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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013_0422_AgendaPacket Jan TenBruggencate Members: Chair Mary Lou Barela Joel Guy James Nishida, Jr. Ed Justus Patrick Stack Vice Chair Carol Suzawa COUNTY OF KAUA'I CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION NOTICE OF MEETING AND AGENDA Monday, April 22, 2013 4:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/B 4444 Rice Street, Lu'e, HI 96766 CALL TO ORDER 0 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Regular Open Session Minutes of March 25, 2013 BUSINESS CRC 2013-03 Recommendations from legal analyst Curtis Shiramizu on identifying and proposing non-substantive corrections and revisions to Articles I through IV of the Charter. (On-going) COMMUNICATION . CRC 2013-08 Written Testimony from Mr. Bert Lyon regarding Item CRC 2013-07 on the 3/25/13 Charter Review Commission Agenda as relates to Council Districting ANNOUNCEMENTS Next Meeting: Monday, May 20, 2013 at 4:00 pm in the Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/B ADJOURNMENT EXECUTIVE SESSION Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes §92-7(a), the Commission may, when deemed necessary, hold an executive session on any agenda item without written public notice if the executive session was not anticipated in advance. Any such executive session shall be held pursuant to HRS §92-4 and shall be limited to those items described in HRS §92-5(a). Discussions held in Executive Session are closed to the public. Cc: Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Winn An Equal Opportunity Employer PUBLIC COMMENTS and TESTIMONY Persons wishing to offer comments are encouraged to submit written testimony at least 24-hours prior to the meeting indicating: 1 . Your name and if applicable, your position/title and organization you are representing; 2. The agenda item that you are providing comments on; and 3 . Whether you will be testifying in person or submitting written comments only; and 4. If you are unable to submit your testimony at least 24 hours prior to the meeting, please provide 10 copies of your written testimony at the meeting clearly indicating the name of the testifier; and 5 . If testimony is based on a proposed Charter amendment, list the applicable Charter provision. While every effort will be made to copy, organize, and collate all testimony received, materials received on the day of the meeting or improperly identified may be distributed to the members after the meeting is concluded. The Charter Commission rules limit the length of time allocated to persons wishing to present verbal testimony to five (5) minutes. A speaker' s time may be limited to three (3) minutes if, in the discretion of the chairperson or presiding member, such limitation is necessary to accommodate all persons desiring to address the Commission at the meeting. Send written testimony to : Charter Review Commission Attn: Barbara Davis Office of Boards and Commissions 4444 Rice Street, Suite 150 Lihu` e, HI 96766 E-mail :bdavis(a kauai.gov Phone: (808) 241 -4919 Fax: (808) 241 -5127 SPECIAL ASSISTANCE If you need an alternate format or an auxiliary aid to participate, please contact the Boards and commissions Support Clerk at (808) 241 -4919 at least five (5) working days prior to the meeting. Charter Review Commission -- March 25, 2013 2 I P a g e ' -n 110 ' :! /it 04011 - I COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Board/Committee: I CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION Meeting Date I March 25, 2013 Location Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B Start of Meeting: 4:01 pm . End of Meeting: 5 :02 pm Present Chair Jan TenBruggencate; Vice-Chair Ed Justus. Members: Mary Lou Barela; Joel Guy; James Nishida (4:28 pm); Patrick Stack; Carol Suzawa Also : Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Winn; Boards & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Barbara Davis; Administrator Paula Morikami; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura and Curtis Shiramizu of Shiramizu Nakamura Loo, Attorneys at Law Audience Members: Anthony Aguiar; JoAnn Yukimura, Councilmember Excused Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair TenBruggencate called the meeting to order at 4:01 pm with 6 Commissioners present. Chair TenBruggencate explained that he had drafted a press release for consideration on the Commission' s efforts to correct grammatical, spelling, and other non-substantive issues in the Charter and relates to agenda item CRC 2013-03 . Approval of Regular Open Session Minutes of February 25, 2013 Mr. Justus moved to approve the minutes as Minutes circulated. Ms. Barela seconded the motion. Motion carried 6 :0 Business CRC 2013 -03 Recommendations from legal analyst Curtis Shiramizu on identifying and proposing non-substantive corrections and revisions to Articles I through IV of the Charter (On-going) W O Mr. Shiramizu prefaced the meeting by saying he was asked to go through 1, the first 4 articles of the Charter and make gender neutral changes for Treview by the Commission before making changes throughout the Charter. j , The second draft provided to the Commission today includes non- G; t rTh Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION substantive corrections to spelling and punctuation. Section 1 .02 : correction in the last line should be county of Kauai instead of or Section 2.01 : correction in the eighth line should be herein or implied rather than of Attorney Winn suggested forming a subcommittee to work with Mr. Shiramizu on suggestions for non-substantive changes. Chair TenBruggencate said in order to assist Mr. Shiramizu, he would like the full Commission to initially weigh in on the types of changes to be recommended and then consider a subcommittee to work on future recommendations. Mr. Shiramizu pointed out that in the official version of the Charter, Section 1 .02 does state of It appears when the Charter was retyped (2004 and the basis for the 2012 Codified Charter) into a Word document, similar typographical errors were made in Articles I through IV and periods were put in place of commas but they were correct in the official version. Mr. Shiramizu discussed the difficulty with determining whether the typographical mistakes were made in the official Charter or the retyped version since the original version is not available electronically except as a PDF document. Chair TenBruggencate indicated that when this project is completed the Codified Charter will be the corrected version of the official version. Attorney Winn was asked which version would be the one to be presented to the voters, the official version with the amendments attached or the corrected codified version. Mr. Justus said if the Charter Commission presents a Charter with the amendments interwoven into it, it would be the same as the original Charter. Attorney Winn said as long as the language is C (Th Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION the same as what Council Services has in the original version. Staff explained that except for the few typographical errors that have been noted, the Codified version is the original Charter with the amendments inserted accordingly. Attorney Winn said someone would have to make sure that the version that goes before the voters is the exact same language as the copy at Council Services. Chair TenBruggencate pointed out that no one has the authority to create a codified legal version of the Charter except the voters. Attorney Winn said the voters would be presented with the language that is contained within the approved Charter and all the amendments. Mr. Shiramizu asked if the proposal to have the County Attorney' s Office make the proposed changes was off the table. It was explained that the Attorney' s Office did not have the staffing for the job so the Commission voted not to proceed with that route. Mr. Justus thought the Commission was over thinking the process. The whole purpose is about non-substantive changes and perhaps Mr. Shiramizu should compare the Codified version with the original version for discrepancies and go from there. Chair TenBruggencate recognized Councilmember Yukimura as part of the body that oversees the official version of the Charter and asked her to share her thoughts. Councilmember Yukimura said she felt like she should apologize saying she had just asked for access to the County Code in hard copy and was given stacks (of papers). The issue of codifying the Ordinances has been before the Council for at least ten years. When Ms. Yukimura last checked, Council Services had retained a contractor but they had not received any work back. Ms. Yukimura recognized the Commission was struggling because there was not a proper code in place. Chair TenBruggencate said that was codifying of the County Code, which is different from the Charter. Ms. Yukimura said it is the basic law of the County starting with the Charter and then all of the Ordinances. Ms. Yukimura said she would report to the Chair of the County Council the n f Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION specifics of the difficulty the Commission has encountered. Ms. Yukimura pointed out it was just not the Commission but everywhere people need a proper Code to refer to. Ms. Yukimura suggested sending a letter from the Chair or Staff relating the problems that are occurring because there is no finished product of the Codification. Ms. Yukimura said it is the job of the County Clerk to periodically codify (the Codes). It was determined that typos in the Codified version that do not appear in the official version could simply be corrected without being considered changes. The Chair asked Mr. Shiramizu to take judicial notice of both versions and in the version presented to the Commission to indicate the more correct of the two. Mr. Shiramizu said that is how he worked with the first four Articles but again pointed out that the official version is a PDF and requires going through both versions separately to see which are the non-substantive changes and which are actually errors in the transcription. Article III County Council — Chair TenBruggencate said he would like to avoid using pronouns such as his or her as it would be cleaner. Section 3 .04 B — replace his or her with said councilmembers in the first part of the sentence and in the last line replace his or her with the. Ms. Suzawa suggested using their. Chair TenBruggencate said he did some research and their has a distinct meaning and is a plural pronoun, not a singular pronoun, which makes it grammatically challenging. A created word being used is hir which is meant to mean both his and her but it will Mr. Nishida entered the meeting at 4:28 p.m. confuse people. Chair TenBruggencate said finding language that is clear, simple, and avoids the problem would be the best way to approach this. Section 3 .04 A — replace his in the next to last sentence with the. Section 3 .07 A, E, F — change the suggested chairperson to chair (8 Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION changes) and for all future changes. Section 3 . 11 — two areas in which capitalization of the words do not match what is elsewhere in the Charter: Council should be lower case and in the fourth line the word Charter should be lower case. Staff noted that on the original Charter from Council Services, those two words are capitalized in the attached amendment, which it is not consistent with the rest of the Charter. Chair TenBruggencate said the Commission needs to provide guidance for Mr. Shiramizu for areas where there is no easy way to avoid using a personal pronoun. Ms. Barela said she could not imagine where that change could not be made. The recommendation to Mr. Shiramizu would be to avoid using he, she, him, or her wherever possible and if there is a situation where it cannot be done bring it back to the Commission for consideration. Attorney Winn reminded the Commission they voted at the last meeting to use person or member as appropriate wherever it is gender specific or use the noun of the office or officer intended in areas where person can be replaced. Mr. Stack moved that someone or a sub- committee be assigned to review how the other Mr. Stack referred to Occam's razor saying the theory states that simple is counties handle gender neutral terms. better than complicated when it comes to any form of communication. Mr. Stack suggested looking at the charters of the other 3 counties to see how they have handled this situation. The Commission was advised that the charters from the other islands are available on the internet. Mr. TenBruggencate recommended forming a 2 member sub-committee with Mr. Stack as chair and Mr. TenBruggencate to work with Staff. Attorney Winn reminded the Commission they need to determine the scope of the investigation. Chair TenBruggencate said the scope of the fl Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION investigation is to look at the county charters of the other islands and report back on whether anything they have done will be useful in this Commission' s consideration. If they are going to form a permitted interaction group, Attorney Winn asked whether they want it to do more research than just that one item. Attorney Winn reminded the Commission that 2 members can talk to each other but in order to bring a report to the entire group they would need to follow the Sunshine Law 092-2.5). Mr. Stack asked if the process could begin with a simple phone call to the chair of the respective charter review of those counties and ask if they have dealt with the situation. Attorney Winn said that could be done. Mr. Justus felt this was being over complicated; someone can simply call the respective County Clerk' s Office and ask the question with a report back at the next meeting. Chair TenBruggencate asked Ms. Morikami to look at what the other islands had done thereby eliminating the need for a sub-committee. • With regard to the draft of a press release, Mr. Justus said they did that last year and he was not sure if the Commission was ready to issue one again. Press release deferred to such time until the Commission has a more workable document to present. CRC 2013-07 Proposed amendment from Commissioner Justus revising Article III, County Council, Section 3 .02 Composition, Section 3 .03 Terms, and Section 3 .04 Qualifications relating to Partial Districting (Four District/Three At-Large) (deferred from 2/25/13) Mr. Aguiar — Section 3 .02 Composition - Mr. Aguiar would like to see single member districts but increased to 9 councilmembers for better representation of the people and asked the Commission to consider neighborhood boards, not boards that are an appendage to be ignored, but one that has review powers. It would add another layer of government but Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION the boards would be the voice of the people in the making of the laws and this system has worked successfully in Washington State. Chair TenBruggencate asked Mr. Aguiar if he would provide the information on the Washington State neighborhood boards that he had referred to. Mr. Justus then asked Mr. Aguiar to define the 9 districts. Mr. Aguiar said following the census of 2000, a population size of between 5,000 and 7,000 people would allow for 9 districts with a better opportunity for ethnic representation from their area. His research shows that single member districts do not work well unless the opportunity is given to ethic groups who are not as powerful as those people who are in charge. Mr. Aguiar said he would like to actually see 3 single member districts with 2 members in each district with 1 person at- large. Chair TenBruggencate said Mr. Aguiar had mentioned two concepts with regard to the County Council; one suggestion was the 9 single member districts and the other was a 7 member council district with .Mr. Aguiar said he is proposing 9 single member districts by population, 5,000 to 7,000 people, but he leaves the neighborhood boards up to the Commission since he does not have a concept of how that would work. Mr. Aguiar questioned how soon before the 2014 election would the Commission decide if this were to be put on the ballot. Chair TenBruggencate said, if it happens, it would probably be the middle of 2014. Mr. Aguiar asked when his deadline would be for submitting a petition in case the Commission does nothing, which would keep the Council at-large. Attorney Winn advised Mr. Aguiar to check with the County Clerk at Council Services. Chair TenBruggencate said if Mr. Aguiar wants to make sure Districting gets on the ballot he should proceed independently and he outlined the 3 ways amendments get placed on the ballot. Councilmember Yukimura — There may be some benefits from districting but there are also many disadvantages. Perhaps when the population gets fl n Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 8 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION large enough, districting may become necessary but Ms. Yukimura said she would advocate staying with an at-large system for as long as possible because representation by district is inherently divisive and often contrary to good decision-making for the whole. Ms. Yukimura said she recently received compliments from Honolulu that the County Council, as a body, is really trying to make decisions in a civil and deliberative way; a group that is trying to do good research and hear each other' s concerns and then come to a collective decision making. Part of it is because the Council represents the same constituency — everybody in the County. When people are accountable to different segments it gets more difficult and referenced the Honolulu rail system as an example of how public policy can be distorted by politics by district. Accountability is also more easily obscured in a system of districts. In a district system, a portion of the capital budget is often allocated by the "pork barrel" system where each legislator gets his project without scrutiny as to the merits as long as the other legislators get the same privilege. More likely, bad or cost-ineffective projects are approved and other key opportunities to solve major issues or take advantage of major opportunities are not addressed. Districting is assumed to benefit the people of the district but this may not necessarily be so. Right now a resident can advocate a certain vote or position and even have influence with all seven councilmembers. With the proposed 4/3system, a voter will only have influence over three potential councilmembers. It is also not necessarily true that districting would benefit the people of the district because they have someone who lives among them and knows the problems, people, and places of the region. Issues of big money and undue influence can come into play and prevent the person who could best represent the people of a district from being elected. Is it really our goal that the person elected from a district represents only his or her district when the decision would affect everyone in the county? Ms. Yukimura pointed out that the current councilmembers don't only think about the towns or neighborhoods in Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 9 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION which they live but, like her, as a councilmember for the whole county. Ms. Yukimura offered suggestions on ways to strengthen the current at-large system. Mr. Guy stated that was great information for which he thanked Ms. Yukimura and suggested that all councilmembers should testify on this issue. Mr. Guy said they all know of the great things Councilmember Yukimura has done but if she had been elected by the Lihu'e district, would she still have done those other things. Ms. Yukimura said she might have been constrained from doing it; she may have proposed all of it but whether she could have gotten it passed would have been the question. Mr. Guy asked about the whole island electing each district, such as is done on Maui, because you would have to appeal to the whole island while representing your district. Ms. Yukimura thought there was real value for people to come from the district but you do get to know the districts if you stick around long enough because different issues take you into the districts. If someone does their homework well they can do it without living there. Ms. Yukimura said it was not what she would have done, but whether she could get the votes to vote for the systems or things that she pushed for if people were only thinking about their district. Ms. Yukimura said they need to develop leadership from all different sectors of the population; people who can represent their sectors whether by region or ethnic group or a particular point of view. Mr. Guy asked if the election by the island as a whole eliminates the horse-trading fear. Ms. Yukimura said it does because you are accountable to the same people, so you can't hide by getting somebody else to do the work. Chair TenBruggencate noted there was a proposal on the table but there was no motion. Mr. Justus moved to form a sub-committee to develop language on the Charter regional n 1 Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 10 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION committee as brought forth by the first sub- Mr. Justus said different concepts were discussed but actual language was committee. not developed for that idea. Chair TenBruggencate asked Mr. Justus to be clearer on what the sub-committee would be charged with doing. Mr. Justus restated his motion to create a sub- committee to examine further the concept of the Council regional committee proposed by the prior sub-committee in order to develop potential Charter amendment language for that idea. Ms. Suzawa asked to clarify if this was in reference to the community boards from the different districts. Mr. Justus said no; there were several alternatives to districting that the sub-committee came up with. It included the neighborhood board and the Council regional committee where each of the at-large councilmembers would be required (originally assigned) to go into each of the communities, take input, and be required to take action on it. Then, report back the next month as to what they have or have not done which would make them more accountable to the people at-large. Ms. Suzawa said if they pull out the prior sub-committee report instead of reinventing the work, there are several options to look at. Mr. Justus said there were two; one was the 4/3 districting and the other was the proposal from Jonathan Jay of the 7 districts at-large. The neighborhood board concept was an alternative to districting because of Mr. Nishida and Ms. Suzawa' s concerns that districting would not address the need of either accountability or representation. The other concept would be a much simpler change, making the current at-large councilmembers accountable by going into the different towns. Mr. Justus said on further thought instead of assigning a councilmember to one area which could lead to favoritism, all seven councilmembers would rotate monthly to the seven different parts of the island and bring their actions back to that community. That at-large council would be communicating directly with the people from all the different parts of the island. Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 11 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Attorney Winn said there was a motion on the floor with a question to further clarify on the motion, but it was not a discussion of the various proposals. Motion failed for lack of a second. Ms. Yukimura — In the process, of Council proceedings, the Council did hear about Portland (which Mr. Aguiar spoke of) which has only 3 councilmembers for the entire city, but they have a very strong neighborhood system. Kaua'i already has some very strong community organizations that serve as some of the function of neighborhood boards. What would be worth looking at is the Office of Community Empowerment (or something like that) in the city of Portland that builds community capacity. This Office helps build capacity in terms of rules for functioning and leadership training; this is one way to really build community. Ms. Yukimura recognized Mr. Justus' desire to have the Council be more responsive to all the individual communities, but before proposing it for the Charter he should bring it before the County Council and ask them to consider it as part of their Rules or their organizing as a way to do outreach. Mr. Justus said his concern with Rules was a future Council could decide that was not necessary, whereas if it was mandated in the Charter, accountability to the people would be ensured. Ms. Yukimura said if he could show it would be a good working system it would continue from its own merits and because it works well. Ms. Yukimura said as someone who works full time to address regional issues, she does not know how productive it would be for seven people in the Council to hold meetings to get input because unless something specific is put in front of the County Council for action, nothing will happen. Mr. Aguiar said he liked the concept of full time councilmembers and the model he spoke of was Portland and not Washington. Mr. Aguiar asked the Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 12 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Commission to seriously look at the 4 districts with 2 members elected from each district and 1 at-large. Chair TenBruggencate noted that without a motion for further action on the 4 District/3 At-Large proposal on the floor he would solicit a motion to receive. Mr. Guy moved to receive the proposal. Mr. Nishida seconded the motion. Mr. Guy withdrew his motion and Mr. Nishida withdrew the second. Mr. Nishida moved to receive the proposal. Ms. Mr. Nishida said he moved to receive the proposal because it was too Barela seconded the motion. narrow a focus to proceed with. While some people are frustrated, there may be other ways to deal with the frustration or representation but districting is not the time to look at it. Mr. Nishida always felt a big missing piece with representation was some type of neighborhood relationship; one cannot address districting without addressing representation. The people are expressing a problem with representation but looking at districting as a solution which it is not; Kaua'i is too small. Attorney Winn said it was helpful to have a set idea such as the 4/3 districting for discussion, which can then be tweaked or received, but it is most helpful to have the language set out first. Mr. Justus said he would be glad to put this current proposal to a vote to get it off the agenda if Mr. Nishida was willing to withdraw his motion. Attorney Winn advised Mr. Justus that receiving the proposal would take it off the agenda. Roll Call Vote: Barela — aye; Guy — nay; Justus — abstain; Nishida — aye; Stack — aye; Suzawa — aye; TenBruggencate — aye. Motion carried 5 : 1 - Chair TenBruggencate said he would be happy to put further proposals on nay: 1 -abstain a 0 Charter Review Commission Open Session March 25, 2013 Page 13 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION the agenda. Mr. Nishida said there were substantive changes to the Charter relating to State laws that may have changed but have not been dealt with. Attorney Winn pointed out those are not non-substantive changes so they would have to be placed on the agenda for discussion. Chair TenBruggencate clarified for audience members that there are references to State laws in the old Charter that are no longer in existence but the Commission feels these are not non-substantive changes they can deal with. Ms. Morikami said that Mr. Shiramizu is totally aware of that issue and is looking at ways to resolve it. Announcements Next Meeting: Monday, April 22, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. Adjournment Mr. Justus moved to adjourn the meeting at 5 :35 p.m. Mr. Stack seconded the motion. Motion carried 7:0 Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Barbara Davis, Support Clerk Jan TenBruggencate, Chair ( ) Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting. ARTICLE I THE COUNTY AND ITS GOVERNMENT I Section 1 . 01 . Incorporation . The people of the county of eftaua ' i .-( Deld:ete Kauai } are and shall continue to be a body politic and corporate in . perpetuity under the name of " county of Jtauai ," referred to ( Deleted: Kauai hereinafter as the " county . " Deleted: , t Section 1 . 02 . Geographical Limits . The islands of 9taua ' i and Deleted: Kauai x]i ' ihau and all other islands lying within three nautical miles Deleted: Niihau g off the shore thereof , and the waters adjacent thereto , shall i I constitute the county f#taua ' i with its county seat at Lihue . .•- , comment (cHs1]: Official Charter is +`, correct ,,- •-.+--,. — . —ta- - c3 Section 1 . 03 . County Elections . Deleted: or Deleted: Kauai - A . Nonpartisan Elections . County elections shall be conducted in accordance with the election laws of the State insofar as applicable , but all elective county officers shall be elected by nonpartisan elections . (Amended 2012 ) B . Offices of the Mayor and Prosecuting Attorney . , 1 . For the offices of mayor and prosecuting attorney, . the names of the two candidates receiving the highest number . of votes for these offices in the primary election shall be placed on the ballot for the general election . However , if there is only one candidate for each of said offices , such candidate shall be elected in the primary election . (Amended 2012 ) 2 . At the general election , the candidates receiving the 0 highest number of votes for mayor and prosecuting attorney shall be elected . (Amended 2012 ) 3 . Tie votes . In the event of a tie vote for mayor and prosecuting attorney in the primary or general election , the 1 winner shall be determined by a method of chance as determined by the county clerk . (Amended 2012 ) ', C . Office of At-Large Council members . ' i 1 . For at- large council offices , two candidates for each vacant at-large council office receiving the highest number of votes in the primary election shall be placed on the ballot for the general election . (Amended 2012 ) , 2 . At the general election , the candidates receiving the - 1 - ( 11 / 12 ) . , Y/ a /j3 eX)ea a64/3 - da - • - highest number of votes for each vacant at- large council . , - office shall be elected . (Amended 2012 ) l 3 . Tie votes . In the event of a tie vote for the last • ' remaining at-large council office in the primary election , the candidates receiving the same number of votes shall be placed on the ballot for the general election . (Amended 2012 ) In the event of a tie vote for the last remaining at - % . . - large council office in the general election , the winner I shall be determined by a method of chance as determined by the cbunty clerk . (Amended 2012 ) �. (::) • ARTICLE II 1 POWERS OF THE COUNTY I• . Section 2 . 01 . Powers . To promote the general welfare and the I' safety, health .; peace , good order , comfort and morals of its inhabitants , the county shall have and may exercise all powers necessary for local self-government , and any additional powers and authority which may hereafter be granted to it , except as restricted by laws of this State . The enumeration or express powers in this charter shall not be deemed to be exclusive . In addition to the express powers enumerated herein im lied Comment CHSZ : if icial` "'na`i i i9 thereby, it is intended that the county shall have and may exercise all powers it would be competent for this charter to i Delebed: cz enumerate expressly . • Section 2 . 02 . Exercise of Powers . All powers of the county shall be carried into execution as provided by this charter , or , if the charter makes no provision , as provided by ordinance of the county r• O council . J , . ARTICLE III • r COUNTY COUNCIL • Section 3 . 01 . Legislative Power . The legislative power of the :, county shall be vested in and exercised by the county council , except as otherwise provided by this charter . I Section 3 . 02 . Composition . There shall be a council of seven members elected at-large . l qI • `; - 2 - ( 11 / 12 ) 7 •>• Section 3 . 03 . Terms . The terms of office of councilmembers shall be for two years beginning at twelve o ' clock meridian on the first working day of December following their election . No person shall be elected to the office of councilmember for more than four consecutive two year terms . (Amended 1980 , 1984 , 2006 ) • Section 3 . 04 . Qualifications . A . To be eligible for the council , a person must be a citizen of the United States and must have been a duly qualified elector of the county for at least two years immediately preceding the ,„- Deleted: his election or !4 din •me- : . - - ,`Comment [CH53]: Suggest- add "of the 'person' at the end{of__the aent_ence7 I B . Any ,councilmember who removes said councilmember ' s _ -- Deleted: councilman residence from the county or is - convicted of a felony shall -- Deleted: his I immediately forfeit the office . Deleted: his C . The council shall be the judge of the qualifications of . its members and for that purpose shall have power to subpoena witnesses , take testimony and require the production of records . Decisions made by the council in the exercise of the powers granted in this subsection shall be subject to review by the Fifth I Circuit Court of the State of )iawai ' i . _...--Iodated: Hawaii . Section 3 . 05 . Vacancy in Office . In the event a vacancy occurs in . the council , the remaining members of the council shall appoint a successor with the required qualifications to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term . If the council is unable to fill a vacancy • within ( 30 ) days after its occurrence , the mayor shall make the appointment to such vacancy . The foregoing provisions shall apply I in the event a person elected as ,councilmember dies before taking ---t Deleted: councilman )` . office ; provided, however , that the vacancy shall be filled by the 0�. J newly elected council within thirty ( 30 ) days after the beginning �►✓ of the new term . Section 3 . 06 Compensation . The salary of each councilmember shall be established in accordance with the provisions of Article XXIX . of this Charter . (Amended 1988 , 2006 ) Section 3 . 07 . Organization of Council ; Officers ; Rules ; Employees . A . The council shall meet in the council room at the county I building or in the J<aua ' i War Memorial Convention Hall for its :;..--( Deleted: Ecauai organization promptly after its inauguration and swearing-in ceremony at which time it shall elect one of its members as ,chair ' __ Deleted: chairman and presiding officer of the council . Until such time as the ,chair -...{ Deleted: chairman 11 is elected, the mayor shall preside at the council meetings , - 3 - ( 11 / 12 ) . provided that the mayor shall not have a vote . The council shall also elect One of its members as vice,chair who shall act as the ..--- Deleted: chairman presiding officer in the event of the chair ' s absence . The .-.. Deleted chairman ' s council shall appoint a presiding officer pro tempore from its . members in the event of the absence of both the ,chair and vice-_, :-. -{ Deleted: chairman J chair . A majority of the entire membership of the council shall . . . Dowel tchal rman constitute a quorum and, except as otherwise provided , the J. affirmative vote of a majority of the entire membership shall be ; necessary to take any action . (Amended 1984 ) B . The council shall adopt such rules as it may deem necessary for the organization of committees and the transaction . of its business . 0 C . The council shall keep a journal of its proceedings . D . The council may, upon an affirmative vote of at least two- thirds of its entire membership , suspend without pay for not more than one month any member for disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence . The presiding officer or the council by a ;... majority vote may expel any other person • who is guilty of disorderly, contemptuous or improper conduct at any meeting . . E . The council shall meet regularly at least twice in every . month at such times as the council may prescribe by rule . Special meetings may be held on the call of the mayor , ,chair or by five or { Deleted: chairman J more members . All council and council committee meetings shall be open to the public except as provided for in Chapter 92 , Hawaii Revised Statutes . (Amended 2008 ) . F . Council Staff . The council may appoint the necessary 0 personnel for the transaction of its business , and such appointments shall be subject to the civil service and I classification requirements . The chair of the council shall be the --{ Deleted: chairman ) ; administrative officer of the staff employees . Section 3 . 08 . Mayor May Appear Before Council . The mayor may propose in writing any motion , resolution or ordinance , or amendments thereto , but shall have no right to vote thereon . Section 3 . 09 . Eminent Domain . The council shall by resolution . determine and declare the necessity of taking property for public purposes , describing the property and stating the uses to which it . shall be devoted . Section 3 . 10 . Annual Budget and Capital Program . The council shall enact an annual budget ordinance , which shall include both - 4 - ( 11 / 12 ) , -t f• th• •,J K h the operational and capital expenditures for the fiscal year and - the method of financing same . The council shall provide sufficient r revenues to assure a balanced budget . P G, R' . i. • r;:: 4j ,r.,. Section 3 . 11 Adoption of Pay Plan . The icotui 1C 1I by ordinance shall 5,, -. Comment [CHS4]: Official 2006 I appropriate the salaries of al ]4 officers and employees who are Amendment has Council, not council exempt from civil service in accordance with the provisions of` meted: council I Section 7 . 05E and Article XXIX of this ,charter . All other officers Comment [CHSS]: official Charter is 1 and employees shall be classified and paid in accordance with law. ; ' N. correct . (Amended 1984 , 1988 , 2006 ) % \ . Deleted: . ..1 Comment [CHSG]: Official 2006 11 O Section 3 . 12 . Audit . . ' Amendment capitalizes the word te,, ` •Charter^ A . Financial Audit . At least once every two years and at any k; ` ' Charter other time as may be deemed necessary , the council shall cause an independent audit of all county funds and accounts to be made by a ` certified public accountant or firm of certified public E accountants . The scope of the audit shall be in accordance with .,,,.. „ - A , ;. , , ,. ,�` I the terms of a written contract to be signed by the chair which _ { Deleted: chairman �`. shall provide for the completion of the audit within a reasonable - "• _,' 7- f . •• r time . If the state makes such an audit , the council may accept it _ - 4 Comment [CHS*]: This is consistent as satisfying the requirements of this section . The audit shall be with official 2000 amendment matter of public record . � . II:. B . Performance Audit . To ensure and determine whether government services are being efficiently , effectively , and , economically delivered , the council may at any time provide for a performance audit of any or all of the offices , agencies , departments , programs , and operations for which the county is F responsible . The council may exercise its authority to conduct I performance audits through the hiring of a qualified _in-house j i auditor or through the hiring of a qualified contract laudi_tor{_ or � - Commene [CNSB]: Contract ie both . The scope of the audit shall be in accordance with the terms consistent with the original 1 q; amendment; omitted in Codified 1 of an assignment referred to the office of the county clerk by the :f Version; auditor is correct county council or a written contract to be approved by the council and signed by the presiding officer of the council , but may include the following activities : N r er '4 : ;i ( 1 ) Examination and testing of county offices ' , :, agencies ' programs ' and departments ' implementation ` - Comment [CHS9]: official 2000 i 171 processes to determine whether the laws , policies and !. Amendment has this comma. programs of the county are being carried out in the most . effective , efficient and economical manner . ' S F. . ( 2 ) Examination and testing of the internal control kt , . 1 - 5 - ( 11 / 12 ) r r - :,c:: :....A:is ,:ra: sly.:.: .:,rl:;iu.•.,_ .fri4 L.•;r av:_^,^y u+ systems of offices , agencies , programs , operations and ; departments to ensure that such systems are properly designed I to safeguard public assets against loss from waste , fraud, _ -•�Comment [CS10]o _nom– ".. —.-4 error , to promote efficient operations , and to encourage . adherence to prescribed management policies . • . Said assignment or contract shall encourage recommendations for changes in the organization , management and processes which will produce greater efficiency and effectiveness in meeting the objectives of the programs or operations carried out by the respective county agencies , departments , offices , program and fcomment [CHSis]: official of operations , and shall provide for the completion of the audit amendment� doesnotahave ,comma within one calendar year . A copy of the audit report shall be ; DNeted filed with the county clerk and shall be public record . ( Amended 2000 ) r Section 3 . 13 . Creation of a General Debt . A . The -council by the affirmative vote of at least five members may authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds in i _ accordance with the Constitution and laws of the State of jiawai ' i . .- { Deleted: Hawaii . B . Each bond authorization shall specify the purpose for which moneys are to be borrowed and the maximum amount of bonds to be issued for that purpose . C . Notwithstanding any limitation contained in this charter , the council may accept and receive participating or nonparticipating federal and state loans for public improvement projects or other purposes , the aggregate of which , together with any bonded indebtedness outstanding , shall not at any time exceed the total bonded indebtedness authorized by the Constitution of the State of ,Hawai ' i . = Deleted: Hawaii D . The council may provide for the refunding of general obligation bonds . 7 I Section 3 . 14 . Creation of Special Assessment Debt . The council may authorize the issuance of improvement bonds to finance assessable public improvements in the manner provided by law . ` Section 3 . 15 . Revenue Bond Indebtedness . The council may authorize the issuance of revenue bonds for the purpose of initiating, constructing , acquiring , extending , replacing or otherwise improving any revenue-producing facility as provided by law . • - 6 - ( 11 / 12 ) "t Section 3 . 16 . Temporary Borrowing . A . The council may borrow money in any fiscal year in , anticipation of revenues to be derived from taxes for that year , and for any of the purposes to which the revenues are appropriated . No such borrowing shall be in excess of twenty-five • per cent ( 25 % ) of the amount of the uncollected taxes of that year . B . When any warrants are presented to the county for payment and the same are not paid for lack of funds , the director of finance shall issue a warrant note , equal in amount to the face value of the warrant or warrants so presented for payment . The ,. 0 warrant note shall be in a form and shall be due at a date prescribed by the director of finance . It shall bear interest at ; the lowest obtainable rate . The notes shall be a first charge on the moneys of any fund against which the warrants are issued . C . The council upon recommendation of the mayor may authorize the director of finance to obtain temporary loans from the State . 1 Section 3 . 17 . Investigation . The council or any authorized committee thereof shall have the power to conduct investigations of the operation of any agency or function of the county and any . subject upon which the council may legislate . In investigations , a • the presiding officer shall have the right to administer oaths and in the name of the council to subpoena witnesses and compel the ` production of books and papers pertinent thereto . If any person ' subpoenaed as a witness , or to produce any books or papers called . for by the process of the council or committee shall fail or f 0 refuse to respond thereto , the circuit court upon request of the . _ council shall have power to compel obedience to any process of the council and re quire such witness to answer questions put to the f Dseedhim witness as aforesaid , and to punish as a contempt of the court , any refusal to comply therewith without good cause shown therefor . ' • - False swearing by any witness shall constitute perjury and be punished as such , and whenever the council is satisfied that a witness has sworn falsely in any hearing or investigation , it shall report same to the county attorney for prosecution . In any investigation which concerns the alleged gross misconduct or alleged criminal action on the part of any individual , such individual shall have the right to be represented by counsel , the , . right of reasonable cross-examination of witnesses and the right to process of the council to compel the attendance of witnesses in . , ,the individual ' s behalf . --•{ Deleted: his - 7 - ( 11 / 12 ) Section 3 . 18 . Restrictions on County Council and Council members . The council and its members shall not interfere with the administrative processes delegated to the mayor . Except for the purpose of investigative inquiries under Section . 3 . 17 , the council or its members , in dealing with county employees , or with county officers who are subjected to the _ direction and supervision of the mayor , shall deal solely through the mayor , and neither the council nor its members shall give orders to any such employee or officer either publicly or privately . Any j illful violation of the provisions of this -._.-{ Deleted: wilful ® section by a member of the council shall be sufficient grounds for . I an action for the member ' s removal from office . { Deleted: his f Section 3 . 19 . Implementation of the General Plan A . The power to process and to issue any zoning , use , . ' subdivision , or variance permit for more than one transient . accommodation unit shall be vested in and exercisable exclusively _ by the council . As used in this '. ectio.P , a `o"" " "transient accommodation _._-• Comment [CHS127: Tnia word is unit " shall mean an accommodation unit or a portion thereof in a capitalized in official 2008 hotel , timeshare facility, `amendment , y, resort condominium, fractional ownership facility , vacation rental unit or other similarly-used s" dwelling that is rented or used by one or more persons for whom such accommodation unit is not the person ' s primary residence •, under the Internal Revenue Code . B . Any applicant seeking the issuance of a zoning , use , ' subdivision or variance permit for more than one accommodation . , unit shall certify to the planning department whether any use of 0 the units as a transient accommodation unit is projected by the applicant . Prior to granting any such permit for a transient accommodation unit , the council shall conduct a public hearing and make a finding that granting such permit would be consistent with the planning growth range of the general plan and in the best interest of the county and its people . Approval of any such application shall require a favorable vote of two thirds ( 2 / 3 ) of the entire membership of the council . Appeals of any decision by the . council relating to such permits must be instituted in the circuit court within thirty ( 30 ) days after entrance of the final decision of the council . C . The council may by ordinance authorize the planning commission to process and issue such permits , or certain of them, on terms and conditions as the council may deem advisable , only upon the council ' s enactment of a rate of growth ordinance that . - 8 -- ( 11 / 12 ) limits the rate of increase in the number of transient accommodation units in the county to no greater than one-and-one- half percent ( 1 . 5% ) per annum on a multi-year average basis , or such growth rate that is within the planning growth range of a future general plan adopted pursuant to ::"mss 14 . 08 . _. frComment [CHSl3]: this word is capitalized in official 2008 4amendment_ D . The council shall adopt such ordinances , laws , rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the terms and intent of this amendment to the lha2171 . rComment (CHS1a]: This word is • 'capitalized in official 2008 amendment E . If any provision of this amendment shall be held by a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, all of the other terms of the amendment shall remain in full force and effect . (Amended 2008 ) ARTICLE IV ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS Section 4 . 01 . Actions of the Council . Every legislative act of • the council shall be by ordinance except as otherwise provided . Non-legislative acts of the council may be by resolution . Transfer of funds within the same department , whether in the ; operating budget or capital budget , may be effected by resolution . The enacting clause of every ordinance shall be " Be it ordained by ' I the council of the county of ,{aua ' i : " and the enacting clause of ..... { oeImed: Kauai : 1 every resolution shall be " Be it resolved by the council of the I county of 4taua' i : " _.- { Deleted: Kauai : , Section 4 . 02 . Introduction , Consideration and Passage of Ordinances and Resolutions . A . Every proposed ordinance shall be initiated as a bill and shall be passed only after two readings on separate days . The vote ; on final passage shall be taken by ayes and noes and entered in the journal . Full readings of a bill may be waived by' vote or a majority of the council . B . Every ordinance shall embrace but one subject , which shall be expressed in its title . C . No bill shall be so amended as to change its original purpose . Every bill , as amended , shall be in writing before final . passage . D . When a bill fails to pass on final reading and a motion is made to reconsider , the vote on such motion shall not be acted upon before the expiration of twenty- four ( 24 ) hours . • • - 9 - ( 11 / 12 ) ' • • ' E . Except as otherwise provided in this charter , resolutions may be adopted on one reading . The reading shall be in full except by a majority consent of all rcouncilmemberspresent ,_ in _ which __case _ .. .-•{ Deleted: counciimen the reading may be by title only . F . Bills embracing ( 1 ) the fixing of special assessments for the cost or improvements , ( 2 ) the appropriation of public funds or • the authorization of the issuance of general obligation bonds or . ( 3 ) the imposition of a duty or penalty on any person , shall pass first reading by ayes and noes , and digests of such bills shall be advertised once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, at least seven days before final reading by the council . . . Copies of such bills shall be filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the county clerk at least seven days prior . to the final reading thereof . G . Upon the request of a majority of the council , a public hearing shall be held on any proposed ordinance or resolution . . Notice of the public hearing shall be by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and the public . hearing shall be held not earlier than seven days prior to the . ' final reading on the proposed ordinance or resolution . H . All ordinances shall be promptly advertised once by title . in a newspaper of general circulation in the county with the ayes and noes after enactment . Unless otherwise provided, resolutions . • need not be advertised either before or after adoption . . I . Resolution authorizing proceedings in eminent domain shall . not be acted upon on the date of introduction , but shall be laid over for at least fourteen ( 14 ) days before adoption . Such ' resolutions shall be advertised once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least fourteen ( 14 ) days before . adoption by the council . Copies of such resolutions shall be filed • for use and examination by the public in the office of the county clerk at least fourteen ( 14 ) days prior to the adoption thereof . Upon adoption , every such resolution shall be presented to the . mayor , and he may approve or disapprove it pursuant to applicable provisions governing the approval or disapproval of bills . J . The council may adopt resolutions for the purpose of marking roads or regulating and adjusting the movement of traffic and pedestrians in connection with traffic ordinances , and such resolutions need not be published ; provided , that no person shall be punished for violating such resolutions so adopted unless the ' regulation, mark or adjustment sought to be effected is clearly - 10 - ( 11 / 12 ) ; indicated in the places where effective by legible markers or signs . . K . Emergency Ordinances . To meet a public emergency affecting life , health or property, the county council may adopt one or more emergency ordinances , but such ordinances• may not be used to levy taxes , regulate the rate charged by any public utility for its services , or authorize the borrowing of money . . ( 1 ) Every emergency ordinance shall be plainly designated as such and shall contain , after the enacting clause , a declaration • • stating that an emergency exists and describing the claimed O emergency in clear and specific terms . Except as thus indicated, it shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances generally . An emergency ordinance may be considered and may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the . meeting at which it is introduced . The affirmative vote of all • council members present , or the affirmative vote of three- fourths of those elected , shall be required for adoption of such an ordinance . After adoption of an emergency ordinance , the council • shall cause it to be printed and published as prescribed for other adopted ordinances . . ( 2 ) Every emergency ordinance , including any amendments made thereto after its adoption , shall automatically stand repealed as of the sixty-first ( 61st ) day following the date on which it was • adopted . Section 4 . 03 . Submission of Ordinances to the Mayor . A . Every bill which has passed the council and has been duly . authenticated by the county clerk and the presiding officer , shall be presented to the mayor for ,approval . If ,the mayor approves it , _.•• Deleted: his the mayor shall sign it and it shall then become an ordinance . If D� : he the mayor disapproves it , the mayor shall specify pbj ections Deleted: he thereto in writing and return the bill to the county clerk withY'::•-. ,the mayor ' s objections within ten days , excluding Saturdays , D�eted' he Sundays and holidays after receiving it . If ,the mayor does not '' , Deleted_ : he • return it with ,the mayor ' s disapproval within that time , it shall Deleted: his take effect as if ,the mayor had signed it . The objections of the ' , Delete& his mayor shall be entered in the journal of the council and the i : he council may, after five and within thirty ( 30 ) days after the bill Deleted: his • has been so returned , reconsider the vote upon the bill . If the , bill , upon reconsideration , is again passed by the affirmative Deleted: he, vote of five members of the council , the presiding officer shall verify that fact on the bill and when so certified, the bill shall . then become an ordinance with like effect as if it had been signed . - 11 - ( 11 / 12 ) by the mayor . If the bill fails to receive the vote of at least I five members of the council it shall be deemed void . -•- :'Comment [Min Official version has comma _ B . If any bill is presented to the mayor appropriating money , Deleted: . I ,the mayor may veto any item or items, or appropriations therefor by Ddetethe striking out or reducing the same . In case of such a veto , the mayor shall append to the bill at the time of signing it a . statement of the item or items or portion or portions thereof to I which ,the mayor objects and the reasons therefor . Each item so .--{ Ddeted: he vetoed may be reconsidered by the council in the same manner as bills which have been disapproved by the mayor . Section 4 . 04 . Amendment , Revision or Repeal : Adoption of Codes by . • Reference . A . No ordinance shall be amended , revised or repealed by the council except by ordinance . No resolution shall be amended , revised or repealed except by resolution , but a resolution may be • superseded by a subsequent ordinance . B . Any ordinance or resolution may be repealed by reference to its number or section number . Revisions or amendments may be made in the same manner but the same , or the section , subsection . or paragraph thereof , revised or amended , shall be re-enacted at . length as revised or amended ; but when the amendment consists of adding new sections , subsections , paragraphs , or substituting a word, term or number , it shall be sufficient to enact the new matter alone if reference thereto is made in the title . C . Any code or portions thereof may be adopted by reference . thereto by the enactment of an ordinance for that purpose . The - code , or portions , need not be published in the manner required . for ordinances , but not less than three copies thereof shall be filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the county clerk not less than fifteen ( 15 ) days prior to the final • I reading thereoSand notice of the availability of said copies „...-- Comment [CHsi6j: ofEicai version shall be published by the clerk . has a comma . _ Deists . Section 4 . 05 . Codification of Ordinances . A . Within two years of the effective date of this charter , the council shall cause a code to be prepared and published, containing all of the ordinances of the county which are appropriate for continuation as law . Such a code shall be prepared and published at intervals of every ten years thereafter . The code may be prepared by the county attorney, or the council may contract for its preparation by professional persons or . • - 12 - ( 11 / 12 ) . 1 • •. • UJ'; ` ::1 a. • I .. • . V a • • 51 f:• C • . .- • i • 1t.i t • . 1• 1 - - I :: I 1 '• • organizations experienced in the revision and codification of .• , . ordinances or statutes : — __ ;; 4.B . The code may be adopted by reference by the passage of an ' n - I I- I •: • . ordinance for that purpose ., Copies - of the code shall be made 1 v •'t.' ,.:1l•'t• available to the public at a reason- price prior to and after '• ' '; ;,''its adoption . _ .;,e;• 1• - ' ! V I • 11' - : • .• ' • _ _ .i_: - _ , " - C . All proposed ordinances of general application introduced rr fh 1 lid ; t; t , ? •"•.. '41,C.".y '�' 'r ;rtti s• ^ 'I - • after the approval of . the ,code 'shall �be adopted as amendments .,of ; 1 �. - .; . '1, • . ""'• ]- ' • ' k Tn is r4f, . '{': ' " r � � ' a or additions to the code and b reference thereto • 1 • + , > ;? ,, , -Ir""7 " V :,•r5 • • �r -'r • I a. , - 1' 1• .♦1�?t. _• '._ . s. ♦ .- i L...=L T. _~V:L_j_!4: -, I.; I. 1 • . I, l ' '' • . .. .1 • I'. �.I ... 0 , - • • 'I - • •• . • 1'; ( I I • „' • 1 II ' I I . . ... - • ' . •1 I , . .. • •• • 1 . . ; • ,t Ma. . .q - - . i . . • • .i I - ' L. :r - I'4 . . _ 1• - 1 - li I . . C I r . • o I. _ •{ ' I .• }• . - { • I, '1 • •r - I - . . . (: _ • • .p.•• . . . . . ' l : • r .` _ ' . '• •r •�'' ' ; _ .'t 1 ' I. i ,•.• • : . . ' i • - , ' _ • 4 • • - . _ 'I 1. r . . . `_� . I r — . r • '� , r - d• •y.• U. •. . _ . , . . • ',. - 1 '.:f, • : . . — • I • t•. • ,'. r ••il :.I7 -� ,- _ .1. •l • 'f •�' . • . • - . r , ,' ' n - • - • .J,. • ' i. •.i I • I - I • • 11• • I ... . . . 1 . a .1 ` I.. • I • I•11 ' I•• .. t IP ir• � I 1111, ‘a l• 1 - 1„Ir! . ' . 1.1 • <; It }\• _ _ , {\ 4:r . A 1 ■ ••. - ' '"� 1 . . 1 1 - • - _��••y , • �- ,. l . . • ^.�y ''. 1, l. _• , I - I I • _ L TI , \ 1 ) ' . ! • ... . Il ' I _ I. II M -• 4r e .•4.���t • • • ir- . , •• . . l ` -_�I • ;• 1-1 . r_-0G' L{ihr :% Il �tal� • •• ♦ ' • ..I .?... . . 1.Y'. • 1 :' _ _ 1 • WRITTEN TESTIMONY BEFORE COUNTY OF KAUAI CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION AT 3/25/2013 MEETING REGARDING ITEM "CRC 2013-07" BY BERT LYON Thank you for the opportunity to offer some input on this most important item with regard to our County Council elections. Commissioner Justus has done an admirable job in compiling much of the available data necessary to adequately consider council districting on Kauai , which I wholeheartedly support as being more preferable than the current at- large system . At this time, I would like to address only the type of districting scenario that would best suit Kauai . Commissioner Justus proposes the "4 district/3 at-large" scenario , while I would suggest that you instead consider the "5 district/2 at- C. large" scenario for the following reasons: 1 . It established districts that coincide with the five court districts for Kauai County, which , in turn , coincide with the U .S . Census track boundaries 2 . It established districts that coincide with the five Tax Map Key districts created for Kauai , which are used for all real estate matters on Kauai 3. It establishes districts that more closely coincide with the six Planning Areas established for Kauai by the Planning Department, each with its own Development Plan . Consequently, it is less likely to split communities with common planning concerns or combine communities with distinct planning concerns. 4. It reflects the natural divisions of the island , through which we describe what part of the island we are from : North Shore , Eastside, Lihue, South Shore, Westside. 5. When using the 2010 Census data provided by Commissioner Justus, it becomes apparent that when you attempt to separate the towns into separate districts, the only number that works well enough to maintain the "one man-one vote" requirement of the U .S . Constitution is five districts. ( I will be happy to provide you with a copy of the Excel worksheet I used to determine this result, if requested . ) Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you on this important matter. Mc ao/3 - O ?