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Home My WebLink AboutCOMM. 027 KOHMA F°� 1 WEST AFAH 0 P TTE E -- NGAI!{zndSOUTH .� POST OFFICE BOX 1761 / KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII 96740 KGNA z, { February 269 1979 KAT Hawaii County Charter Review Commission County Office Building Hilo, Hawaii Gentlemen: As previously indicated to youin our letter of January 12 the West Hawaii Committee has been examining various aspects of needed or proposed County Charter revisions, At this time we should like to appraise you of our recommendations on the two very important subjects of the Mayor vs County Manager form of government and the election and composition of the County Council. MAYOR vs COUNTY MANAGER After examination of County Manager enabling statutes of 8 states and 6 county charters and hearing reports of actual County/City Manager experience the West Hawaii Committee voted 'unanimously to recommend to you that the Hawaii County Charter should continue the present County Council/Mayor form of government but with certain modifications to : 1) Strengthen the effectiveness of the Council 2 ) Curtail some of the Mayor4s power as to financial • procedures and as to appointment of department heads 3) Limit the growth of the County Budget, Debts and teal Property Taxes 4) Remove present charter section 11 -2 restrictions on Initiative and Referendum Although the County Manager form of government appears at first glance to offer advantages of more efficient administration, in practice it appears that there are offsetting disadvantages • which limit actual attainment® Therefore it appears best for this County to build on the past ten years experience by making some modifications to the Mayor and Council relationships, rather than scrap the present form of government and go through the probably painful learning process of a new forma The • eel�jeld`o. NO, --- ti q desireable modifications to the County Charter entail the following : A) The effectiveness of the County. Council should be strengthened 1) by providing it with enough staff . so that it can function effectively and be informed factually and in depth on administration proposals and operations ; 2 ) by providing it with its own legal adviser; and 3) by requiring Council approval of all department heads and also giving it the power for removal of same. B) Curtail the Mayor's present unlimited power to transfer monies between various budget accounts by requiring Council approval for such transfers above a specified amount necessary for reasonable flexibility. • Also require Council approval of all department head selections by the Mayor. 0) Restrictions on the growth of the County Budget , Debt9 and Real Property Taxes should be made as follows : 1) Expenditures from the General Fund must not exceed. reasonably expected revenues (i, e_a .balanced budget) and the rate of growthof expenditures must not exceed the rate of growth of the County' s economy as measured by the revenue produced by the gross excise tax(wi•th 4% as the basic tax rate ) 2) The payments for principal and interest on the County Debt must not exceed 15% of the 3 year General Fund average ; and all General Obligation Bonds in any fiscal year in excess of P5009000 must be approved by vote of the electorate. 3) The Property Tax on any piece of property must not exceed 1% of its assessed value, with its assessed value not to increase more than 2% per year except that when the property is sold the assessed value goes to fair market value. 4) Section 11 -2 retrictions on the use of Initiative and referendum should be removed so that the eventual power of control of expenditures should rest with the people and not with a self perpetuating government, COMPOSITION OF COUNTY COUNCIL The West Hawaii Committee feels strongly that the present • -2- n, 411 410 method of electing the County Council is wrong in that the "at large" method of voting deprives many voters of their right to select their own representation, both in the primaries and the general elections. v4e therefore propose that the Council should consist of 9 members selected by seperate vote in the four election districts as follows ' 2 each from Districts 1 ,3,and 4 3 from District 2 This method fairly evenly divides up the representation and provides it for areas of common interest and affinity. For instance, based on 1978 voter registration, there would be one representative for the following percent of voters for each district as follows : 11 % District 1 (Kau,Puna, South part of South Hilo) 12-?1% District 2 (City of Hilo) 8-% District 3 (North Hilo,Hamakua,North Kohala) 19% District 4 (South Kohala,North and South Kona) • We feel that the termsshould remain at four years, but that the elections should be staggerred so that approximately one half of the Council would be elected every two years. This would provide for more efficiency and continuity of function and experience within the Council. Also, Charter provision should be made to adjust this election as population changes occur. Perhaps this should be based on voter registration or perhaps on Census data but we feel that it is self evident that provision must be made for future reapportionment. It is our sincere feeling that if the above changes are made to the Hawaii County Charter a significant improvement will be seen in the quality and efficiency of government due to the reestablishment of the people ' s control of the government and its direction® If we can be of any service to you by further explaining our positions and reasoning on any of the above matters please do not hesitate to call on use Very truly yours, ck) \A) , 11/055. WEST HAWAII COMMITTEE William W. Moss Chairman, Charter Review Subcommittee