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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014_0718_Minutes Open_APPROVED COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Approved as circulated 8/22/14 Board/Committee : BOARD OF ETHICS Meeting Date July 18, 2014 Location Mo ` ikeha Building, Liquor Conference Room 3 Start of Meeting: 1 : 03 p.m. End of Meeting : 1 :46 p.m. Present Chair Calvin Murashige; Secretary Brad Nagano. Members : Kathy Clark; Ryan de la Pena; Maureen Tabura; Mary Tudela Staff: Deputy County Attorney Nicholas Courson; Boards & Commissions Office : Support Clerk Barbara Davis; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura Excused Vice-Chair Warren Perry Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Prior to the start of the meeting, Council Administrative Assistant Eddie Topenio gave the Oath of Office to new Board members Maureen Tabura and Mary Tudela. Call To Order Chair Murashige called the meeting to order at 1 : 03 p.m. with 6 members present Approval of Regular Open Session Minutes of June 20, 2014 Ms. Clark moved to approve the minutes as Minutes circulated. Mr. de la Pena seconded the motion. Motion carried 6 : 0 (2 silent) Business BOE 2014-04 Review and discussion of Ethics Disclosure Statements (deferred from 6/20/ 14 meeting) a. County of Kauai b. City and County of Honolulu C . County of Maui d. County of Hawaii e. State of Hawaii — Lon form orm f. State of Hawaii — Short form Chair Murashige referenced the concerns currently happening with the State ' s disclosures and said he does not want to discourage people from serving on boards and commissions, but he is looking at this from a different perspective. The Chair asked Deputy Attorney Courson to research whether Kauai can have two standards of the disclosure; one for Board of Ethics Open Session July 18, 2014 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION elected officials who are being paid such as the mayor, the council, the prosecutor, deputy prosecutors, county attorney and deputy county attorney and a different disclosure form similar to the current one being used for appointees who serve on a pro bono basis. It was noted that might require a charter amendment. Asked why two separate disclosure forms, Chair Murashige noted the recent controversy with the State disclosures in which comments in the newspaper from those who serve on commissions felt it was a privacy issue, which led to their resignations. Since Kauai focuses primarily on the board member or council person, and not their families, there has not been as much comment on the privacy matter. The State and some of the counties use categories for financial income rather than listing a specific amount. Kauai candidates for an elected office are required to file a disclosure, which is a requirement of the County Ordinance. Ms. Clark noted in her four years on the Board this is the third time the Board has discussed disclosure forms, and a lot of the personal information was taken out. Mr. Nagano said this issue arises frequently, but in light of what is going on with the State it is scary. Chair Murashige stated as a full time State employee he realized he had a greater obligation to reveal his financial background as opposed to someone who is a volunteer. Ms . Clark said if they were to make changes to the form perhaps it could be by using ranges instead of exact amounts for the financial disclosure section, but otherwise the form is reasonable. Chair Murashige noted it might take a Charter amendment, but those who are elected and entrusted with a great deal of responsibility should be disclosing more than what is required on the disclosure form; they should also be required to annually update the form with either a short form stating no change or a new disclosure. Ms . Clark noted when running for office the candidate is required to file with the Campaign Spending Commission; and keep that information up-to-date; Board of Ethics Open Session July 18, 2014 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION that is the money people should care about. Mr. Nagano clarified that if one is an elected official earning a salary there should be more disclosure. Mr. Nagano continued by saying he would like to see two separate disclosure forms ; one for volunteers and the other for those being paid, which would list what they are being paid in addition to their County salaries, what their holdings are, and who they are affiliated with. Ms. Clark said the case could be made for wanting to know the same information about someone on the Board of Ethics. Ms . Tudela said the current form does ask for amount and source of income, and she thought the current process was to ensure there are no conflicts . Staff informed the Board that although the Charter and Hawaii Revised Statutes require reporting of specific information, it is the Board' s decision to create a form in a manner they deem appropriate to gather that information. Chair Murashige said he would like to see categories of income rather than specific amounts and suggested the Deputy Attorney could come up with those categories. Mr. Nagano moved to defer further discussion to the next meeting. Ms. Clark seconded the motion. Motion carried 6 : 0 Disclosures a. JoAnn A. Yukimura (Candidate for County Council) b. Dustin Barca (Candidate for Mayor) C . Joseph J. Furfaro (Candidate for County Council) d. Maureen Tabura (Board of Ethics) e. Mary Tudela (Board of Ethics) Ms. Clark moved to receive and deem complete disclosures a, c, d, e with disclosure b returned for clarification on section 11 as to whether Mr. Barca is employed or not. Mr. Nagano seconded the motion. Motion carried 6 : 0 Executive Attorney Courson stated that pursuant to H.R. S . Session § 92-41 H.R. S . § 92-5 (a) (4), and 92-9 (a)( 1 -4)(b) the Board is going into Executive Session for Board of Ethics Open Session July 18, 2014 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION item ES-006 as fully described in the posted agenda and to review the Investigative Report for the file on a closed complaint. Ms. Clark moved to go into Executive Session at 1 : 32 p.m. Mr. de la Pena seconded the motion. Motion carried 6 : 0 Return to Open The meeting resumed in Open Session at 1 :45 p.m. Session Announcements Next Meeting: Friday, August 22, 2014, 1 : 00 p.m. Adjournment Chair Murashige adjourned the meeting at 1 :46 p.m. Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Barbara Davis, Staff Support Clerk Calvin Murashige, Chair O Approved as circulated. ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting.