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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012_0626_Minutes Open_APPROVED COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Approved as circulated 7/16/12 Board/Committee: CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Meeting Date June 26, 2012 Location Mo'ikeha Building, Liquor Control Commission, Meeting Room Start of Meeting: 3:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 5:50 p.m. 3 Present Chair Roy Morita; Vice-Chair Gilbert Maerina; Members: Cathy Adams; Lani Aranio; Ryan de la Pena; John Low Also: Deputy County Attorney Marc Guyot; Director of Personnel Malcolm Fernandez; Boards & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Barbara Davis; Administrator Paula Morikami; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura Also: HR Taskforce Members: John Isobe and Janine Rapozo Excused Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Morita called the meeting to order at 3:00 m. with 6 members present Approval of Open Session Minutes of May 22, 2012 Ms. Adams moved to approve the minutes as Minutes circulated. Ms. Aranio seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Business CSC 2012-25 Election of Chair and Vice-chair for July to December, 2012 Ms. Adams moved to nominate Gilbert Maerina as Chair. Ms. Aramo seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Mr. Maerina moved to nominate Cathy Adams as Vice-chair. Ms. Aranio seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 CSC 2012-24 Human Resources Taskforce Report — John Isobe and Janine Rapozo Mr. Isobe stated that they have briefed the Civil Service Commission before and have made numerous presentations to various County agencies and the department heads. Both he and Ms. Rapozo were appearing before the Commission to answer questions they might have relative to the Taskforce's re ort and recommendation. Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Adams noted the report said the Finance Department was currently considering computerized upgrades to improve the existing payroll system and asked if there had been any movement on that item. Ms.Rapozo said they did not have any information whether or not there was any movement on that. Mr. Morita confirmed with Mr. Fernandez that this was the same software issue the Commission has been discussing with him. Mr. Low said the report noted that to meet the County's goals some of the items they hope to provide is training,recruiting,etc.,but there was nothing in there for evaluations. Are they still considering evaluations on a County-wide basis for employees or not. Mr. Isobe said it is the understanding of the Taskforce that there is an evaluation system in place for County employees. In addition,the Civil Service Commission set up a special sub-committee to look at the evaluation process for the department heads. The evaluation system is already in place. Mr. Low noted his concern that in moving into a full Human Resource Department, it is very important to have some sort of evaluation that acknowledges good work by an employee as well as deficiencies that need improvement. Mr. Isobe agreed and said that is something that Personnel/Human Resources, along with the Civil Service Commission, can look at to ensure the standard system of the evaluation process that's currently in place meets those criteria and that it adequately evaluates both good performances as well as assists in correcting any deficiencies. Also they need to make sure that every department has implemented the standard performance system. Mr. Low asked if there had been any thought of using a consultant to give a fresh look at the implementation of these recommendations. Ms Isobe said Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION they did not use any external consultants although they did talk with a lot of people internally as well as externally in the development of this report. Part of the impetus for this was the Cost Control Commission and so we were cognizant about the concerns of not utilizing County resources unnecessarily and to develop a report to meet the objectives of eliminating duplication of work or service being performed within the County internally while keeping the overall cost of government down. Mr. Low asked if they had considered a consultant to help the current staff build this new program. The answer was no. The real work of the Taskforce was to make recommendations relative to how the Human Resources function could be incorporated into the existing Personnel Department and yet consider the existing resources in all County agencies. It is not the responsibility of the Taskforce to implement the recommendations. Beginning July 1, the responsibility of the implementation of the transformation into a fully functional Human Resources Department by October rests with the Civil Service Commission providing the overall guidance. The existing Director and staff of the Personnel Department need to ensure the recommendations are carried forward. Attorney Guyot explained that he was also part of this Taskforce and they looked at not only Kaua'i before, which was centralized then decentralized, they looked at the other counties and private sector organizations such as hotels and hospital type structures in trying to find one that fits. Because of the uniqueness of Kaua'i in its current state,based on population and employee size and knowing the different parts of the County structure that members of the Taskforce brought to it, they were able to bring a customized program to Kaua'i of where it is now and where they hope it will be in a few years with the understanding that it will need to morph as things may change. Ms. Aranio expressed concern that the infrastructure may not be sufficient to Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION ensure the successful implementation of the program; more specifically the HRIS system because they have been informed that the Finance Department is the decision maker in this process. They want the Director to work with Finance to ensure the HRIS system can be placed on a higher priority than it has been in the past and asked if the Taskforce could provide any insight on this. Attorney Guyot said part of the long-term process is that as Finance moves to a newer IT system,they need to make sure there is an add-on module that can go into it. As to how soon this happens would depend on when the County changes its system. Mr. Isobe said to his knowledge the budget has been approved and the recommendations contained in the report are included in the upcoming fiscal year budget which starts July 1St. The equipment requests are all contained within the budget and now it is just implementing it in a timely fashion to ensure those targets that were put into place will be met. There is a high level of expectation from the Administration and the County Council that the budget as approved will be carried forward. Ms. Rapozo said the only significant change that was made from the recommendations is the County Council moved one position back to the Mayor's Office which was the ADA Coordinator. Rather than transferring 9 positions, only 8 will now be going to Personnel. Chair Morita asked Mr. Fernandez if he was comfortable with the recommendations from the Taskforce. Mr. Fernandez responded yes. Chair Morita asked what the timeline was for completing the recommendations. Mr. Fernandez said that DPS was doing everything they could to meet all of the deadlines that were outlined. Chair Morita asked if all 8 positions would be in the current DPS Office. Mr.Fernandez said they have not been told as to how Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION the office will be physically expanded to fit everyone in but understood that determination would be coming from Gary Heu. Chair Morita asked if Mr. Fernandez had held any meetings with the existing staff and those employees coming into the department to discuss the roles. Mr.Fernandez said right now they were just trying to get the positions filled because applicants have filed for multiple positions. The SR-13 clerk has been selected and will be starting July 16 and interviews have been scheduled June 29 for the EM position. Asked if he was comfortable with accomplishing all of the recommendations by October,Mr.Fernandez said it was a tight schedule but they would try their best to get it done. Ms.Aranio asked what Mr.Fernandez thought the biggest obstacle was going to be in implementing the recommendations of the Taskforce. Mr.Fernandez said filling the positions will be the biggest challenge. Chair Morita asked if Mr. Fernandez' duties and responsibilities would be changing. Mr. Fernandez said with the added responsibilities to the department there would be changes. Asked if he would be doing an amended PD (Position Description), Mr. Fernandez said they would revise it once the department was fully settled. Ms. Adams said she understood that personnel from other departments were being transferred in but questioned if they had to apply for a position. Mr. Fernandez said certain personnel would be a transfer. The vacant positions will be placed in open recruitment. Chair Morita said Gary Heu had mentioned separation anxiety and asked how he would accomplish service to a department that lost one body which spent 95- 100%of their time within the department. Mr.Fernandez said they would have to maintain very close communication with that department head. They know that is one of the challenges they are facing. Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION In anticipation of implementing the Taskforce's recommendation,Ms.Aranio asked if other jurisdictions were contacted to find out their best practices to help ensure the recommendations are implemented successfully. Mr. Fernandez said they have talked with other jurisdictions and asked for their assistance with the transition and training. They made arrangements with the City and County of Honolulu to conduct classification training which is scheduled around August 24. Chair Morita said prior to every Commission meeting the Director should provide an update on the progress of the transition. Mr. Fernandez said anything of significance would be listed in his weekly report but he would cover additional areas that may come up. Chair Morita said the Commission Chair Morita requested an unanticipated did not want to hear just the good things, so if there are problems they want to Executive Session for the consideration of be aware of what is happening. matters affecting privacy and to consult with the Commission's legal counsel on issues pertaining to the Commission's and the County's powers, duties, privileges, immunities and/or liabilities as they may relate to this item, deliberate and take such action as appropriate. Chair Morita also requested that Mr. Isobe remain in the meeting to answer questions from the Commission with regard to issues with the change to Human Resources. Ms. Rapozo and Mr. Fernandez exited the meetin at 3:36 p.m. Return to Open The meeting resumed in Open Session at 4:03 Session p.m. CSC 2012-24 Continuation of the Human Resources Taskforce Report & Addendum Recommendations Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Aranio asked Mr. Fernandez if he had a detailed implementation plan on how communication will be done with the affected positions, what is anticipated in their role, and how will they be performing their position in the Department. Mr. Fernandez said while he may not have been physically present at the Taskforce meetings,his representative Karen Matsumoto did discuss with him any issues that came up. Mr.Fernandez said he did not have details as to how all of this will come about because the first thing is to get the bodies into the Department. Mr.Fernandez said the complication is that the incumbents slated to make the move may have also applied for other positions that are open. Ms. Adams asked if there was a communication plan to work with the employees effective July 2nd. Mr.Fernandez said they have been working with and talking to each person individually that will be coming over. Vice-chair Maerina asked if there was a checklist for what the employee will need to know and what they will have to learn. Mr. Fernandez said the PDs (Position Description) are being worked on for each position. Will everyone move into the Department with the transition on July 1 or will there still be people located in other areas in the county? Mr. Fernandez said he currently only has space for 3 additional people and is waiting for Mr. Heu to provide further information. How will communication be maintained with those outside the department? Mr. Fernandez said they will continue meeting with those slated to make the transition and communication has been maintained with the departments. Chair Morita asked how Mr. Fernandez would know the people in outside departments were actually showing up for work. Mr. Fernandez said it was a ood uestion and they would have to make sure they were there. The Chair Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 8 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION asked if there was a plan in place for training within the divisions as time passes. Mr. Fernandez said it would be the City and County of Honolulu. At one point in time it was the State that everyone looked to for training but they cut their staffing while the City and County of Honolulu still has some people. Chair Morita asked if there was a budget to train employees and the managers. Mr. Fernandez responded yes. Ms. Aranio asked if employees will continue going to their respective departmental person after July 1 or how has that communication been handled with the departments that are being impacted. Mr.Fernandez said they had not worked that out yet. The departments will also need to figure it out internally as to how this will be handled. Chair Morita noted that the Commission had never been involved with the Department's budget and requested that up to October Mr. Fernandez should provide information on how the budget is moving in relation to the change- over. Mr. Fernandez said Finance provides a monthly update on the expenditures and they can share that. Vice-chair Maerina requested a rough implementation plan noting it did not have to have hard dates but it should include how much of the Taskforce's findings will be accomplished by October. Chair Morita pointed out that the more information Mr.Fernandez can provide to the Commission, including whatever is not accomplished,he will have the Commission's support because they will know what is happening as opposed to being blindsided. Director's CSC 2012-26 a. Weekly Report Ending May 20, 2012 Report b. Weekly Report Ending May 27, 2012 c. Weekly Report Ending June 3, 2012 d. Weekly Report Ending June 10, 2012 Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 9 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. Low noted the June 3 report had a notation about following up with staff on IT assistance in creating a new vacancy report and asked if that was done. Mr.Fernandez said they had tapped the principal person in IT but DPS was not that person's priority right now. Mr.Low pointed out that Mr. Fernandez has been more than patient with IT/Finance for what he should have had a long time ago on these programs and he needs to do what it takes to get this going. There are great worries with this transition to the HR department and with not having the software programs they need to support them. Mr.Fernandez asked for the Commission's help by writing to Finance and impressing on them that this is one of the priorities that is important for the function of DPS. We keep getting put on the back burner when we make the requests. Mr. Low moved that a letter be sent to Finance telling them that a HRIS program is needed as soon as possible for the HR transition and ask what they can do to help and when it can be completed. Ms. Adams seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Ms. Adams moved to receive the Director's Report. Mr. de la Pena seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Executive Ms. Low moved to go into Executive Session at Session 4:24 p.m. Ms. Adams seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Attorney Guyot read the Hawai'i Revised Statutes provision as outlined on the agenda to take the Commission into Executive Session for consideration of ES-27, ES-23: CSC 2012-21, and ES-26: CSC 2012-23 as listed. Return to Open The meeting resumed in Open Session at 5:48 Civil Service Commission Open Session June 26, 2012 Page 10 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION p.m. Ratify Commission actions taken in Executive Session for items: o ES-23, ES-26 and ES-27 Mr. de la Pena moved to ratify actions taken in Executive Session. Ms. Adams seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Announcements Next Meeting: July 16 or 17 depending on meeting room availability; 3:00 p.m. Adjournment Mr. Maerina moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:50 p.m. Ms. Aranio seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Barbara Davis, Staff Support Clerk Roy Morita, Chair ( ) Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting.