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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013_0226_Minutes_Open_APPROVED COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Approved as circulated 3/19/13 Board/Committee: CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Meeting Date I February 26, 2013 Location Mo'ikeha Building, Liquor Control Commission, Meeting Room Start of Meeting: 3:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 4:49 p.m. 3 Present Chair Cathy Adams; Vice-Chair John Low. Members: Gilbert Maerina, Karen Matsumoto; Roy Morita Also: Deputy County Attorney Marc Guyot; Personnel Services Manager Thomas Takatsuki; Boards & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Barbara Davis; Administrator Paula Morikami; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. ; Director of Finance Steve Hunt; Budget and Purchasing Director Ernie Barreira; Human Resources Manager Janine Rapozo Excused Member Lani Aranio Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Prior to the start of the meeting, Council Administrative Assistant Eddie Topenio gave the Oath of Office to Commission members Roy Morita and Karen Matsumoto. Call To Order Chair Adams called the meeting to order at 3 :00 p.m. with 4 members present. Chair Adams said she would take agenda item CSC 2013-03 out of order to accommodate the Mayor and his staff's schedule. Business CSC 2013-03 Budget Presentation for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 by Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. Mayor Carvalho thanked the Commission for all the hard work and especially as the new Human Resources Department unfolds. Mayor Carvalho said he has to submit the balanced budget on March 15 (to the County Council). Last year with the help of the County Council, a budget team was created within the Department of Finance that includes Steve Hunt - Finance Director, Ernie Barreira - Budgeting Director, Ann Wooten and Ken Shimonishi - Budget Analysts, Al Castillo - County Attorney, and Gary Heu - Managing Director. This team provided insight on some of the areas where tough decisions will need to be made with the bigger picture being to provide the best service to the people we serve, which is always at the forefront. The County Council team has also been going through each step with us to see how we can come up with something we both can work with. The Mayor said he would Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION I ACTION be addressing these issues in his upcoming 5th State of the County Address on Monday, March 18, 2013. Steve Hunt said they looked at how to reduce expenditures without cutting into the core services. Rather than a unilateral approach to making these cuts, each department was analyzed individually and if expenditure reductions were warranted it became the responsibility of the department heads, not the budget analysts,to decide how to make those cuts. In the past Kaua'i County has submitted budgets that have at the end of the closing fiscal year shown budgeted expenditures to exceed actual spending. During the economic downturn Kaua'i County has been able to weather the storm by utilizing these unassigned fund balance surpluses that have accumulated from prior fiscal years to budget the last 3 budgets. The practice of using surplus rather than raising taxes to balance the budget has kept us solvent and reduced any unnecessary burden to our citizens. Today, however, the picture is different. We no longer have large unassigned fund balances and our projected fiscal 2014 expenditures continue to exceed what we project to be our fiscal 2014 revenues. To address this imbalance the budget team has focused their analysis on actual historical spending over fiscal periods 2010 to 2012 and assessed what our fiscal 2014 budget target should be. Before considering any revenue enhancements it was crucial to make sure spending was under control and each department's budget is a reflection of what they are likely to expend in this forthcoming fiscal period. Cost cutting measures for the remainder of fiscal 2013 were also immediately implemented including scrutinized travel for non-essential travel, instituting a hiring freeze for vacant positions unless duly authorized and deferring all new projects where funding sources have not been identified outside of the general funds. The initial budget submittals for 2014 did not seem to deviate from past practices thus a second round of budget submittals was required and all department heads were given a budget target amount based on their actual expenditures from fiscal 2012 plus a 10% allowance for inflationary issues. The cost savings we have undergone in fiscal 2013 were also applied to fiscal 2014 and no new positions are being requested in the budgets as submitted except for one employee in the County Council. The majority of unfilled vacancies will be dollar funded and additional savings should be found by eliminating the associated fringe benefits from this year's budget. Position openings that occur during fiscal 2014 will be required a six month lag before being filled, reducing the fiscal 2014 budget to a level that will more closely mirror the actual anticipated expenditures and is an important part in submitting this year's balanced budget. In spite of these austerity measures,the gap between the budgeted expenditures and the forecast revenue cannot be bridged by cost cutting alone at least not without significant impact to the services offered or reduction in current staffing. With a 3 year trend of having expenditures exceed revenue, combined with the depletion of the unassigned fund balance, we can no longer rely on having a reserve to augment revenue shortfalls in future budgets. Additional revenue enhancements will be considered in balancing this year's budget. There are numerous bills circulating on the Legislative front between the State House and the State Senate that attempt to alter the County/State share level of the Transient Accommodation Tax. Another bill is taking aim at the franchise fee taxes that the Counties receive by attempting to reduce that by half. While the Counties are vehemently Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION I ACTION fighting to retain our share of these monies there are no assurances that we will prevail. Currently the revenue from TAT represents the County's second largest source of funds at slightly over $13.4 million each year. Collective bargaining also looms in the near future with several unions notifying the County that they have already begun negotiations. Without further detail regarding potential pay raises, changes in fringe or the period of time these agreements may cover, it is difficult to quantify what that financial impact will be to the County. In addition to the collaborative efforts with all the departments under the control of the Administration we have also been transparent with the County Council holding a number of meetings with both Council members and their key staff to apprise them of the fiscal challenges that lie ahead. Where past budgets have sometimes taken Council by surprise, this year's budget has been a step-by-step process that will hopefully lead to a deeper understanding of where our resources are being spent and how we go about meeting the demands for public service. Chair Adams thanked the Administration for taking the time to visit with the Commission but stated there have been questions from this Commission, as well as from other Commissions, about the HRIS system and the capital expenditure that will need to be made in order to truly automate some of the HR functions. The Chair offered a plea to the Administration to make sure this is somewhere within their list, adding that Mr. Takatsuki and his staff have been trying to work with what they have right now but if we truly want an HR system that serves this County well we need a true HRIS system. Mr. Morita asked what is meant by cutting fringe benefits as a cost saving measure. Mr. Hunt said they are the benefits that come with employment so when freezing a position we are not only cutting the salary but the contribution to medical,to retirement and all that goes with that, which is about 58% depending on the bargaining unit. If a hiring is delayed or frozen it is not only the salary for that employee but all the associated costs for the County of having that employee that is saved. Mr. Morita said the monies from speeding tickets, etc., go to a general fund with the State and asked if there was any possibility that some of those revenues could be recovered for the County. Mr. Hunt agreed that all those monies go to the State and it would take Legislation to give a portion to the Counties. What we are seeing with the Legislature now is it is going the other way and they are looking to take away County revenue. Gary Heu said relative to the fees received for traffic fines, in his ten plus years with the County,they have tried to push forward legislation, as has KPD, to recover some of that revenue but the State is not going to let go of that type of revenue very easily. Every year it pops up in some form of legislation but the Counties have never been successful in pushing that forward. Mayor Carvalho explained that all the County Mayors meet once a month; they go over Legislation and holding on to the TAT is at the forefront as is all ways to enhance revenue. Mr. Low added to Chair Adam's comments on the lack of computerization Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION I ACTION for the Human Resources Department and said they need to keep in mind they are doing things by hand, which is one body not doing what they should be doing and probably slowing down other departments who depend on that information. When you have a County with over 1,000 employees it is not defendable that it is not computerized; this is a top priority. Ms. Matsumoto asked if the monies for the HRIS were in the Capital Budget and not the Operating Budget because she believed there were some monies that have been sifting there for quite some time. It might not cover the entire system the County is looking for because it is not just a Personnel System they want but also the time and attendance system as well. Mr. Hunt said they are assembling a team to look at time and attendance specifically because it was part of the audit finding. Finance is looking at both a short time goal, which takes care of the audit finding, and the long term goal which may be a new system altogether. Given the financial constraints, it will probably be a piece-meal packaging to address those concerns because a whole new replacement for a SunGard system could be in the millions. IT Personnel and Accounting Payroll are in the process of putting together a team to look at computerizing the time and attendance portion. Mayor Carvalho asked Ernie Barreira to share his work with this team, which was dealing with the budget analysts. Mr. Barreira gave a brief historical perspective pointing out that a budget team in the past was the Director of Finance and one Budget Administrator. Due to the Mayor's foresight and insight as to what is best for the County, in late 2012 he made the decision to put together a budget team which would be comprised of a budget director as well as analysts to conduct a comprehensive analysis involving real numbers, not only in terms of what is budgeted for operations but looking at real numbers in terms of expenditures. In conducting those types of analysis there is a significant difference in the monies we budgeted and the monies we spent, which does not lead to responsible budgeting practices. What the analysis has provided us with is accuracy and detailed information that will assist with the current budget process as we move forward. In bringing together the budget team we saved about $10,000 in County revenue because 2 of the 3 members were existing County employees. Mr. Barreira explained that he continues to serve as the Assistant Chief Procurement Officer in the procurement of goods and services for the County. In addition the Mayor asked Mr. Barreira to expand his responsibilities to take on the role of Budget Director. Ann Wooten, the former grants administrator, was brought on board as a budget analyst and Ken Shimonishi, who has a substantial amount of training and experience as an accountant, was hired from the private sector. After the close of the fiscal 2013 budget process the team took on an interactive role in collaborating with all the department heads and provided an open forum to talk about what worked and what did not work in the budget process. The department heads were very candid in exchanging information and that was utilized along with information provided by the County Council to see how to strengthen the budget process in fiscal 2014. We put together a very comprehensive detailed strategic plan and a calendar of all significant events that had to occur in fiscal 2014; we have met most of those targeted dates as we move toward the March 15 submission as well as the supplemental budget submission on May 8. This has been a very interactive and Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION I ACTION aggressive process and we hope the end result is a far more effective budget tool that can be used to serve the people of Kaua'i. Our most significant responsibility is the diligent and effective delivery of services to our people. While we have an obligation under the Charter to submit a balanced budget only the County Council has the authority to enact the annual budget so the interrelated cooperation and collaboration cannot be understated. For the record it was noted that Mr. Low was present and arrived at 3:09 p.m. bringing the quorum to 5 people. Approval of Open Session Minutes of January 22, 2013 Mr. Morita moved to approve the minutes of Minutes January 22 as circulated. Mr. Maerina seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Open Session Minutes of January 29, 2013 Mr. Low moved to approve the minutes of January 29 as circulated. Mr. Morita seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Business CSC 2012-29 Implementation of the Human Resources Department (On- going) b. Update from the Director of Personnel Services on the Transition Plan for the Implementation of the Human Resources Department(On-going) Mr. Takatsuki said the Department is currently almost fully staffed; the only position not filled is the HR Specialist, Labor Relations and is dependent on whether this position will be dollar funded on March 1t. Renovations within DPS to accommodate the new staff have been completed as well as the accommodations within the Office of Boards and Commissions. DPS received approval for the funding to purchase the equipment which will take 2 to 3 weeks to receive. Organization and location of staff is still being worked out and the HR Workers Comp and Employment Section remains within the Office of Boards and Commissions. The issue of the HRIS system is still there and Mr. Takatsuki was happy the Chair brought this up to Administration so they are aware this needs to be in place. The Department is trying to make do with SunGard but there are some concerns and issues that have to be addressed to Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION make sure the information in the system is accurate and current. The file centralization is still a struggle with certain departments. DPS agreed to the Fire Department's request to update their files before turning them over. In reviewing the Police Department files,they turned over copies of the files so Mr. Takatsuki is scheduling a meeting with the Deputy Chief to make sure DPS has the original files and KPD can have the copies. The Water Department is another issue and Mr. Takatsuki said an option may be to go through the Water Board to get these files. Chair Adams asked Mr. Takatsuki to keep the Commission apprised in ways they can assist him to complete this task. Based on the concerns from the departments, DPS gave the department heads and supervisors an opportunity to go through orientation training as to what the process is all about. Mr. Takatsuki said he hopes to have the comments from that training put together to share with the Commission at the next meeting. The comments will help address situations or concerns that the departments have but as a whole it was a very worthwhile orientation session. Asked how many people attended the orientation,Mr. Takatsuki said there were 59 people. Mr. Morita asked once this system is in place will there be an audit to make sure everything is up to par and vacations and sick leave are current. Mr. Takatsuki said every department currently keeps their own record of vacation and sick leave and as far as Mr. Takatsuki knows it is done manually. Mr. Takatsuki said audits may have been done but he is not sure. Ms. Matsumoto said it is checked periodically between payroll and personnel. Ms. Matsumoto asked based on the current table of organization, how long before it is at the level of the recommendation of the Task Force. Mr. Takatsuki said he would have a difficult time saying because he has not had time to evaluate the current staff. Based on the past 6 months,they have been progressing slowly but there are a few clerks Mr. Takatsuki would like to move up to a professional position. Ms. Matsumoto asked if DPS was Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION planning to incorporate that into the next budget. Mr. Takatsuki said based on what they have been told it was not built into the FY '14 budget. Ms. Matsumoto said to carry out what the Task Force recommended that level of staff is needed. The Work Comp Section is okay because there is the 2 levels. The Recruitment and Exam Section has 2 HR Managers and 2 HR IIs. HR Labor Relations has the HR Specialists in place. The HR Assistant was moved to a Personnel Management Specialist I. The HR Specialist I in Labor Relations is still vacant. Ms. Matsumoto said the transactions were supposed to be under the clerical side and the reason the Task Force did that was because it was felt if there was an HRIS, eventually the bulk of the duties would be clerical and that would be where the transactions ended up and why instead of a manager over them it was supposed to be a Specialist. Mr. Takatsuki said there was a slight change because when they went through the whole recruitment and interview process they could not find anyone. Ms. Matsumoto asked if they would eventually get to where the Task Force recommended. Mr. Takatsuki said the bottom line is to get to where the Task Force recommended. Right now, the Secretary is overseeing the HR clerks but eventually the Private Secretary should not be overseeing the clerks. The person doing part of the function of benefits is also doing all of the employee orientation. c. Memo dated 8/29/12 to the Director of Personnel transmitting input from the County Agencies to the Civil Service Commission regarding transition to the Human Resources Department(On-going) 1) Response dated 8/9/12 from the Transportation Agency 2) Response dated 8/9/12 from the Department of Public Works 3) Response dated 8/14/12 from the Fire Department 4) Response dated 8/14/12 from the Police Department Chair Adams said she is inclined to remove these from the agenda if Mr. Takatsuki can assure the Commission the issues have been addressed. Mr. Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 8 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Takatsuki said most of the issues have been addressed but DPS is still working on the issues of the recruitment process and the flow charts and when that is complete there will be another orientation for department heads who still have people involved in the overall operation of the department. Most of the concerns brought up are being done, although it is piece-meal. Mr. Takatsuki said this could be removed from the agenda and DPS will keep the Commission up-to-date on issues that are brought up. CSC 2013-04 Report on Findings and Recommendations by the Civil Service Commission Investigative committee on Performance Evaluations pursuant to HRS §92-2.5 Chair Adams noted that Janine Rapozo was present and was part of the committee working with Roy Morita, John Low and Cathy Adams and Suzanne before John came on board. Mr. Morita moved to receive the report. Mr. Low seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Chair Adams said they spent more than a year working on the recommendations which originally came out of the desire to make changes to the evaluation process. The subcommittee did a survey of board members, commission members, managers, directors, and appointees asking for their input about the current evaluation system and areas of concern. From there the process of working on making changes to the form started. The generic evaluation form that was being used had inappropriate questions for almost every group so we needed to create a tool that asked the right questions of the right people. The subcommittee came up with 3 tools: one if you are a commission member, one if you are a member of administration, and one if you are a peer to someone being evaluated. With these 3 tools,the questions were tailored for those groups. For example,the administration questionnaire asked about finance which was always a sticking point in the old tool because commission members did not know about finance. The policies and procedures were also tweaked so the weighting of the tools was divided amongst the 3 various groups depending on who is being evaluated. For a Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 9 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION mayor appointed department head, 100%of the scoring comes from the mayor. If someone is a commission appointed department head, 51%comes from the commission and 49% comes from the mayor. For the county attorney, 50% comes from the mayor and 50% from the county council. 100% of the evaluation comes from the department head for a deputy. The county auditor or county clerk will be evaluated 100%by the county council. The subcommittee has done a total revamp of the process and now this tool can go to DPS/HR for feedback and questions or concerns. Mr. Morita said an important factor for him was receiving input from the peers that will be shared not only with the appointing authority but also with the Mayor. Currently with the evaluations the Mayor would see pass or fail but at least he is being allowed to participate in the review of the people that he is in charge of The Mayor or his designated representative is responsible for approving the performance evaluation for the appointee's administrative policy and procedure. Mr. Morita said he was shocked that pay raises are based on pass or fail. Mr. Takatsuki said currently evaluations for the department heads and the deputies are submitted to the Director of Personnel. The Director reviews it and makes recommendations to the Salary Commission as to whether they did or did not meet the evaluation process to get the pay increase and would assume this new process has taken into consideration all of those issues. Chair Adams said when issues came up they were referred to the County Attorneys for their opinions and their recommendations are included in the findings as well. Chair Adams said the interesting section is the Department of Personnel Services is responsible for the development and implementation of the executive appointee's performance evaluation program, including the determination of forms and procedures used, so the subcommittee will turn over this report to DPS. Mr. Takatsuki confirmed that the Salary Commission's recommendations are the maximum pay for that position. Salary recommendations would be made by the commissions for directors appointed by them. Deputy department heads would be at the rate recommended by Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 10 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION their department head. Ms. Rapozo told Mr. Morita that the Salary Commission set a Salary Resolution that basically required performance evaluations in order for an executive appointee to get their raise. However, when the subcommittee met and revised the administrative policies and procedures as set forth by the Personnel Director, the wording was changed from having an evaluation regularly to having an evaluation annually so if the Salary Commission changes that as far as setting up a certain date that would be part of the Resolution. Mr. Low said it is a good idea to require an evaluation prior to receiving a salary increase but it is equally important as an evaluation tool in identifying and documenting any performance that is above standard so those employees are recognized for doing a good job. Reversely,it can be used to identify and document substandard performance where improvement is needed and Mr. Low did not know how to do that without an appraisal tool. Chair Adams asked Mr. Takatsuki to review the report and make any recommendations back to the Commission and then it can go to the Salary Mr. Maerina moved to adopt the Revised Commission with the new tool. Performance Evaluation tool as submitted by the subcommittee and to be sent to DPS for review and recommendations. Ms. Matsumoto seconded the motion. Mr. Morita said he enjoyed working with the subcommittee and especially wanted to thank Janine Rapozo for all of her work. Chair Adams said she would also like to recognize and thank John Isobe who was seated at the back Motion carried 5:0 of the room CSC 2013-05 Memorandum dated 2/13/13 from Sandi Sterker, Cost Control Commission Chair, requesting an appearance from the Civil Service Commission at their March 11, 2013 meeting to respond to questions regarding the implementation of a Human Resource Information System Mr. Morita moved to receive the Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 11 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION (HRIS) communication. Mr. Maerina seconded the motion. Chair Adams said Mr. Takatsuki should attend the Cost Control meeting with her to address their questions. Motion carried 5:0 Mr. Takatsuki stated he would be on the Big Island for arbitration on that date. Director's CSC 2013-01 a. Weekly Report Ending January 6, 2013 Report b. Weekly Report Ending January 13, 2013 c. Weekly Report Ending January 20, 2013 d. Weekly Report Ending February 8, 2013 Mr. Morita thanked Mr. Takatsuki for simplifying his report. Mr. Takatsuki said it is not the way Administration wants the report so he will revert to the format that was being used by the former Director. Mr. Low moved to receive the reports. Mr. Maerina seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Executive Attorney Guyot read the Hawaii Revised Session Statutes provision as outlined on the agenda to take the Commission into Executive Session to take action on the Executive Session Minutes and to consider the hiring of an employee or officer of the County where consideration of matters affecting privacy will be involved. Mr. Low moved to go into Executive Session at 4:06 p.m. Mr. Morita seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Return to Open The meeting resumed in Open Session at 4:47 Session p.m. Ratify Commission actions taken in Executive Session for items: o ES-003 and ES-23 Mr. Maerina moved to ratify actions taken in Civil Service Commission Open Session February 26, 2013 Page 12 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Executive Session to approve the minutes of January 22 and 29 and to accept documents for further consideration in the hiring of an employee or officer. Mr. Low seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Announcements Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 —3:00 p.m. Adjournment Chair Adams adjourned the meeting at 4:49 p.m. Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Barbara Davis, Staff Support Clerk Catherine Adams, Chair ( ) Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting.