HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 049 •
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P. 0. Box 146 •
• Pahala, Hawaii 96777
May 5 , 1979
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Charter Review Commission
c/o Office of County Clerk
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo , Hawaii 96720
Dear Mr. Chairman and Members of the Charter
Review Commission:
My name is Francis H. Pell . I reside on Pakalana Street,
Pahala, Hawaii . My official address is P. O. Box 146 ,
Pahala, Hawaii 96777 . The recommendations and comments out-
lined below are my own. I do not represent any organization
or group . •
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County Council •
o The _County Council should be composed of five members .
• ,'Using the existing repres•entive districts , each •
member would be elected by only the voters in the
district concerned.
•
° The term of office would be four years . To insure
continuity within the council , the terms of office
could be staggered. Each council member would be
restricted to two consecutive four year terms .
0
When a member of the County Council is incapacitated
for 30 days and unable to fulfill the duties and
functions of that office , a proxy must be appointed
by: 1) the council member who is -incapacitated or
2) by the remaining members of the County Council .
In case of illness , the council member concerned or
his/her physician would determine the. question of
• incapacitation. If a council member is incapacitated
due to incarceration in prison or admission to a
. mental institution, the County Council position would
be vacated ,automatically.
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Budgeting ••
° Establish a "zero" base budgeting system. This means
that each fiscal year basic programming will start
from "zero" . Each line item must be spelled out and
justified to the reviewing authorities .
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° A ceiling for the annual budget must be mandatory and
based on projected income from all sources : County,
State and Federal . An emergency provision covering
natural or man-made disasters should be incorporated
into the budget . .
o The Mayor and the County Council must establish a
• priority for all new projects . That segment of the
population which resides in rural areas should no
longer be deprived of 24 hour police and fire pro-
tection, and other essential services by "nice to ,
have" urban projects such as swimming pools , drag •
strips and race tracks . Recreational facilities are
needed but they must not have p-riority. over the safe-
. guarding of life and property.
County Commissions •
o Limit .the number and type of commissions. that may be
appointed by the Mayor or County Council . A commission
to study each problem and
recommend a course .of action
is too frequently used as a crutch or delaying tactic .
A full time County Council , the Mayor and department
heads. must do their "homework" in order to formulate
programs and adopt timely courses of action that are
responsive to the needs of the majority.
o Each commission must be responsible to an elected
official or an official body (the Mayor and/or the
)
Council
CountY. Semi-autonomous commissions would be
prohibited.
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o In the future , the convening of the County Charter
Review Commission should coincide with the publication
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Page ' 3
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of the results of the National Census . Changes pro-
• mulgated by the present Charter Review Commission
should not become effective until 1981 .
•
Organization
° Consolidate similar services or functions where
possible. Example :
1 . The police department could function under the
staff supervision of the prosecuting attorney. '
The Chief of Police would exercise operational
control of the department .
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2 . The functions of the existing water commission •
would be transferred to the Public .Works Depart-
ment .
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At the . hearing conducted in Naalehu, a member of the County
Review Commission expressed his concern that public partici-
. pation was almost nil . I did not participate because I felt
that I did not have enough information in order to voice an
opinion at the time of registration .
If you desire , I will appear before the commission and testify
in person.
Yours truly,
•
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Francis H. Pell