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Home My WebLink AboutComm No 0023 - Transmit CA-8Douglass Shipman Adams Chairperson Jennifer Leilani Zelko-Schlueter Vice Chairperson Date: November 29, 2018 2018-2020 HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSION To: Members of the Hawai`i County Charter Commission From: Douglass Shipman Adams, Chair Hawai`i County Charter Commission William Carthage Bergin Michelle Galimba Paul K. Hamano Kevin D. Hopkins Bobby Jean Akane Leithead Todd Sarah H. Rice Christopher John Imiloa Roehrig Marcia A.K. Saquing Donna Mae Springer RE: Transmitting CA -8; Proposed Amendment to Section 3-2 — Composition and Terms of Council Members; Submitted by Commissioner Rice Please find attached CA -8, which proposes to amend Section 3-2 of the Hawai`i County Charter (2018 Edition), by changing the terms of office of Council Members from four consecutive two-year terms to two consecutive four-year terms. CA -8 will be placed on the December 14, 2018, meeting agenda for its initial consideration and approval prior to first reading. Should you have any questions, please contact our Commission Analyst, Jon Henricks. DSA/jdh Hawai`i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Comm. No. 23 CA -8 2018-2020 FIAWAPI COUNTY CI -TARTER. COMMISSJON CHARTER AMENDN/IENT PROPOSAL .FORM. 1. GENERAL INFORMATION Name of Commission Member: CONtOz\l\--- (s1 . If applicable, list the Section number(s) of the charter provision(s) to be deleted or amended: '41" trle-; 51 6 e 3. Provide a brief description of the purpose of the proposed charter amendment; include a description of the issue the proposal would address: v:c4 kr- -1—C Vrk 0 kJI t 4."1 t Ile 0.\,0-01/4-0Air<L,,y 1, Orb C ffkvo VI ekir, -C e.) 't," 044 5:;.1 ( Li „i.e.. Ills, e c:rc._,t4 'Q,... `I\ tr vo ^; C. \,2„, k t? \In ea j, ,,,,, Is. t vi c.. ,`,-Ii 4 i ra S e, IL, r -r, ,,,,,,, ---r,, k t.,, 4, t -4 , -Cmt,,, ,Ii,o7c,,, ,c,--\-- ) len, 04" 4. lithe proposal is based on a provision(s) in the charter or law of another:jurisdiction, name the jurisdiction and, if possible, attach a copy of the relevant provision(s). 5. If the proposal is based on any ritten materials you have, please attach a copy with a citation to its source.. *new, '2) .„ See reverse side 6. Attach the text of the proposed charter amendment in Ramseyer format (see below). Ramseyer Format, if proposing: Amendments to Existing Charter Provisions Any language being proposed to be added to the Charter shall be underscored. Any language being proposed to be deleted from the Charter shall be [bracketed and stricken] . Replacing Existing Charter Provisions in their Entirety Clearly indicate the article(s), chapter(s), and/or section(s) of the Charter to be proposed to be deleted, and provide the text of any provisions proposed to replace the deleted material. New Charter Provisions Provide the text of the new provision(s) and, if possible, indicate where in the Charter the new material should be inserted. Form CA -1 Revised 8/29/18 2 of 2 Hawaii County Charter Proposal --text Amend Section 3-2 to read: "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 [two] four years and shall begin at twelve o'clock meridian on the first Monday of December after their election. The terms of the council members shall not exceed [€etre] two consecutive [ we] four year terms. Candidates shall be elected in accordance with the election laws of the state, insofar as applicable." CHARTER COMMISSION AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT ON ARTICLE 111 SECTION 3-2 Page 1 of 3 Committee Members Sally (Sarah) Rice Chair William C. Bergin, DVM Kevin Hopkins Bobbi Jean Leithead-Todd October 25, 2018 hf":), titd„,. 6,0444 • Section 3-2. Composition The members of the Ad Hoc Committee discussed the composition of the Hawaii County Council one member elected from each of the 9 districts) and agreed that at this time no changes were required to the composition as it is presently structured, Chairman Adams proposal to clarify the language to elect one member per district is already under consideration, Although this is not a Charter matter, it was commented on that during the 2020 reapportionment process an analysis should be undertaken of the Ka'u Council representation since Ka'u is currently combined with South Kona, Since South Kona has different constituent characteristics than Ka'u, Ka'u might be better represented by inclusion in the Hilo or Puna districts. Section 3-2. Terms The Charter states that "the terms of the Council members shall be two years and A plurality of our committee recommended changing the terms to four years elected on a staggered cycle but retaining the eight-year consecutive term limit (ie 2 four-year consecutive terms), There are good arguments for retaining the two-year terms that were discussed: The main benefit outlined by committee members was the ability to remove a poorly functioning Council person more quickly through the election process with a two-year term, A two-year term can have the effect of making a Council person pay more attention to the requirements and problems of hs/her district since the ensuing election occurs rapidly. A two-year term can be conducive to more citizen participation with the electorate paying more attention to the quick election cycle, and possibly getting more candidates running for election, Comm No No. 3.2.1 CHARTER CO MISSION AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT ON ARTICLE IN SECTION -2 October 25, 2018 Page 2 of 3 The benefits of a four-year election cycleoutweighed the benefits of a two-year election cycle for the majority of the committee: A four-year election cycle allows the Council member time to focus on the district problems and requirements and make headway in finding solutions to them without the distraction of an upcoming election campaign. A longer term gives the Council person the opportunity to gain experience and focus on his/her job prior to fund raising and planning a campaign. For Council members elected for the first time, four years gives that person a better opportunity to learn the parliamentary procedures and to gain a more in depth understanding of the issues facing the County at that time. A Council person may be more confident in taking a position on a controversialissue if he/she is not facing an election within a short time. The four-year term allows the Council member to focus on long term problem solving rather than quick fixes which may be short lived and costly. The four-year term encourages the Council person to plan for the future and envision creative, new improvements to Hawaii County. A four-year election cycle is half as costly for the candidate as a two-year cycle. A four-year term lessens the almost constant fund raising and preparation for the election campaign required by a two-year cycle. Notes: Our committee did not attempt to calculate the mathematical formula needed for staggered terms. By having staggered terms the Council will always have Council persons retained who are familiar with the ongoing legislative matters, County of Honolulu has four-year terms with staggered election of those Council members, We did not analyze the staggered election formula used by Honolulu. Determining an appropriate and lawful manner to achieve staggered Council Terms will require a substantial amount of consideration and thought by the Commission and its staff, Appropriate in the sense that the Commission will likely have some policymaking authority to choose between potential methods to implement staggered terms; i.e. the Commission may have options at its disposal. Lawful in the sense that any method the Commission decides to incorporate into its proposal should be scrutinized by legal counsel to ensure it would withstand a legal chalienge. Staff has been apprised that the Commission may consider one or more proposais to establish staggered Council terms, and as such will research this issue and provide to the Commission its findings to allow the Commission to determine what it believes to be an appropriate approach to stagger Council terms in a lawful manner, 2 CHARTER COMMISSION AD HOC CONENNTTEE REPORT ON ARTICLE WI SECTION 3-2. October 201.8 0 a a (gut cocroat attest chartrasect not dflowirtg a (rotancii parer:et to ruin for a I ectiort after a pasuuSea, SALkfu decutiCud that ft tiv as not lb e rttl tf sUa, f 0.).f ftlif Cidif usty 't0 [Euursuutsate sarneOrlfa wful0 warltS t be. el ISUuCted ti'le Couna ag.airn that person ,I,ftiof,,.dd flave esdufatoda0Sufd( krldUavudedugue and esspeffeside that avouId be art asset oft that bound f Bega use the iter co ifsfaiifaef has been v ot uS Ors pr k,k 51, 'a a n d ate tvvotyear term :i •t Our corornaktee requests Olaf Valera: a sound rafij ty the rehanaIre. for a toLlIrryear tearni. fill the past the two-year ellectfort carcte titers. appea.ed f. 0 'rade voters as a way to vote out quIck the COt„tlCull re ern ber sthatia re rit.thr. r asiho naive to tine. rtistr."cts, fn w'h"ctif they serve.. As we: d„evie oittIirifecl b 0 v ,o,f„ye veo,ecl like to educate the voter s Du) Uu the bertfelits of to us -yea u" 1. r rss , Attar had to it h Reracyrt tee fOU0S.Suiraug. Items trite lab Hoc. Cfotet:i!trfItt.ate Luta i:,'Z'ffUud in part try fears Sas nothings anal rearttinrkterteagagergy 1... Core rue n aura t. n fu4 . 2 R e p t ars Sect So rit 2 2 ra: C. d ty cil Co rat ry),5 t 0 ititi a n d a Sri S 2 C du c re be r Cas re puss Tu.curf and Te r" s by iirt rit 3.. Arne rtd blest tr. 1.. to Satc,t Ion 3.-2 ,-- n ut e, s friar's" 1..990 C.Itif.arter Corona IssIctrif A sera n d a rs t .2 t o Sect ft" 3 t ,-,,,- ryl fat a s f aff oft 995 C0 '4„.k n y M eet ngs Arafertritherifit 3 to SecaIchni .3-.2 a rderiatites from. 2000 Charter. Contashatethrit Oft Pert atIrt rtf bite Ad Roc Corr fir dttee, we a por ets t e tate cieborturt.thy to theIvat" t. t h slide a d sIt ace otIr fa` rtspec tive and 1.0effu. forward! tr.) fortifier cif Iffc.0 S 0 , Shit..ftrety, Ad Hog Coartroa.tee C ha r Fice