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HomeMy WebLinkAbout050911_COST_REGULAR COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Board/Committee: COST CONTROL COMMISSION Meeting Date I May 09, 2011 Location Mo'ikeha Building, Liquor Conference Room 3 Start of Meeting: 1:32 p.m. End of Meeting: 2:25 p.m. Present Chair Sandi Sterker; Vice-Chair Dirk Apao; Linda Faye Collins; Brant Fuchigami and Glen Takenouchi Also First Deputy County Attorney Amy Esaki; Boards and Commissions Office Staff. John Isobe Administrator and Mercedes Youn Support Clerk Excused Members: Laurie Yoshida and Lawrence Chaffin Jr. Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Sterker called the meeting to order at 1:32 p.m. Approval of Mr. Apao moved to approve the Agenda agenda as circulated; Mr. Takenouchi seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0. Approval of Open Session Meeting Minutes of March 16, 2011 Ms. Collins moved to approve Minutes the agenda as amended; Mr. Chair Sterker requested that the minutes be amended to reflect that the meeting recessed at Takenouchi seconded the 2:25 p.m, and called back to order at 2:30 p.m. motion. Motion carried 5:0. Business CCC2011-06 Discussion and possible decision making on a draft recommendation to Mr. Takenouchi moved to Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr., regarding County Employee Training and Consolidation of approve the draft Personnel Functions. recommendation as circulated; Ms. Collins seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0. *Staff will transmit the recommendations to the Mayor for consideration. CCC 2011-07 Discussion and possible decision making regarding the establishment of an Employee Incentive Program related to energy cost savings. Cost Control Commission Open Session May 09, 2011 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION The Commission was introduced to a sample of a program which is designed to reward employees for their creative ideas and innovative suggestions that will: • Reduce and/or eliminate costs; • Encourage efficiency throughout the County; • Improve or enhance overall operations of the County; • Increase efficiency and effectiveness of services provided to our citizens; • Increase Productivity; • Increase employee morale Through an award application process, employees may submit their ideas for consideration. Awards for ideas with both tangible and intangible results will be considered, as well as awards for innovation and creative safety solutions. There were concerns expressed by the Commissioners on whether there are any legal restrictions on the awards given to the employees, and if the program would affect the collective bargaining agreements for the County. Mr. Isobe stated that because one of the elements of the program involves providing employees with financial awards for innovative ideas and/or recommendations focused on streamlining government and saving county tax dollars, he suggested that the Commission seek input and guidance from the Director of Finance, Director of Personnel Services, and the County Attorney as it relates to their area of responsibility and expertise on the possibility of establishing a County Employee Incentive Program. Ms. Collins said that the idea is great; it's the practical application that concerns her. Having to monitor and evaluate the program could take an enormous amount of time which could result in monetary cost for the County. Mr. Apao stated that his company had an Employee Incentive Program but instead of giving out monetary rewards, the employees were given time off for their creative ideas and Cost Control Commission Open Session May 09, 2011 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION innovative efforts in reducing cost and energy. Mr. Takenouchi stated that it is a good program to have; although, it may be a challenge to administer. For over a year now,his company had been looking into the possibility of implementing such a program; one major difficulty was trying to place an amount for a monetary award. Mr. Isobe stated that given the breadth and depth of the program, the Commission might want to initially narrow its focus on energy related items and use that as a platform to work out the logistics of the program. Ms. Collins stated that in order for the Commission to properly evaluate the program„ a baseline must be established by using the findings from the survey conducted by the Commission to determine whether County employees are being provided the appropriate personnel and industrial relations related training opportunities to improve management and supervision as well as to minimize injury, liability and risk within the workplace. Chair Sterker requested that the matter regarding an Employee Incentive Program be deferred to the next Commission meeting for further discussion when more information is available and Ms. Morikami will be present. In the meantime, she suggested that the Commissioners get input from their fellow business associate(s)with a similar program in place. Ms. Collins moved to defer to June 13,2011 meeting;Mr.Apao Based on the discussion, staff will send a memo requesting input and guidance as it relates seconded the motion. to the establishment of a County Employee Incentive Program from the Director of Finance, Motion carried 5:0 Director of Personnel Services, and County Attorney CCC 2011-08 Review and discussion of the County's real property tax exemptions and rate setting procedures. a Kauai County Code, Chapter 5A Real Property Tax Cost Control Commission Open Session May 09, 2011 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Chair Sterker pointed out that the County Code is very difficult to understand and requested a representative from the Real Property Tax office to be present at the next Cost Control Commission meeting. Ms. Collins indicated that she is interested in the total number of appeals that were filed with the County in the last three years and asked if the information could be available by the next meeting. Mr. Takenouchi asked which agency sets the initial tax exemptions for the County. Ms. Esaki indicated that most of the county's tax exemptions come from the State of Hawai'i, and over time some were added in by the County Council. Mr. Takenouchi asked if the Mayor has the final say on whether the recommendations become an ordinance. Referring to Section 28.05 of the Kaua'i County Charter, Mr. Isobe informed the members that the Commission may request that any of its recommendations be drafted in an ordinance form for its introduction through the Mayor. The Mayor shall, with mayor's comments and within thirty(30) working days of receipt, submit to the Council for its immediate consideration of all ordinances proposed by the Commission. Mr. Isobe indicated that part of the Mayor's overall initiative is to review the entire real property tax code, and not just the tax exemptions and rate settings. It is the desire of the Mayor to have a user friendly tax code whereas the taxpayer will be able to understand the language, and furthermore, how the taxes are being applied. The Mayor is requesting that the Commission look specifically at the County's real property tax exemptions and rate setting, on whether it is fair, and make a recommendation from the Commissions perspective on a fair way to approach the issue. At the request of the Commission, Mr. Isobe indicated that he will send a memo to the Director of Finance requesting for the following information: Cost Control Commission Open Session May 09, 2011 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION 1. Exemption Summary Provide a summarized listing of all real property tax exemptions that are currently in effect. For each exemption,provide an explanatory statement on how the exemption is procedurally implemented by the Property Tax Division along with any internal policies that is used for determining applicant eligibility. 2. Summary of Appeals Provide a summary of the total number of appeals that were filed in each of the last three calendar years (2008, 2009, and 20 10) and also indicate the total number of appeals in each calendar that were decided in favor of the taxpayer. Chair Sterker requested that the matter regarding the County's real property tax exemption and rate settings be deferred until the next meeting for further discussion. Mr. Takenouchi moved to defer item CCC 2011-08 to the June 13, 2011 meeting; Mr. Apao seconded. Motion carried 5:0 Announcements Next Meeting- Monday, June 13, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. at the Mo'ikeha Building, Liquor Conference Room 3 Adjournment With no further business to discuss, Chair Sterker declared the meeting adjourned. Meeting adjourned at 2:25 p.m. Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Mercedes Youn, Staff Support Clerk Sandi Sterker, Chair Cost Control Commission Open Session May 09, 2011 Page 6 ( x) Approved as circulated (Approved on 06/13/11) ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of meeting.