HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-25 (draft) Cost of Government Commission minutes
COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
c/o Office of the Mayor, 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603
Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
(DRAFT) OCTOBER 25, 2018
HAWAI‘I COUNTY BUILDING, PUNA CONFERENCE ROOM – HILO
25 AUPUNI STREET, SUITE 1501, HILO, HAWAI‘I
CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Jones called the meeting to order at 9:22 a.m.
ATTENDANCE
Present: Jenipher A. Jones, Chairperson
Margarita “Dayday” L. Hopkins, Vice-Chairperson
Barbara Ann Bongo Arthurs, Commissioner
Ross E. Birch, Commissioner
David A. Buehler, Commissioner
Genevieve Puanani Woo, Commissioner
Excused: Lenard Allen, Commissioner
Gregory Dale Larson, Commissioner
Harry Lee McIntosh III, Commissioner
____
Also present: Dennis Kauka, Jr., Executive Assistant Aide – Office of the Mayor
Angelic (Malia) Hall, Deputy Corporation Counsel
Roy Takemoto, Executive Assistant to the Mayor (part of meeting)
STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
(none)
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes for September 27, 2018 were not yet completed at time of meeting.
Commissioner Buehler motioned to postpone approval of minutes. Commissioner Birch
seconded.
Motion approved by voice vote – 6 ayes, 3 absent
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Culture and Recreation
Subcommittee Member Jones distributed a communication dated October 18,
2018 to Director Waltjen, County Parks & Recreation, on “Talking Points for Cost
of Government Sub-Committee on Culture and Recreation”. A copy of the
document is on file.
Cost of Government Commission
October 25, 2018 meeting minutes
The Subcommittee also noted that the Friends of the Zoo has a list of different
organizations that recycling can be collected with a portion of collected funds
going to the Friends of the Zoo. Subcommittee members feel that the Friends
organization do an amazing job with the amount of money they are given to work
with.
Health, Education and Welfare
The Subcommittee met with Kimo Alameda, County Executive on Aging. He was
very informative to the committee. They may have only touched on the budget
specifics but Mr. Alameda directed them to the different needs regarding senior
housing.
From their discussion, Subcommittee members relayed what they described as a
“catch” – Mr. Alameda’s office has no budget for senior housing; those funds
come from the Office of Housing & Community Development. For those types of
issues, they were directed to speak with the Housing Administrator or designee,
which they intend to do.
Mr. Alameda noted that he attended several conferences on the mainland that
presented the concept of “co-housing” where seniors create their own
communities with purpose of “aging gracefully”. The communities foster social
interaction and it is the kind of setting where seniors are not isolated. Mr.
Alameda was excited about this model of seniors aging in place.
Members mentioned exploring a program in which a UH-Hilo student could move
in with a senior, producing interaction between generation gaps and two different
age groups. This could be pursued through the University or Hawai’i Community
College.
The Subcommittee believes that housing connects to a community’s overall
welfare.
It was noted that the Kulaimano housing fund appears to be below actual
revenues. In some cases, actual expenditures seem to exceed revenue and it
may because of the relationship with Section 8 housing. The Subcommittee
intends to inquire and assess funding situation. They have raised the question:
what percentage of senior housing revenue comes from residents themselves.
The Planning Department is working with private sector on pre-permitted
structures that could facilitate homes for seniors.
Public Safety & Miscellaneous
The Subcommittee is digesting a report they received, commissioned by the
County, which compares costs a police vehicle fleet vs. officers using their own
private cars.
There are several factors to consider other than cost-cutting, including what
option will use lesser vehicles, which are more properly equipped, what
enhances safety, and if something costs more money in the interim, will it be an
investment.
2
Cost of Government Commission
October 25, 2018 meeting minutes
Sanitation and Waste Removal
The Subcommittee distributed the following documents:
dated October 10, 2018 – letter to the County Solid Waste Advisory
Committee
dated October 10, 2018 – “Discussion Questions from the Cost of
Government Sanitation Sub-Committee”
dated October 24, 2018 – communication to Commission transmitting a
summary of the Subcommittees interactions on the agenda of the County
Solid Waste Advisory Committee
Copies of the documents are on file.
The Subcommittee will contact the Department of Environmental Management
and the division head of the wastewater and disposal program to review the past
Commission recommendations, determine which are implementable and
hopefully come up with new recommendations.
It was noted that the Department is handling several daunting tasks that will
make identifying cost-savings recommendations challenging. These include new
wastewater facility projects in Pahala and Na’alehu while the County continues to
grow.
Roy Takemoto of the Mayor’s office commented that cost of government terms also
finds translation to “friends of” programs, such as with the zoo, and utilizing incarcerated
labor are examples of “so-called ‘free’ work”. The principle may be to find ways to
optimize government service.
Exploring County’s essential responsibilities for how resources are disbursed is also a
factor. An example is housing for special needs groups.
In the area of wastewater, we have to be mindful of unfunded mandates, such as having
to expend monies due to federal Environmental Protection Agency rules on cesspools.
Although it may not be directly applicable to our island’s situation, the County still needs
to comply with regulations.
In cases of unfunded liabilities, what is the appropriate source and amounts of funding.
Community Development Block Grants could be one source. Should we prioritize
funding sources towards mandates? We should consider weighing benefit and burden.
The Commission continues to progress towards formulating recommendations through
the subcommittee work.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chairperson Jones recognized Commissioner Allen for working on his own time as a
private citizen to contact the prisons in efforts to restart the program of inmates
performing maintenance work at the zoo. The Friends of the Zoo provides lunch to the
inmates.
3
Cost of Government Commission
October 25, 2018 meeting minutes
For the Commission’s awareness, Chairperson Jones distributed copies of a October
16, 2018 article in the Hawai’i Tribune-Herald titled “Charter Commission Committee
suggests trimming PONC fund”.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m.
4