 1: L'Orange: Moved to have the language presented this meeting by Mr. Yuen be adopted as a Charter change; seconded by Mr. Greenwell . All were in favor except Mr. Fuertes , who was opposed. Cushnie: Mr. Makuakane/Council suggested a monetary figure be set each year, plus a percentage. Suggested making the commission meet once a year . Greenwell : Agree, as suggested by the Salary Commission itself. Yuen: Should include that once-a-year meeting in the Charter. Omonaka: Should the meetings be in relationship to bargaining unit events? Yuen: Not necessary. MOTION NO. 2: L'Orange: Moved to amend the above motion to include that the Salary Commission meet annually; seconded by Mr. Greenwell . All were in favor , except Mr. Fuertes , who was opposed. Motion carried. Yuen: This wording should be placed under paragraph (c) . The exact wording shall establish its rules of procedure, which is specifically that it meet annually. Bethea: But it doesn' t prohibit the group from meeting more often. VI. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6 : Apportionment Yuen: Reread the appropriate portion of his 03/22/90 letter re the new wording (Exhibit A) . MOTION NO. 3 : Poppe: Moved that the Charter Commission adopt the language concerning apportionment as proposed by Mr. Yuen in Section 3-18; seconded by Mr. L'Orange. L'Orange: Questioned whether or not everyone agreed on section (b) with "judicial districts. " All were in favor of retaining the wording. 851 MOTION NO. 4: Greenwell : Moved for adoption of the language proposed by Mr. Yuen (in Exhibit A) re the planning director, Section 5-4 . 2. Motion was seconded by Ms. Poppe. All were in favor. MOTION NO. 5 : Poppe: Moved for adoption of the wording proposed by Mr. Yuen (in Exhibit A) re the fire chief; motion seconded by Ms . Lum. All were in favor. MOTION NO. 6: L'Orange: Moved for adoption of the language proposed by Mr . Yuen (in Exhibit A) re the managing director , Section 6-1. 2; seconded by Ms . Poppe. All were in favor except Mr. Greenwell who was opposed, because he felt the mayor should be able to choose whomever he wants . Motion passed. VII . AGENDA ITEM NO. 7: Prosecutor Bethea: Questioned whether anything further needed to be done re this section. Yuen: Said he thought it was completed. Omonaka: Said that on February 2nd, it was decided to leave the prosecutor ' s portion as is; an exception is to Section 9-3 . VIII . AGENDA ITEM NO. 8: Financial Yuen: He handed out his letter of 04/09/90 re financial information (Exhibit B) and explained major changes . Other changes are noted in Exhibit B. He: changed the budget submission date to March 1st; said the public hearings will be held on the mayor ' s amended budget; said that the hearings would be published in two newspapers ; informed that Council would only deal with the final or amended budget; said the mayor must notify Council of transfers within 30 days ; and suggested the bidding amount of $4 , 000 be changed to $8 , 000 to conform with state statutes. MOTION NO. 7: Poppe: Moved that the Charter Commission accept the language proposed by Mr. Yuen with whatever corrections he proposed (in Exhibit B) ; seconded by Mr. Greenwell . All were in favor and the motion passed. L'Orange: Says it ' s the commission' s responsibility to find a solution to financial problems--not to lay the responsibility on Messrs . Kokubun/Council and 852 Mizuno/ Finance. Bethea: Mizuno/Finance said Honolulu had 300+ budget items compared with our 1 , 000+. Cushnie: Someone had questioned whether items in Section 10-14 (c) (1)-(5) , should read as if they were separated by an "and" or by an "or. " Yuen: It ' s clearly an "or. " IX. AGENDA ITEM NO. 9 : Initiative and Referendum MOTION NO. 8: Poppe: Says two different items need to appear on the ballot: One: Section 11-2 which was previously deleted needs to be reinstated as it read in the previous Charter , as it pertains to financial matters ; motion seconded by Ms. Cushnie. All were in favor. Motion carried. Poppe: Second , need to decide whether or not to have initiative on land use matters. Yuen: Legal arguments had been made that the property tax rate must be set by Council , not by initiative; but that this , and the applicability of initiative to other financial matters, was an open question on which I could not give a firm legal opinion. Cushnie: Does allowing initiative on fiscal matters affect the County' s bond rating? Yuen: Not sure. Bethea: If the county mandated something, then it would have to be followed. Yuen: Present position re land use is that the state law does not permit counties to use initiative to effect zoning. If changed, it could be used for zoning. MOTION NO. 9 : Poppe: Have a Section 11-2(b) which would limit the powers of initiative and referendum to NOT include land use planning and zoning matters ; seconded by Mr. Greenwell . All in favor. Cushnie: Not sure of wording. Is it land use, planning and zoning OR land use planning and zoning? Poppe: Would leave wording up to Mr. Yuen. Yuen: If this proposal is defeated, Charter remains same as it is now; you cannot use initiative for zoning unless state law changes. Cushnie: Questioned whether or not Kauai passed initiative and referendum law. Yuen: Yes , Kauai and Hawaii County, and I think the other counties , had passed resolutions calling on the state Legislature to amend the law to make zoning subject to initiative. 853 Bethea: Questioned changing the 15% in Section 11-3 . L'Orange: Referred to a letter from Rudy Legaspi (Exhibit C) suggesting setting a petition submission date of May 1st. Feels this would solve some problems. MOTION NO. 10: L'Orange: Made a motion to include in the Charter a petition submission date of May 1st, relative to Section 11-3 (a) (b) . Ms . Poppe seconded the motion. Bethea: Exact language will be supplied by Mr. Yuen before or at the next meeting. Poppe: Questioned whether it should read "no later than" May 1st , with the completed signatures by the ballot deadline? Yuen: Not necessary. Bethea: Questioned the wording of Section 11-6 . L'Orange: Suggested eliminating Section 11-5 (d) , 11-6 (a) and (b) and 11-6 (c) per Legaspi ' s letter , in the interest of simplifying things. The problem with signatures on petitions is petitioners are not selective in signing up qualified residents and checking signatures is therefore lengthy. Poppe: Also, signers of petitions do not read the complete petition. Yuen: It ' s also difficult for people to determine whether or not they have enough signatures. Cushnie: Says much overtime is incurred because of large numbers of signatures on petitioners . Questioned how current a signature list can be. Bethea: Mr. Yuen can come up with adequate language. Suggested voting right now on CONCEPTS ONLY. L'Orange: Questioned Mr. Yuen on whether or not the May 1st date would be a help or a. hinderance. Yuen: Council needs time to consider items and Rudy Legaspi is eliminating a second chance to get signatures. Reason for having a fixed date is the time frames are so tight. Bethea: Questioned when petitioners are allowed a second chance to amend the petition. Yuen: Petitioners don' t amend a petition; supplemental list of signatures is what is submitted. Duncan: Asked Mr. Yuen whether he recommends including a May 1st date. Yuen: Recommends a fixed date, because there are lots of time frames to consider for initiative and a deadline would be helpful. MOTION NO. 11 : L'Orange: Withdraws his previous Motion No. 10. Makes a motion to have a firm date included in Section 11-3 ; seconded by Mr. Greenwell . All were in favor; motion passed. 854 MOTION NO. 12: Greenwell : Motioned to retain the 15% in present Charter Section 11-3 (c) ; seconded by Ms . Poppe. All were in favor. MOTION NO. 13 : Poppe: Moves also that present Charter Section 11-3 (c) include similar language to the effect that it will be 15% of the "number of persons who voted in the last preceeding general election. " Seconded by Mr. L'Orange. All were in favor except Ms. Cushnie, who opposed the motion. Motion passed. Yuen: There is less voter turnout in non-presidential election years, so you would need fewer signatures in those years . Would like to take a look at who to count in the 15%. Poppe: People who go down to the voting booth but who do not vote for a candidate (called "curtain voters" ) should be counted. Yuen: There is a way to count curtain voters. Bethea: Mr. Yuen will come up with exact language next meeting. MOTION NO. 14 : Duncan: Motioned that a new number (c) include a subsection to define a qualified voter as one who is duly registered before or on the day that the clerk begins his examination of signatures , per Exhibit C; seconded by Ms. Poppe. All were in favor. Motion passed. MOTION NO. 15: Bethea: Said next item was 11-5(d)--how long signatures are good for. Cushnie: Motioned that Section 11-5(d) be deleted and a new section be added: "The Clerk shall disregard all signatures dated prior to the last general election. 1) This measure intends to indicate that the signers ' sentiments on the issue are fairly current" , per Exhibit C. Seconded by Ms. Poppe. All were in favor; motion passed. Greenwell : If a law is passed , someone would not go through initiative to appeal the law; because he probably wouldn' t get enough signatures or time to do it. Poppe: Signatures have to be dated. Petitions to collect signatures shouldn' t go on for four years . Yuen: Regarding Sections 11-6(a) and (b) , you can 1) leave them as they are, 2) add limits , or 3) put them in clearer language and add signatures after the clerk has review the signatures for validity. Poppe: But no one should be allowed to re-write the petition itself; and this needs to be clarified in the Charter. 855 Bethea: Concerning Section 11-7 (b) , Mr . Yuen can submit wording for our review. MOTION NO. 16 : L'Orange: Made motion that the petitioner ' s committee should not be allowed to amend a petition to change its meaning, but that they should have the right to gather more signatures if their initial submittal falls short. Seconded by Mr. Greenwell . All were in favor. Motion passed. Yuen: The rationale for Section 11-7(b) is that the Council may adopt an ordinance which accomplishes 90% of what the petitioners want , but is not exactly the same as the ordinance proposed in the petition. The Charter gives the petitioners ' committee the power to accept an amendment version of the ordinance passed by the Council ; and in effect , to withdraw the petition. Bethea: And the committee can compromise with the Council to amend something. L'Orange: Council can work around voters anyway. Poppe: If she signs a petition, she doesn' t want a committee of five to redo the petition she signed or make alterations to it. Council should either adopt it, or it should go on the ballot for voters . Bethea: Regarding Section 11-7(b) , the person(s) who draw up the language should be clear and without advertising. Yuen: People circulating a petition are not supposed to make a statement; the clerk does that with in-put from the Council . Omonaka: Question the proposed change. Suggested should require that texts be published in full in the newspapers. Yuen: Agreed; can work out language to that effect. (Note: Ms . Poppe left the meeting. ) Bethea: Should be some way to leave prejudice out of petition wording. Questioned whether the "for" and "against" was bad wording. Cushnie: Said it was poor wording. Greenweill : If issues are talked about enough, then by the time something is voted on, it is understood. The Hapuna Beach initiative was badly worded. Duncan: Agrees that issues should be presented in plain language. Doesn' t feel that a "yes" or "no" solves the language problem. Wants to see a sample of the last ballot voted on at the next meeting. Bethea: Suggested saving the rest of this topic for the next meeting after can review example of ballot language. 856 MOTION NO. 17: Cushnie: Motions that the "20 days" in Section 11-6(c) be replaced with "30 days , excluding Saturdays , Sundays and holidays. " Mr. Greenwell seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed. L'Orange: Hopes Mr. Yuen will insure that this change fits in the time frames necessary. Bethea: Mr. Yuen will re-draft the language if necessary at the next meeting. Cushnie: Her motions insures that there is no overtime pay for Saturdays , Sundays and holidays . MOTION NO. 18 : Duncan: Re Section 11-5 (a) (4) : Moves that the language be amended to include "residence or mailing address . " Motion seconded by Ms. Lum. All were in favor . Bethea: Mr. Yuen will provide the wording next meeting. Duncan: Was Section 11-5 (d) discussed? Bethea: No. Yuen: Mr. Legaspi proposed eliminating it. Mr. Rothstein suggested withdrawn signatures should be notarized. MOTION NO. 19 : Duncan: Motions that Section 11-5 (d) be kept in the Charter and that signatures that are withdrawn be notarized. Motion seconded by Mr. L'Orange. All were in favor. Discussed Section 11-8 . Bethea: Questioned whether the petitioners ' committee may withdraw a petition? Cushnie: This has to do with consider compromise. The committee is not removing what a petitioner has signed. Yuen: The Council can take some compromise action. Secondly, petitioners ' committe may also want something removed. Bethea: Allowing the withdrawal is consistent with Section 11-7(b) . L'Orange: In 11-8 , you are not changing the substance but making the language clearer in some instances . Prefers this section be left in the Charter. Bethea: Doesn' t feel the section should be left in. Omonaka: Whoever files a petition should understand that the petitioner ' s committee would prevail . Yuen: Section 11-8 says the petitioners ' committee could withdraw a petition at any time with a four or five vote. Cushnie: If the petitioners sign something and the committee withdraws the petition, is that fair? Yuen: As a petition signer, you have no right to get your petition on the ballot if the petitioners ' committee decides otherwise. Duncan: Suggests leaving Section 11-8 in. Yuen: Suggested that if an 857 ordinance is passed, you wouldn' t put it on the ballot. If Council adopts an ordinance, there is no need to vote on it; it ' s done. Bethea: Says certain wording in section is unclear: "withdraw within 30 days" , "intermediate council action" , and "to the satisfaction of the committee. " Yuen: Recommends making change: Third sentence should be connected with first sentence. If the committee wants to with- draw a petition, they should have a signed request by four or five members . MOTION NO. 20: Omonaka: Suggests Mr. Yuen come up with language changes for Section 11-8 . Mr. L'Orange considered this a motion and seconded it . A vote was taken and all were in favor. (Note: Ms. Lum left the meeting. ) X. AGENDA ITEM NO. 10: Art. XII : Boards and Commissions MOTION NO. 21 : Cushnie: Motioned that Section 12-1 . 3 be changed to residence or mailing address to conform with the other motion made earlier. Seconded by Ms. Duncan. All were in favor and the motion passed . MOTION NO. 22: Cushnie: Motioned that the 20 days be changed to 30 days , excluding Saturdays , Sundays and holidays . Mr. Greenwell seconded the motion. All were in favor . Section 12-1 . 3 : Duncan: Noted this language did not appear in the initiative section. Cushnie: Section 11-5(2) talks about affidavits. Yuen: Yes , it eliminates petitions if they aren' t attached. L 'Orange: Questioned whether "registered voter" should be included in Art. XII_ Should clarify recall of councilmen if the 9 single-member district thing passes. Yuen: The latter is covered. Section 12-1 . 6 states how it would work. No changes were noted for Art. XII , Chapter 2. Other agenda items will be saved until the next meeting. XI. RECONFIRM/SET NEXT MEETING(S) : The meeting for April 30th was confirmed. It will be in Hilo at 9 :00 a.m. Place to be decided. 858 An additional meeting was set for May 14th in Waimea at 9: 00 a.m. XII. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, iyf , j‘efeme4:01 R. Marie Jacobs Secretary-Assistant 859 CHRISTOPHER J. Yu EN HILO LAGOON CENTRE,SUITE 108 101 AUPUNI STREET HILO,HAWAII 96720 ATTORNEY AT LAW TEL.(808)935-4429 March 22 , 1990 Hawaii County Charter Commission 101 Aupuni St. , Suite 235 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Wording of Charter Changes Dear Commission Members: I have drafted the language for several of the charter changes which have already been approved by the Commission. The following changes deal with the requirements for the managing director, planning director, and fire chief. New language is underlined; deleted sections are enclosed in brackets. For Planning Director: Section 5-4.2 Planning Director. The planning director shall be appointed by the mayor, confirmed by the council and may be removed by the mayor. The planning director shall have had a minimum of five years' training and experience in a responsible planning position or a degree in planning, engineering, architecture, geography, or another planning-related field and three years' experience in a responsible planning position. The director shall be the administrative head of the department and shall: [remainder of section will be the same. ] For Managing Director: Section 6-1.2. Appointment. The managing director shall be appointed by the mayor and may be removed by the mayor. The managing director shall have had a minimum of five years' experience in an administrative capacity. EXHIBIT A 860 (5 pages) For Fire Chief: Section 6-4. Fire Chief. The fire chief shall be appointed by the mayor, confirmed by the council and may be removed by the mayor. The fire chief shall have a minimum of five years' training and experience in fire control, including at least three years' experience in a responsible administrative capacity. I have also re-drafted the section on the County Reapportionment Commission to conform with the vote taken at our meeting of February 21, 1990. I chose to continue calling this the "Reapportionment Commission" rather than calling it the "Apportionment Commission" for the initial commission and "Reapportionment Commission" for subsequent commissions for two reasons: first, it is really not incorrect to call it a Reapportionment Commission, because we do currently have council districts whose boundaries will be reapportioned, although the current districts are not population-based. Second, it seemed awkward to me to change the name. §3-18. County Reapportionment Commission. (a) There shall be a county reapportionment commission which shall establish the boundaries of the council districts. (b) The initial 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 . 861 -2- (c) Each subsequent reapportionment commission shall consist of nine members. One member shall be a resident of each council district as established by the previous reapportionment commission. The members shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council in the manner prescribed in Section 13- 4. (d) 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, and shall file a 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. (e) 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. (f) 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; _3_ 862 1 (4) Districts shall have approximately equal resident populations as required by applicable constitutional provisions. (g) The district boundaries as established by the reapportionment commission shall be in effect at the first regularly scheduled council election following the filing of the plan and for any 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 term of all councilmembers elected or appointed to represent such districts until the expiration of the full term of such councilmembers, including any election held to fill an unexpired term under Section 3-5. Finally, I have prepared the revised language for the salary commission. I have provided that the salary commission sets the salary of all county elected officials, not just the council members, and also rewrote section (d) which was confusing. This section should probably be taken out of article III if the salary commission is going to cover all elected officials, rather than just the council members, because art. III deals entirely with the council. The exact location can be decided later (perhaps even when the new charter is printed. ) [Section 3-4. ] Compensation; Salary Commission. (a) The salary of [councilmen] all county elected officials shall be established by a salary commission which shall consist of nine members appointed by the mayor without the approval of the council, notwithstanding provision (b) in Section 13-4. The members may be removed by the mayor. (b) The commission shall consist of nine members, six of whom shall be representatives of the county geographical areas of -4- 863 Puna, Ka'u, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua and Hilo, and three of whom shall be representative of the county-at-large. In addition, the civil service director and deputy civil service director shall serve as ex-officio members of the commission in an advisory capacity. (c) The commission shall establish its rules of procedure and adopt rules and regulations having the force and effect of law. (d) The commission shall review and compensate [councilmen and council chairman at an appropriate step within a salary range on the same basis as employees of bargaining units to assure a sensible relationship to an adequate scheme of compensation for the work they do. ] all county elected officials so that their salaries have a reasonable relationship to the salaries of civil service employees, given due consideration for the duties and responsibilities of the officials. Yours truly, i. Christophe J. Yue CJY:yt _5_ 864 CHRISTOPHER J. YUEN HILO LAGOON CENTRE,SUITE 108 101 AUPUNI STREET HILO,HAWAII 96720 ATTORNEY AT, LAW TEL.(808)935-4429 April 9, 1990 Hawaii County Charter Commission 101 Aupuni St. , Suite 235 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Changes to Art. X (Financial Procedures) Dear Charter Commission Members: I have enclosed as Exhibit "1" a draft of the changes to Art. X (Financial Procedures) as voted on by the Commission at the meeting of March 28, 1990. Language which is to be deleted is enclosed in brackets; language which is to be inserted is underlined. Basically, the changes provide that the mayor shall submit the operating and capital budgets and operating and capital programs to the council no later than March 1 of each year, rather than the present May 1 deadline. Thereafter, the mayor must submit amended operating and capital budgets, and amended operating and capital programs, to the council not later than ten working days after the close of the legislative session, May or 5, whichever comes first. The council then has the public hearing and may amend the budget. If it does not pass a budget by June 30th, the mayor's amended budget becomes the budget. Notice of the hearing must be published in at least two newspapers of general circulation. §10-9 has been amended to provide that the mayor must notify. the council of fund transfers within an agency, but otherwise gives the mayor the discretion to transfer the funds. §10-14 has been amended to require formal bids for contracts in excess of $10, 000, rather than $4, 000. However, when I reviewed the state law on this matter (H.R.S. §103-22) formal bidding is required for contracts in excess of $8, 000. I apologize for not bringing this to the commission's attention earlier. The commission ought to consider revising the amount to $8, 000 to conform to state law. Yours truly, EXHIBIT B (14 pages) Christopher J. Y 865 ARTICLE X FINANCIAL PROCEDURES Section 10-1. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the county shall begin on the first day of July and end on the last day of June of the succeeding year. Section 10-2. Preparation and Submission of Budget and P g Capital Program. (a) [Within ten (10) working days after the close of the state legislature but no later than May 1] No later than March 1 of each year, the mayor shall submit to the county council: (1) An operating budget for the ensuing year. (2) An operating program for the ensuing three fiscal years. (3) A capital budget for the ensuing fiscal year. (4) A capital program for the ensuing six fiscal years. (5) An accompanying message. The mayor shall submit an amended operating budget, operating program, capital budget, and capital program, together with an accompanying message, to the county council within ten (10) working days after the close of the state legislature but not later than May 5 of each year. (b) On or before the date specified by the mayor, the head of each county agency and executive agency shall furnish the mayor: (1) Estimates for the current fiscal year and ensuing v 866 fiscal years covering the revenues and expenditures of the agency or executive agency concerned. (2) Estimates of any capital improvements pending or proposed to be undertaken within the ensuing fiscal year and within the five fiscal years thereafter. (3) Such other information as the mayor may request. (c) The mayor shall review all the estimates furnished him. He may hold public hearings thereon and may revise the estimates in such manner as he deems advisable in preparing the budgets and programs. (d) Upon submission, the budgets, the programs and message shall be a public record in the office of the clerk of the county council and shall be open to public inspection. The mayor shall at the same time make available copies of the budgets, the programs and message for distribution to interested persons. Section 10-3. Scope of Operating Budget; Operating Program; Mayor's Message. (a) The operating budget shall present a complete financial plan for the current operations of the county and its agencies and executive agencies in the ensuing fiscal year, showing all funds and reserves. Capital expenditures to be financed from current revenues in the ensuing fiscal year shall be included in the operating budget as well as in the capital budget. Appropriations for such expenditures shall be included in the operating budget. Except as otherwise provided by law, the operating budget shall contain at least the following: 867 -2- (1) A simple, clear, general summary of the detailed contents of the operating budget. Such summary shall itemize all new positions being requested. (2) The proposed expenditures, including provision for any estimated cash deficit for the fiscal year currently ending, debt service requirements for the ensuing fiscal year, and all other expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year, capital and otherwise, to be met from current revenues; and the proposed expenditures shall be shown by agencies and programs. (3) A comparative statement of the actual expenditures for the preceding fiscal year, and the estimated expenditures for the fiscal year currently ending and the ensuing fiscal year. (4) The sums recommended for appropriation on the basis of the proposed expenditures, which sums need not be itemized further than by agencies and programs. (5) The estimated revenues shown by estimated cash surplus, if any, for the fiscal year currently ending, proposed tax levies and other sources. (6) A comparative statement of the actual revenues for the preceding fiscal year, and the estimated revenues for the fiscal year currently ending and the ensuing year. The estimated revenues for ensuing fiscal year shall be at least equal in amount to the proposed expenditures. (b) The operating program shall present a complete financial plan for the operations of the county and its agencies and executive agencies in the ensuing three fiscal years, showing 868 -3- all funds and reserves. The operating program shall be used by the council for informational purposes and as a guide for the estimated costs of operating the county government for the ensuing three fiscal years and shall contain at least the following: (1) A simple, clear, general summary of the detailed contents of the operating program. • (2) The proposed expenditures, including debt service requirements and all other expenditures for the ensuing three fiscal years, capital and otherwise; and the proposed expenditures, year by year, shall be shown by agencies and programs. (3) The estimated revenues shown by estimated cash surplus, if any, proposed tax levies and other sources for the ensuing three fiscal years. (4) Such other information as the council or mayor may request. (c) The mayor's message shall explain the operating budget and capital budget both in fiscal terms and in terms of work to be done. It shall outline the proposed financial policies of the county for the ensuing fiscal year, describe the important features of the operating budget and capital budget and means of financing the budgets. It shall indicate any major changes in financial policies and in expenditures, appropriations and revenues as compared with the fiscal year currently ending, and shall set forth the reasons for the changes. As to capital 869 -4- budget, the message shall include a list of pending and proposed capital improvements together with the mayor's comments on such list. It shall itemize and explain each pending capital improvement and each capital improvement proposed to be undertaken within the ensuing fiscal year, showing the estimated cost of each improvement and the pending or proposed method of financing it. The message shall also include such other supporting or explanatory material as the mayor deems desirable. The mayor's (which accompanies amendments to the operating budget and to the capital budget shall describe the major changes in proposed expenditures from the budgets as previously submitted and shall describe the changes in the revenue projections from the budget previously submitted. Section 10-4. operating Budget and Capital Budget: Notice and Hearing. A public hearing shall be held on the amended operating budget and amended capital 1 bud et not more than four weeks after the submission of the amended operating budget and the amended capital budget [submission thereof] . At this hearing all persons interested shall have an opportunity to be heard. At least two weeks before the hearing, the county council shall publish in not less than two newspapers [a newspaper] of general circulation in the county, the general summaries of the amended operating budget and amended capital budget and a notice setting forth the time and place for public hearing thereon and for their consideration by the council. Section 10-5. Operating Budget: Council Action. After the 870 -5- public hearing the county council may adopt the amended operating budget with or without further amendments. In amending, it may add new items or increase items in the operating budget. It may decrease or delete items, excepting appropriations required by law and appropriations for debt service. But in all cases the estimated revenues for the ensuing year shall be a least equal in amount to the proposed expenditures. The council shall adopt the operating budget on or before the thirtieth day of June. If it fails to do so, the amended operating budget submitted by the mayor shall be deemed adopted by the council as the operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The adopted operating budget shall be in effect on and after the first day of the fiscal year to which it applies. Section 10-6. Capital Budget and Capital Program: Scope; Council Action. (a) The capital budget shall contain at least the following: (1) A simple, clear, general summary of the detailed contents of the capital budget. (2) The capital improvements pending or proposed to be undertaken within the ensuing fiscal year, together with the estimated cost of each improvement, the estimated operating cost, and the pending or proposed method of financing it. (3) Capital expenditures to be financed from current revenues in the ensuing fiscal year. 871 -6- (b) The capital program shall be used by the council for informational purposes and as guide for the estimated costs of the proposed capital improvements of the county for the ensuing six fiscal years and shall contain at least the following: (1) A simple, clear, general summary of the detailed contents of the capital program. (2) The capital improvements pending or proposed for the ensuing six fiscal years, together with the estimated cost of each improvement and the proposed method of financing it. (3) Such other information as the council or mayor may request. (c) After the public hearing on the amended capital budget, the county council may adopt the amended capital budget with or without further amendment. In amending, the council shall request and consider, but need not follow, the recommendations of the mayor as to the proposed amendment. (d) The council shall adopt the capital budget on or before the thirtieth day of June. If it fails to do so, the amended capital budget submitted by the mayor shall be deemed adopted by the council as the capital budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The adopted- capital budget shall be in effect on and after the first day of the fiscal year. (As amended by Ordinance No. 57, effective November 26, 1974 . ) At any time during the fiscal year, the council, by ordinance adopted by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the entire membership, may amend the capital budget for that 872 -7- year. In amending, the council shall request and consider, but need not follow, the recommendations of the mayor as to the proposed amendment. Section 10-7. Budgets: Public Records. Three copies of the operating budget and the capital budget as adopted shall be certified by the mayor and the clerk of the county council. One of these copies shall be filed in the office of the mayor and one each in the offices of the director of finance and the director of planning. The operating budget and capital budget shall be made available to the county agencies and to interested persons, upon such conditions as the council may determine. Section 10-8. Appropriations: Supplemental and Emergency. When during any fiscal year there are available any funds for appropriation, the mayor shall certify to the county council and the county council may amend or make supplemental appropriations for the year up to the amount of available revenues. Such appropriations may be made by ordinance effective immediately upon adoption. To meet a public emergency affecting life, health or property, the council, may make emergency appropriations. Such appropriations may be made by ordinance and must be approved by all council members present or by two-thirds of the entire membership. To the extent that there are no available unappropriated revenues to meet such notes. These notes may be renewed from time to time, but the emergency notes and renewals of any fiscal year shall be paid not later than the first day of 873 -8- the fiscal year next succeeding that in which the emergency appropriation was made. The total of emergency appropriations in any fiscal year shall not exceed one-half of one percent of the total operating appropriations, excluding those for debt service made in the operating budget for that year. Section 10-9. Appropriations: Reduction and Transfer. If at any time during the fiscal year it appears probable to the mayor that the revenues available will be insufficient to meet the amount appropriated, he shall report to the county council without delay, indicating the estimated amount of the deficit. For that purpose the council may by ordinance reduce one or more appropriations; but no appropriation required for debt service may be reduced and no appropriation may be reduced by more than the amount of the encumbered balance thereof or below any amount required by law to be appropriated. The mayor may at any time during the fiscal year transfer part or all' of any unencumbered appropriation balance between classifications of expenditures or programs within an agency or executive agency; and if at any time the mayor so requests in writing, the council, by resolution effective immediately upon adoption, may transfer, part or all of any unencumbered appropriation balance from one agency or executive agency to another. But no transfer shall be made from appropriations for debt service or for estimated cash deficit; and no appropriation may be reduced below any amount required by law to be appropriated. The mayor shall notify the county council of any 874 -9- ' i transfer of funds within an agency or an executive agency no later than thirty days after authorizing such a transfer. Section 10-10. Lapse of Appropriations. General appropriations, except an appropriation for a capital expenditure, shall lapse at the close of the fiscal year to the extent that the same has not been expended or encumbered. An appropriation for a capital expenditure that is not encumbered shall lapse at the end of two fiscal years following the fiscal year that the appropriation was made. Section 10-11. Payments and Obligations prohibited: Verifications; Penalties. No payment shall be authorized or made and no obligation incurred against the county except in accordance with appropriations duly made. No payment shall be made against any allotment or appropriation unless the director of finance first verifies that there is sufficient unencumbered balance in the allotment or appropriation and that sufficient funds therefrom are available to cover the claim concerned; nor shall any obligation be incurred against any allotment or appropriation unless the agency head first verifies that there is sufficient unencumbered balance in the allotment or appropriation and that sufficient funds therefrom, will be available to meet the obligation concerned when it becomes due and payable. Every obligation incurred and every authorization of payment in violation of the provisions of this charter shall be void. Every payment made in violation of the provisions of this charter shall be illegal; and all county officers who knowingly authorize or 875 -10- make such payment or any part thereof shall be jointly and severally liable to the county for the full amount so paid or received. If any county officer or employee knowingly authorizes or makes any payment or incurs any obligation in violation of the provisions of this charter or takes part therein, that action shall be cause for his removal. Nothing contained in this section or other sections of this charter shall be construed to prevent the making or authorizing of payments or making of contracts for capital improvements to be financed wholly or partly by the issuance of bonds; nor shall it prevent the making, when permitted by law, of any contract or any lease providing for the payment of funds at a time beyond_ the end of the fiscal year in which the contract or lease is made. But any contract, lease or other obligation requiring the payment of funds from the appropriations of a later fiscal year or of more than one fiscal year shall be made or approved by resolution. Section 10-12. Special Funds. Upon recommendation of the mayor, the council may by ordinance abolish or establish such special funds as may be necessary for the proper and efficient segregation of fiscal operations of the county. Section 10-13. Post-audit. [No changes. ] Section 10-14. Centralized Purchasing. (a) The department of finance shall be responsible for the procurement of all materials, supplies, equipment and services required by any agency of the county, except as otherwise provided by this charter or any law. 876 -11- (b) There shall be a standardization committee composed of five members. The mayor shall appoint four members without necessity of council confirmation, each of whom shall be from a separate department. The fifth member shall be a representative of the department of finance who shall serve as chairman of the committee. The committee shall classify all materials, supplies and equipment commonly used by the various agencies of the county and shall prepare and adopt standards and specification for such materials, supplies and equipment. (c) All purchases and contracts for materials, supplies, equipment and services shall be made by advertising, except that such purchases and contracts may be negotiated without advertising if: (1) The public exigency will not admit of the delay incident to advertising. (2) The aggregate amount involved does not exceed [$4, 000. 00] $,0'60. 00; however, any purchases or contracts involving sums between [$500. 00] $1, 000. 00 and [$4, 000. 00] goy $15000. 00 shall be based on competitive bids which shall be in writing. (3) It is impracticable to secure competitive bidding r for materials, supplies and equipment, including animals, plants, food and fodder for animals of the zoo, non-processed agricultural products, patented or proprietary articles and books and publications. (4) It is determined that the procurement of equipment 877 -12- determined to be technical equipment is necessary to assure standardization of the equipment and interchangeability of parts and that such standardization and interchangeability are necessary in the interest of economy. (5) Any other procedure or matter will promote the effective, efficient and timely procurement of goods and services. [Remainder of art. X remains the same. ] 878 -13- July 28 , 1989 Mr . Robert Bethea , Chairman and Commissioners Hawaii County Charter Commission 25 Aupuni St . Hilo , Hawaii 96720 Gentlemen and Ladies , The following are proposed amendments to the Hawaii County Charter , which would address existing and potential problems in the process- ing of Initiative and Referendum, (Article 11) as well as Charter Amendment or Revision (Article 15 ) petitions . Article 11 - Initiative and Referendum 1 . Section 11-3 (a) & (b) - Set the submission date no later than May 1 of an election year . a . Present charter language does not guarantee the placement of qualified petitions on the ballot of the next general election due to the council ' s as well as state ' s ( election) mandated deadlines not being met . This proviso will correct this situa- tion. 2 . Section 11-3 ( c) - Add sub-section to define a quali- fied voter as one 'who is duly registered before or on the day that the clerk begins his examination. a . Challenges in this area have caused major problems in the past . 3 . Section 11-5 - Delete entire section 11-5 (d) . a . Such an allowance has had little significance in the past . b . In its place , add "The clerk shall disregard all signatures dated prior to the last general elec- tion" . EXHIBIT C 879 1) This measurePage' rntsends to indicate that the signers ' sentiments on the issue are fairly current . 4 . Section 11-6 ( c) - Delete twenty days and add " thirty days excluding Saturdays , Sundays and holidays" . a . Present time allowance is not sufficient to process the petition. Twenty years ago when the charter was first approved, the registered voter count was half the current number . 5 . Section 11-6 (a) and 11- (b)= = Eliminate .this opportunity for amending the petition. a . This is not allowed in the Charter amendment peti- tion processes , and does create a potential problem if a lot of additional signatures are submitted as has happened in the past , along with the short 5 day processing time . Should the existing proviso be retained, increase the working days to 10 , to process additional signatures . 6 . Section 11-6 ( c) - Delete entire section. a . Allows the council to make its own determination on the matter , despite the clerk ' s certification , opening opportunities for challenges and delays which would encroach upon the previously stated deadlines . 7 . Section 11-7 - Eliminate [Shall elapse between the time of first reading of the initiative proposal as a bill and completion of consideration] and in its place add "after the date on which the petition was determined sufficient , the council shall" . . . 8 . Section 11-7 (b) - Amend YES for FOR and NO for AGAINST . a . To conform to standard ballot language . 880 Article XV - Charter Amendment or Revision 1 . Section 15-1 (b) - Amend as follows : By petition [presented] addressed to the council and filed with the clerk of the council before May 1 of an election year . . . a . Same rationale as in I and R. 2 . Section 15-1 - Amend as follows : Upon filing of such petition [with the council] the clerk shall examine the same to see whether it contains a sufficient number of [apparently genuine signatures of] registered voters . [The clerk may question the genuiness of any signature or signatures appearing in the petition and if he finds that any such signature or signatures are not genuine , he shall disregard them in determin- ing whether the petition contains a sufficient number of signatures ] . The clerk shall eliminate any sheet of the petition which is not accompanied by the required affidavit . The invalidity of any sheet shall not affect the validity of the petition if a sufficient number of signatures remains after eliminating such invalid sheet the clerk shall com- plete his examinations of the petition within [ twenty] thirty days . Section 15-1 ( c) - Add new sub-section. ( c) The clerk shall disregard all signatures dated prior to the last general election. a. Same rationale as in I and R . 3 . Section 15-2 - Amend as follows : . . . Upon adoption of an ordinance proposing amendments or revisions of this charter or [upon] within sixty days after the determination by the clerk that a petition for proposed amendments or revisions of this charter contains the required number of signatures . . . 881 a . The present charter language does not state a deadline for the council to act upon a valid petition, this proviso will clear this concern. Your consideration of these proposed amendments would be appreciated. should there be any need for the amplification of any of these sug- gestions , I would be glad to do so . Very Truly Yours , R . B . Legasp 1154 Kumukoa St . Hilo , HI 96720 882