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HomeMy WebLinkAbout 02/13/2013 Special Council Meeting SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2013 The Special Meeting of the Council of the County of Kaua`i, was called to Rice Street, Suite 2 1 order by the Council Chair at the Council Chambers, 4396 e 0 , Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 8:44 a.m., after which the following members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Tim Bynum Honorable Gary L. Hooser Honorable Ross Kagawa Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura Honorable Mel Rapozo Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Jay Furfaro, Council Chair APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Mr. Rapozo moved for approval of the agenda as circulated, seconded by Ms. Yukimura, and unanimously carried. INTERVIEW: FIRE COMMISSION: • Savita Agarwal —Term ending 12/31/2015 Chair Furfaro: Aloha and good morning. Thank you for your patience in us getting started this morning. I would like to say that I have the order of the day, and I will be willing to pass it out for you folks because we have several sessions that by ha will involve various-attendances b Leg al Counsel on some of the upcoming Executive Session items. We will start with our interview, and I would like to ask Savita Agarwal to come up. SAVITA AGARWAL: Good morning to all of you. Chair Furfaro: Aloha. First, I want to say thank you very much for offering your participation on the Fire Commission. I would like to start by welcoming you and asking you—although we have copies of your biography, if I could ask you to tell the Councilmembers a little bit about yourself. Ms. Agarwal: Aloha, my name is Savita Agarwal. I am married to Doctor Kumar. Most of you know me as Mrs. Kumar. Kaua`i is home for me, and I live in Kalaheo. I would like to extend a mahalo to all of you for serving our community. The reason why I am here is because I care for the safety, health, and welfare of our island community. It is my way of giving back to the community. I admire the men and women of the Fire Department for the noble work that they are doing. They are the first responders in any emergency. I also admire their coordination with the Police Department and the Paramedics to provide the emergency services needed to the injured. Being on the island, they have an added responsibility, and that is Ocean Safety. I do know that the rule of the Commission is to appoint and review the Fire Chief, review the Rules for the Administration and ih P S IOcvv cws) SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 2 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 Budget, and make recommendations to the Mayor and the County Council, and also hear citizen complaints and make the recommendations to the Fire Chief. I would like to do my part as a member of the Commission to increase awareness in the community about the services provided by the Fire Department. I would also like to understand the challenges that our Fire Department is facing, which may be staffing on the Administration side, Management training at the National level, accreditation by the National Agencies, and I do understand that it is a very stressful job. Therefore, an ongoing education and training in Stress Management could be required. Training is also helpful to improve job satisfaction, the relationship between Management and employees, so that the possible Worker's Compensation Claims could be awarded in the future. Last but not least, a smooth coordination between the Fire Department and the County, and the community for all the needed services. That is all I have to say. Mahalo. Chair Furfaro: Very nice presentation in covering the knowledge of the scope of being a Commissioner in the Fire Department. Thank you very much. I will turn the questions over to the members now. Members, do you have questions for our candidate? Mr. Bynum. Mr. Bynum: Good morning, Savita. I just wanted to thank you for your willingness to serve, and I appreciate the thoughtful comments you just made that were pretty much on the mark. It is clear to me that you understand what the role is at the Fire Commission, and I think you will be a great addition to that. The only comment I want to make is that various Commissions have different responsibilities, and this is one of the Commissions that also have responsibility, in essence, for the hiring and firing of the Chief and evaluations of that kind of thing. It is kind of a higher level of a commitment for those Commissions that are involved at that level. I assume you are aware of that, yes? Ms. Agarwal: Yes, I am. Mr. Bynum: I think you will make a great addition to the Commission. I appreciate your willingness to serve. Chair Furfaro: Members? Mr. Kagawa. Mr. Kagawa: Thank you, Savita, for volunteering your time to serve. Like Mr. Bynum said, I know you are going to do a good job. I have seen you at a lot of the County Council forums with your husband, and I can see that you deeply care about the island and the issues that we face. Again, I just want to thank you for volunteering your time, and I know you will do a good job. Ms. Agarwal: Mahalo. Chair Furfaro: Go right ahead, Vice Chair. Ms. Nakamura: Thank you, Savita, for putting your name forward. I just wanted to reiterate what Councilmember Bynum mentioned. This Commission has a higher level of duty according to the Charter to oversee the Fire Chief. Part of that to me involves the evaluation of the Chief, and to evaluate it based on measures that both the Commission and the Chief agree upon. In my opinion, the strategic plan for the Fire Department is a critical document that every Commissioner should be aware of. I hope you have a chance, in the near future, to SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 3 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 look at that, and to then hold the Department accountable to the goals and objectives outlined in that plan. I just wanted to impart that and hope that you take that portion of your job very seriously. Ms. Agarwal: That is a really good point. Yes. Once I am selected, I will definitely do my best to achieve that goal. Ms. Nakamura: I know you will. Thank you very much. Chair Furfaro: Councilmember Yukimura. Ms. Yukimura: Good morning, Savita. Ms. Agarwal: Good morning, JoAnn. Ms. Yukimura: Knowing you, and also having heard your presentation, which I think in the many years I have served in this Council, is the best presentation I have heard, in terms of understanding the role that you are soon to enter, and your thoughtfulness in considering issues that are important to that role that you play and to the Department that you oversee. I know that you will be doing an excellent job, and I do not have any questions, but I do want to thank you. I am very excited that you will be on the Board. I know you will give your very best to it. Thank you. Ms. Agarwal: Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Mr. Rapozo. Mr. Rapozo: I have no questions. I just wanted to say thank you for stepping up to serve. I have no doubt that you will do a great job. I look forward to the Fire Commission going forward with you as an addition. Thank you, good luck, and we will obviously be supporting your appointment. Thank you. Ms. Agarwal: Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Mr. Hooser. Mr. Hooser: I just wanted to add my mahalo to you for being willing to serve and echo what Councilmember Yukimura said, and others I think, that certainly in the time that I have been here in just a few months, I think your opening remarks and statements showed that more than anyone else that I have spoken to on other Commissions, that you are serious about this. You have done your homework, you have read about it, and that you have thought about it., That is what I am looking for. I am sure all of us are looking for people who are going to serve who take it seriously. You demonstrated that, I think to me, personally. I want to thank you for treating it with the seriousness that it deserves. Thank you very much and good luck. Ms. Agarwal: Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Any other members? I too, want to thank you very much for stepping forward. I think the parameters that you outlined in the very beginning about the role of a Commissioner, you certainly understand our SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 4 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 expectations of your volunteer contributions, and the needs that the Fire Department has. I would like to say that one of the things I would like to see that the Commission pursue a little bit more—because I will definitely be supporting your Commission, is that we need to revisit the Water Safety Departments Strategic Plan, as it relates to six (6) drownings in the last twenty-one (21) days on Kaua`i. It is part of the Fire Department that our fine Water Safety Officers are there, but we need to think through that part of their role as it relates to the tragedy that has faced us in recent days. There were five (5) ocean fatalities, one fresh water fatality, and we need to see what additional resources we can focus on for Water Safety. I think the Commission can make a very big contribution there. I know you can, and you will have my support for this Commission. Thank you very much. Ms. Agarwal: I too, share the same concerns with you. It is a very valid one, and it is saddening to see and hear about all of these. I can assure you that I will do my very best to change whatever we can so we avoid all of these in the future. Chair Furfaro: Thank you for that commitment. Members, do we have any other questions for the candidate? Mahalo, again. Ms. Agarwal: Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Is there any public testimony regarding this appointment? None? Chief, thank you for being here. Let us move forward with the Special Council Meeting. COMMUNICATION: C 2013-60 Communication (01/18/2013) from the County Attorney, requesting authorization to expend funds of up to $20,000.00 for Special Counsel's continued services provided in Kaua`i Police Commission, et al. vs. Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr., in his official capacity as the Mayor of the County of Kaua`i, Civil No. 12-1-0229 (Fifth Circuit Court), and related matters. (Deferred 01/30/2013) Chair Furfaro: May I ask the County Attorney to come up? ALFRED CASTILLO, JR., County Attorney: The matter for your consideration is Executive Session 592. EXECUTIVE SESSION: ES-592 Pursuant to Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Sections 92-4, 92-5(a)(4), and Section 3.07(e) of the Kaua`i County Charter, the Office of the County Attorney requests an Executive Session with the Council to provide the Council with a briefing on Kaua`i Police Commission, et al. vs. Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr., in his official capacity as the Mayor of the County of Kauai, Civil No. 12-1-0229 (Fifth Circuit Court), and related matters. The briefing and consultation involves consideration of the powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and/or liabilities of the Council and the County as they relate to this agenda item. (Deferred 01/30/2013) Chair Furfaro: On that note, is there any public testimony on this item? Mr. Mickens. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 5 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 There being no objections, the rules were suspended to take public testimony. GLENN MICKENS: Thank you, Jay. For the record, Glenn Mickens. I have short testimony, and you have a copy of it. Before I give my testimony, I just want to say mahalo for Bill (B.C.) here, for all of the hard work that he does. So many people have been honored here at this Chambers, and I just want to say thank you to Bill for his many years of putting up with all the hours and hours that this Council has to say. I just wanted to put that on the record. Thank you, Jay. Regarding this communication, the Police Commision in their wisdom, is appealing a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court that gave the Mayor, unilateral power to make decisions that should be made by our Boards and Commissions, in my opinion. Our Charter specifically gives the Police Commission the authority to hire and fire the Chief. Although this is not explicitly stated, this Governance should certainly apply to the Commission's power to discipline the Chief. It is very good to know that the Police Commission is being represented pro-bono on the appeal. Would it not be splendid if the Mayor could also save our tax payers' money and have the County Attorney, or one of his Deputies, represent him if they should be confident enough. You are all aware of how much money we keep on spending in outside Legal Counsel. I have asked the-question many times. We have, I think, seven (7) County Attorneys and Deputies. Are some of those people not capable of handling some of these things without continuing spending twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00), fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), or a hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) on these things. I know they are busy. I know that they have their jobs, but even in this instance here, where we are asking twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) more, it just seems that we should have Deputies that are capable of handling some of these cases. I may be wrong. It just seems to me that if we have seven (7) Deputy County Attorneys, some of these issues could be. Anyway, I appreciate what this Police Commission does. I think they are doing a tremendous job, and to keep politics out of this, I think that is what the Charter meant to do, so that these people are kept separate from the Mayor so politics is not there. I think that is what they are hired, or appointed by the Mayor. I think that is why they are appointed so that they are able to do these things. That is my testimony. I thank you, Jay. Chair Furfaro: I have got something for you. Is Ken going to testify? Okay, then I will hold my comments to the end. Mr. Mickens: Thank you. KEN TAYLOR: Chair, and members of the Council. My name is Ken Taylor. I am opposed to giving the County Attorney twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) more, or up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) more for this issue. When the Mayor was first elected to Office, he appointed the County Attorney. The County Attorney last year, made a judgement call. The Mayor acted. A lot of people have been very concerned about the way that things have played out. It is time for some accountability. The Attorney made the call, so let him go to Court and defend his call. We are already spending on County Attorney's Office and Lawyers over a million dollars ($1,000,000.00) a year. I think that it is imperative that you implement the "checks and balances" that we so often hear exist. I do not often see it happening, but you do have the opportunity today to show the checks and balances and say, "County Attorney, appointed by the Mayor. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 6 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 You made the call. Now, go to Court and be accountable for your call." I think it is that simple. You do not give tax payers' money up to another twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) to this activity. I think it is imperative that you say "no" to this additional twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00). Unfortunately, I did not step up and talk about it the last time this was on the agenda, but as I thought more about it, it is definitely an issue that has to be addressed. It is time for some accountability. When a Department Head makes a judgment call, he needs to be held accountable for that decision. I think it is time for you folks to bite the bullet and say no more money. If the Mayor is not satisfied with the appointment that he has made, he has several choices. One, change that position. He also has a position in going to Court on this issue to reach in his pocket and pay for his own Attorney based on his decision to appoint Al as the County Attorney, and Al's decision to...in coming down with his recommendation. Please, do not give another twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) away of taxpayer money. Thank you. There being no objections, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Chair Furfaro: Before I call a vote for us to go into Executive Session, I do want to say a couple of things. The nature of this whole process right now to me is saddening. It is very saddening. I want to say that when the Commissioners came to see me about getting a Court judgment, they indicated to me that if this Council approved this money, to go into Session, they would abide by the outcome. They would abide by the outcome because there is certainly a different approach to this that you gentlemen should know. We could introduce a Charter Amendment and have it determined and clarified in the Charter Amendment. That is my disappointment. They asked me to put it on the agenda, spend fifty-five thousand dollars ($55,000.00) for both parties, and they would abide by the outcome. Whether I agree with the outcome or not, I think there is a different approach to this. The second part is that I am very concerned that the Commissioners would work forward, thinking they could get pro-bono work, and not have to get the approval to accept free services from the Council. That is directed for the benefit of you two (2) gentlemen. You have conflicting testimony here as well. Should they be competent enough? Our Attorneys? How quickly we forget how many successes they have had. That is very unfair to the testimony to our entire group of Attorneys. Now, we are going to go in, and we are going to discuss these items, as they relate to the judgment calls made. In my opinion, this whole thing is based on the fact that their judgment did not include the Commissioners from the beginning, that it was consultation from the Administration on the action they wanted to take because that is the whole purpose of the Charter, which is to take the politics out of those four (4) Boards and Commissions. On that note, I hope I answered some of your comments. If there are any other comments before we vote, I will take them now. Mr. Hooser. Mr. Hooser: Yes, Council Chair. I had a question. I am not sure if it is appropriate for the County Attorney to address it or not. One of the issues raised by Mr. Mickens, I have actually been thinking about it myself in terms of the recurring request for independent Counsel or outside Counsel. It does seem to be a regular occurrance. I am wondering, in terms of the sum total of the independent Counsel, not on this particular issue, but it is just a reoccurring thing, whether or not the money would be well spent, or better spent perhaps, on expanding the Attorney's Office, or if their Attorneys can take on some of these cases, whether than always seeking independent Counsel. I think it is a valid SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 7 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 question. It is fustrating that once we hire independent Counsel for anything, and they come back and need another ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) because they are into this thing. It seems like it is very difficult to back out. I do not know if more of these cases could be handled by our own Attorneys, rather than always seeking independent Counsel. Could we ask the County Attorney for a brief explanation? Chair Furfaro: Actually, I would like to keep that as a Budget question, because we have over nine hundred and eighty thousand dollars ($980,000.00) unspent in the County Attorney Budget as it is right now. I think at Budget time, we keep allocating money for Special Counsel—I think that is a very good question, and it should be delivered to the County Attorney at Budget time. That number should shrink, and part of that shrinking certainly could be your suggestion of adding additional trial lawyers and so forth. Very good point, but I would like to reserve that to Budget time. Mr. Hooser: Yes, I am fine with that. Thank you. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Mr. Bynum. Mr. Bynum: My understanding of this item is that we would go into Executive Session, and then to vote, we would return to Open Session. Chair Furfaro: That is my understanding. Mr. Bynum: I will save my comments for that. Chair Furfaro: I just want to add onto that. Unless something is said from the Legal Counsel that applies differently, that is my understanding. Mr. Bynum: Right. Chair Furfaro: Mr. Kagawa. Mr. Kagawa: Just real quick. I just wanted to comment along the lines of what Councilmember Hooser talked about. When I look at this case, it just does not seem that difficult to put together a case. Does the Commission have the ability to hire and fire the Chief? It does not seem like a fifty-five thousand dollar ($55,000.00) case to prepare. It seems like it is pretty cut and dry in our Charter. What we have, we just try and prove your case. It is not a very complicated case. I am not an attorney. My sister is an attorney. But I think it is,a lot of money wasted, to be honest. Chair Furfaro: Again, my comments, when the Commissioners first came to me about the first draw—your question, quite frankly is very clear for me. We have four (4) Boards and Commissions. The authority lays with the Boards and Commissions to hire and fire. For us to believe anything in between about discipline, performance review, strategic plans for that Department; is between the Commissioners and the Ex-Officio, which is the Mayor. The Ex-Officio should be sharing his positions, thoughts, and directions with the Commissioners, and they should be exercising the decision. I have never worked in a business organization that you can hire somebody and you can fire somebody, but �+ iasnfr✓Pe K4"3t?rtv£3t d< a.4.., K?v5,x n- u, a xr iM1M r u �_sS_c .. ,� ." _ Ya, v ro v .+ e., __ SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 8 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 all the inbetween disciplines belong to somebody else. That is part of this question. Anyway, let us finish our dialogue here and take a vote. Councilmember Yukimura. Ms. Yukimura: Thank you, Chair. I just want to say that this is an unfortunate situation, and I think it is partly a lack of two (2) managers being able to figure out how to do things together. It is a very significant question because it is about how our Government is ran in a very fundamental way, and who is accountable to whom. I cannot see a County Corporation run by a separate Board and Commission, when they are part of one Corporation, especially when they are run by group of laypeople who meet only on a monthy basis. It is a very important structural issue. It has implications for the other Boards and Commissions, and for the other Counties. If it had ended with the Circuit Court, I think that would be fine, but the decision to appeal means that we have to argue this case very well,in a way that the seriousness recognizes how significant this legal question is. It is not a cut and dry or simple situation, but the way that we are setup, we have to go through this process now, and who knows; it may go to the Supreme Court. It is an g P knows; yg p issue of fundamental structure. Those are the things that have to go to the g s ave g Supreme Court, ultimately if the people cannot agree to work together. Chair Furfaro: Okay. Any more comments? Again, my comments were meant for those four (4) Boards and Commissions. I hope going forward, it is understood that when action is taken within those Boards and Commissions, the Mayor in his capacity as the Ex-Officio invites those Commissioners into an Executive Session, and the Mayor discusses his point of view and is able to convince the reason for his action to be taken in front of the Commissioners. I hope we are doing that at least now, going forward with Fire, Liquor, and Personnel. Mr. Rapozo moved to reconvene into Executive Session, seconded by Mr.Bynum, and carried by the following vote: FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION: Bynum, Hooser, Kagawa, Nakamura, TOTAL — 7, Rapozo, Yukimura, Furfaro AGAINST EXECUTIVE SESSION: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL 0. Chair Furfaro: Thank you very much. I suspect we will be in Executive Session until at least 10:00 a.m. There being no objections, the meeting was recessed at 9:15 a.m. There being no objections, meeting was called back to order at 11:09 a.m., and proceeded as follows: Chair Furfaro: Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude our Special Council Meeting from earlier today. We have an agenda item that requires a vote for the approval of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) as it relates to an Executive Session item. I would need a motion and a second from the members before we can have discussion, then take a vote. Mr. Rapozo moved to approve C 2013-60, seconded by Ms. Nakamura. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 9 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 Chair Furfaro: We have a motion and a second to approve, and now I would like to ask if there are discussion from the members? Councilmember Yukimura, you have the floor, followed by Mr. Bynum. Ms. Yukimura: Thank you. The motion is to approve twenty thousand dollars($20,000.00) to the Special Counsel for Mayor Carvalho in the case of the Kaua`i Police Commission versus Mayor Carvalho on the issue of the respective powers of the Mayor and the Police Chief. After the considerable discussion that we have been going through, it is very clear to me that we need clarity on this issue, and that the proper method is to go to the Courts. I will be voting for the Special Counsel. I thought the points made in public testimony, that we should use the County Attorney's Office, were well taken, but I was reminded that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel has declared the County Attorney's Office to be in conflict, and thus, unable to participate on either side of this legal battle, so our option is really just Special Counsel. We are continuing with the appeal by supporting this amount of money for Special Counsel. Chair Furfaro: Thank you. Other members? Mr. Bynum. Mr. Bynum: I am going to support this today, but I want to do it in the context of these comments, which is that this is a very important issue for our community to resolve. This is at least the third Mayor and Police Chief who has had conflicts relating to the authority between the two (2) of them. It is not a simple matter. Our County Government has integrated in lots of ways. The Mayor is an Administrator of the County, and a lot of employees of the Police Department are Civil Service employees who have to interact with Departments that the Mayor controls, like Personnel, Payroll, and Administration. Without making any comments about the merits of this case either way, because my personal belief is that there is not a very clear message in the Charter, and it could be interpreted in different ways, obviously. That is the crust of this context. When we were asked to support both the Mayor and the Commission to take this matter before the Court,we agreed as a Council. I agreed. I also heard statements from the Mayor very clearly that he would take this to Court and he would abide by the outcome of the Circuit Court. I also believe that that was the position that it was communicated to me initially, from the Police Commission. It did go to Circuit Court, and the Judge ruled. Now the choice of the Police Commission to appeal that, and to do it in a way that I am somewhat uncomfortable with that the Attorney is representing the Police Commission, have announced that they are going to do without compensation, or without further compensation is unusual. It puts the position where, "Geez, if they are moving forward and they have that right, then do we not need to support the Mayor?" I call on the Police Chief, the Police Commission, and the Mayor to look at another way to resolve these issues. They can sit down and talk to eachother. They can generate memorandums of agreement and understanding about how to deal with conflict when it arises. I do not know if that effort has been made. I would like to see that effort be made because the outcome of this is likely to end at the Hawai`i State Supreme Court. That is likely to take a couple of years or more to determine. I would like the parties involved to try to work out a memorandum of agreement and an understanding about how to deal with these unusual circumstances when conflicts arise. Having said all of that, I am going to support this. We started down this path. I thought it would end at the Circuit Court. I thought there was a commitment from both parties to abide by whatever the Circuit Court Judge decided. I could be wrong about that, and apparently I am because we are moving forward. Thank you. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING .10 FEBRUARY 13, 2013 Chair Furfaro: Other members? Mr. Rapozo. Mr. Rapozo: Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, I did not hear any statements by the Commission that—or any commitment that the Circuit Court was the end. Imagine if the Circuit Court or the District Court was the end, and there was no opportunity to appeal. The process—believe me, many decisions in Circuit Court or District Court get overturned at the Supreme Court level, for whatever reason. That opportunity exists for every client, and the Police Commission is a Client. After this process, they decided they wanted to appeal the decision because it has far reaching impacts. This affects Statewide Counties, all of the Counties, and all of the Commissions throughout the State. Their decision to appeal to a higher Court; they should not be penalized for that. That is a right under the Constitution that they have. They are a Client. This funding is that obviously, the Mayor has to defend that appeal. That is what this is. Councilmember Yukimura made the statement that our County Attorney's Office has conflict, so they cannot represent the Mayor. These are one of those that we really have no choice. What do we do? Say no? What happens? The appeal has to be defended. That is what this is for. I just want to make it clear that the Right to Appeal is a right for every entity in this Country. This is a very important issue, whether ou agree or disagree with Judge Valenciano's ruling, the fact of the matter is that I believe it should go to the Supreme Court. That is where I believe it needs to be decided, because it is a matter that affects more than just two (2) people. This has a potential of affecting all the Commissions in all Counties. Add them up. It is pretty important, so I will definitely support this, and if it needs to go to the Supreme Court, I believe that is where it should be. I think it is that important. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Chair Furfaro: Other members? Okay, I want to make a statement here before we go forward. The County of Kaua`i, as well as all of the political subdivisions in the State of Hawai`i, certainly need clear law to define the structure and the parameters within their Charters. I believe there will be a number of friendly loriefs going forward as this case moves, because it affects all Counties. I think it is important enough to get it right. Another way to get it right certainly over time is to introduce a Charter Amendment, but for all intensive purposes right now, I think having clear law is important to our democratic process, our employment laws, and all of the other processes we have with the work that the County does in our political subdivisions. I will be supporting this money as well. FOR APPROVAL: Bynum, Hooser, Kagawa, Nakamura, TOTAL — 7, Rapozo, Yukimura, Furfaro AGAINST APPROVAL: None TOTAL— 0, EXCUSED & NOT VOTING: None TOTAL — 0. ADJOURNMENT. There being no further business,the meeting was adjourned at 11:18 a.m. Respectfully submitted, •ILTAINTANIGAWA Depu bounty Clerk :aa:cy