Open space fund draws most opinion at charter meeting

KAILUA-KONA — The Charter Commission afforded West Hawaii citizens a platform Wednesday to make their voices heard on potential amendments to the county’s foundational document.

The collective community echo fell considerably short of booming.

Just more than a dozen people showed at the West Hawaii Civic Center Council Chambers, and only four offered testimony on 11 charter amendments (CAs) that passed first reading and might appear on the Nov. 3, 2020, ballot for referendum.

The majority of testimony was connected by the common thread of the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission, which commissioner Doug Adams said extends back through previous public hearings in other Hawaii Island districts.

“(PONC) preservation has been a theme of concern by many testifiers,” he said.

Adams added that CAs dealing with the establishment of a Disaster Emergency Relief Fund and extending the terms of county council members from two years to four years have also been popular topics in public testimony.

But it was PONC that dominated Wednesday’s rather brief conversation, namely CA-9. PONC is funded by 2 percent of county property taxes, or roughly $6 million annually at current tax rates, and CA-9 would allow for money from those coffers to be spent on the cost of staffing the program, which is not currently allowed.

“I think this is huge because right now nobody is managing it, and we have a surplus and we have so many properties that need to be bought before the corporations buy us out of everything,” Cherie Griffore told the commission, referencing that the county has purchased just 14 of 180 proposed land parcels in the last 14 years totaling close to 4,500 acres.

As of late February, the PONC acquisition fund contained nearly $20 million in unspent monies, while the maintenance fund for purchased lands, which picks up more than $500,000 every year, had a balance of almost $3 million.

Anne Harvey, who also testified Wednesday, agreed adding a staff member was the best solution to streamline time consuming, “complex work.”

“Instead of a staff member that is able to work on it as their time permits, being able to have a dedicated staff person allows them to really focus on the work and prioritize it appropriately and get the work done within the timelines,” she testified.

Along with Harvey and Griffore, Susan Dursin advocated for CA-9. She contended a full-time staff person would also help nonprofits overcome the challenge of maintaining lands the county has already bought by way of grant fund procurements.

“There’s nobody taking care of these places so the nonprofits have to step up, and it’s hard work,” Griffore added.

All three women also mentioned CA-18 in testimony. That amendment, in part, would have turned over administration of the PONC fund to the county Department of Finance.

“It has not been a good situation to have Parks and Rec doing it because they have so many other duties,” Dursin testified.

However, CA-18 is not on the list of 11 charter amendments the commission approved on first reading, while CA-9 is. Adams said the commission has considered 27 potential amendments since October.

Scott Susman, a former firefighter and member of the Fire Commission, spoke first Wednesday evening and was the only testifier who didn’t mention the PONC fund. His concern was with CA-6, which would afford the Fire Commission and Police Commission power to discipline the police chief and fire chief, respectively. The Fire Commission already possesses hiring and firing power.

“As it stands, the chief is quite autocratic, denies access vigorously … (and) efforts to look under the hood are classified as interference in the adminstrative affairs of the department,” Susman told the Charter Commission. “It’s inadequate and gives too much unchecked and unwitnessed power to one person. It’s a formula for problems.”

Commissioners, all of whom are Hawaii Island residents and none of whom hold elected office, were appointed by Mayor Harry Kim and confirmed by the Hawaii County Council last year.

The public hearing in Kona was the fifth of six such public hearings convened by the commission in recent weeks. The final meeting takes place tonight in Hilo.

After hearings conclude, the commission has until the end of June to submit to the County Council a report replete with recommendations and a draft of proposed charter amendments. The council will then have 30 days to review and return the commission’s proposals along with any alternatives.

One month later, the commission will submit its final draft as well as ballot language for amendments set to appear on the 2020 ballot.

The 11 amendments that passed first reading are as follows:

CA- 1 Draft 3; Relating to Rephrasing District Residency Language

A housekeeping measure, changing “One member shall be elected from each of nine districts,” to “There shall be nine council districts, each of which shall be represented by a resident elected from that district,” for the County Council and a variety of boards and commissions.

CA-2 Draft 2; Relating to Holding an Equal Amount of Council Meetings in East and West Hawaii

This would require the County Council to hold an equal number of meetings in East and West Hawaii. Currently, the charter requires the council to meet at least twice monthly, with at least one of those meetings each quarter in North or South Kona. The council has been voluntarily holding one of its twice-monthly meetings in Kona; this would require it.

CA-4 Draft 2; Relating to Powers, Duties, and Functions of the Director of Research and Development

Clarifies the role of the Department of Research and Development and expands its duties to include “environmental, cultural, community, and economics sustainability and resilience” issues, rather than the current issues of “economic, social and cultural” proposals.

CA-5; Relating to Changing Name of the Legislative Auditor to County Auditor

Changes the name of the legislative auditor to county auditor.

CA-6; Relating to Disciplinary Actions for the Police Chief and Fire Chief

Allows the Police Commission to discipline the police chief and the Fire Commission to discipline the fire chief in addition to their current authority to hire and fire them.

CA-8; Relating to Terms of Office for Council Members

Changes the terms for County Council members from two to four years. Allows two four-year terms instead of four two-year terms and provides for the transition of council members’ terms.

CA-9 Draft 3; Relating to Staff to Administer the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund and Maintenance Fund

Allows money from the 2 percent land acquisition fund to be spent for salaries, wages and benefits of dedicated staff for the program.

CA- 12; Relating to Disciplinary Actions for Council Members

Would allow the County Council, by a two-thirds vote, to suspend a council member without pay if he or she behaves in a “disorderly or contemptuous manner” in its presence or fails to attend three or more regularly scheduled council meetings without being excused from attendance by the council chairman.

CA- 14; Relating to Updating Language for the Department of Research and Development

Changes the five years’ experience requirement for the director of Information Technology from “electronic data processing, telecommunications” to “information technology, communications” and updates other language in the director’s responsibilities.

CA- 15; Relating to Powers, Duties, and Functions of the Director of Information Technology

Removes the county prosecuting attorney and police departments from the computer systems overseen by the IT director.

CA- 17; Relating to Establishing a Disaster and Emergency Fund

Requires the county devote 1 percent of property taxes every year for a disaster and emergency fund until the fund reaches $20 million.

The money could be used for disaster response, repairs, purchase of property to mitigate future disasters and paying operational expenses of the county if there’s a drastic drop in tax revenues because of loss of property valuations, among other specified uses.

WHT reporter Nancy Cook Lauer contributed to this report.

By Max Dible West Hawaii Today mdible@westhawaiitoday.com