Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017_0725_CSC_Minutes_Open_Approved COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Board/Committee: CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Meeting Date July 25, 2017 Location Mo’ikeha Building, Liquor Conference Room 3 Start of Meeting: 3:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 3:11 p.m. Present Vice Chair Jeffrey Iida. Members: Fely Faulkner; Elizabeth Hahn; Karen Matsumoto; and Vonnell Ramos Also: Deputy County Attorney Bentley Adams; Director of Human Resources Janine Rapozo; Commission Support Clerk Sandra Muragin Excused Chair Richard Jose Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order/Roll Call Prior to the meeting being called to order, Administrative Assistant to the County Clerk Eddie Topenio administered the Oath of Office to new Commissioner Vonnell Ramos appointed to serve a first term ending 12/31/2019. Vice Chair Iida: I call the County of Kaua‘i Civil Service Commission meeting to order. Roll call please. Commission Support Clerk Sandra Muragin: Fely Faulkner. Ms. Faulkner: Here. Ms. Muragin: Elizabeth Hahn. Ms. Hahn: Here. Ms. Muragin: Jeffery Iida. Vice Chair Iida: Here. Ms. Muragin: Richard Jose is excused. Karen Matsumoto. Vice Chair Iida called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. with 5 members present. Civil Service Commission Open Session July 25, 2017 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Matsumoto: Here. Ms. Muragin: Vonnell Ramos. Mr. Ramos: Here. Approval of Minutes Open Session Minutes of May 23, 2017 Vice Chair Iida: I need a motion to approve the minutes of the open session of May 23, 2017. Ms. Hahn: I move to approve the minutes of the open session of May 23, 2017. Vice Chair Iida: I need a second. Ms. Matsumoto: I second. Vice Chair Iida: Motion is carried. Any discussion? (None) All in favor? (Voice vote) Any Opposed? Ms. Faulkner: I abstain, I was absent. Vice Chair Iida: Motion passes. Ms. Hahn moved to approve the Open Session minutes of May 23 , 2017. Ms. Matsumoto seconded the motion. Motion carried 4:1 (Ms. Faulkner Abstained) Director’s Reports CSC 2017-07 2017 June CSC 2017-08 2017 July Director of Human Resources Janine Rapozo: Good afternoon Commissioners. It’s two months’ worth of reporting because you did not have a meeting last month. During the summer months we’ve been very Civil Service Commission Open Session July 25, 2017 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION busy with negotiations and approval of arbitration awards and those types of things. Since I last reported, I think it was in the news, that the Council did approve the HGEA (Hawai‘i Government Employees Association) arbitration awards that’s for units 2, 3, 4 and 13. They have varying ways that they have distributed their raises, but the bottom line is basically the first year, 2% plus step movements and 2.25% in the second year. They all have a 2-year contract right now and the step movements are where they move progressively on a salary scale every 2-3 years that amounts to about another 1.2% out of pocket cost for the employer. Overall the award was about a little over 3% for each year and that was passed unanimously by the Council. Tomorrow we hear Fire at full Council, Hawai‘i Fire Fighters Association, they have a relatively similar award coming through. At this point in committee it passed 4-3, so the vote is still very close and if everybody stays with their vote then it will pass tomorrow. We will then implement their raises which will now be retroactive because it is July 1st. Because the HGEA came through and we are on a payroll lag we were able to implement that so that there would be no retroactivity for those units. First pay is July 31st and next Monday they will see their raises. The other units tomorrow, UPW the United Public Workers Blue Collar Union will be up for ratification vote and I missed the last caucus with the UPW, I was away on vacation. My understanding is the parameters of the raises are relatively the same for all the units. UPW does not have step movements, so I think their across the board percentage is going to be a little higher and that’s up for vote tomorrow. UPW does not have the option to go to arbitration they would have to strike. They are up for ratification tomorrow, so hopefully statewide that gets approved and then we would be done with them. Next week SHOPO (State of Hawai‘i Police Officers Union) the Police Civil Service Commission Open Session July 25, 2017 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Officers Association, we will be starting arbitration hearings on August 1st, which is Tuesday. I’m the panel member representing the employer; Tanari Ma‘afala is representing the Union he is the President for SHOPO; and we have mutual arbitrator Russell Higa who is going to be serving as the panel, so the three of us. We are hopeful that we are pretty close on most of the items, again pretty much salary and a few other items. It’s not a lot of issues that we are able to settle so hoping it will go well, as well. The only other remaining unit is unit 14, which is our water safety officers. We have some, I think some tentative dates scheduled to hear them. They are the brand new unit so they are still looking for a few other items other than cost items that they are trying to get into their contract. I think the push right now that everyone is trying to settle is that the Legislature has said that they may convene in a special session because some of these units have State workers. They would need to get the Legislature to approve those settlements in order for us to implement statewide. There’s a little bit of a push knowing that the Legislature might reconvene in August. We’re hoping if all that comes through we will be done and in a few months we start again for the next two years. Other than that, on a bright note we do have our summer hires that are working in our office with our summer programs. But aside from that they are also working on a power point video with all of our departments to be used on our onboarding, when people are first hired. They are doing a video of all the departments and all the department heads are being interviewed so that we can use that with any new hires that come forward. They are excited and they like doing that media work. We are happy to have them do that because it’s something we always wanted to do but didn’t have the time to do it. Hopefully we can show it to you at a future meeting. Finally on July 17th we had a new employee join us Jennifer Tone, she took Civil Service Commission Open Session July 25, 2017 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Debbie Ponce’s place and will be assigned to the Worker’s Compensation area as well as training and safety. She comes to us from the UPW office where she worked. We welcome her onboard and we are fully staffed again and we are happy with that. Are there any questions to my two months’ report? Ms. Hahn: The only thing I had is the Governor vetoed the protection for the ocean safety officers. Ms. Rapozo: He did and I don’t remember the bill number. That bill he vetoed it because what happened is I believe there is a provision in that particular bill that said that the Attorney General would be the one having to defend the ocean safety officers if there’s any type of liability. He vetoed it in saying basically that the Counties would be the one to have to defend them. He didn’t want to put that burden on his staff. The reason that bill first came to play my understanding is we do guard some State beaches and for Kaua‘i its Kē‘ē . When that first came to play we do get a grant from the State in order to fund the water safety officers at that particular location. When that grant first came about there was concern about liability and so they had that bill in place for a few years where there was that immunity. It sunset this past Legislative session. They tried to come up with some compromise bill which is what was in front of the Governor, saying that rather than giving them immunity they were going to just have the County Attorney General go ahead and represent them should there be any law suits or anything like that. I guess the Governor did not feel that was appropriate and so he vetoed it. Ms. Hahn: My question is, and I don’t know if you can answer it, my understanding is they are covered by liability as long as they stay within a designated area. If they get called outside that area that’s when they are Civil Service Commission Open Session July 25, 2017 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION open. Is that when they’re open to exposure? Ms. Rapozo: I’m not sure if that’s the case. My understanding when we had the discussion with the County Attorney’s office was as long as they are within the scope of their work and they’re doing something that is not egregious or maliciously done, they would be covered under our liability. Vice Chair Iida: Any other questions. Ms. Matsumoto: Did you check on whether they had (inaudible) insurance, as part of the general liability? Ms. Rapozo: I think once this bill was going to be vetoed and actually the other bill sunset, Director of Finance Ken Shimonishi did contact our insurance company, and I believe we’re adding a little bit more liability insurance to specifically cover the water safety officers. Vice Chair Iida: Anything else? Janine I have a question about the UPW. You said they need to ratify, it’s a statewide ratification. If some other County doesn’t want it, then it goes…. Ms. Rapozo: Yes so it’s the entire state vote. Vice Chair Iida: That’s what I wanted to know. That makes it difficult if somebody else doesn’t want it. Ms. Rapozo: Yes, we don’t have the majority here. Vice Chair Iida: Exactly, okay that’s what I wanted to know, because I know that would make a big difference. Civil Service Commission Open Session July 25, 2017 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Rapozo: Yes. Vice Chair Iida: Okay, thank you. Ms. Hahn: I have one more question. Why is it that UPW is not subject to arbitration? Ms. Rapozo: My understanding is that it’s just part of Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS). I believe its UPW and teachers that do not have arbitration. I’m not sure about UHPA (University of Hawai‘i Professional Assembly), university professors, but that’s just the way the laws written in HRS as to who has the right to go into arbitration and who has the right to go to strike. I don’t know the background on the why. Vice Chair Iida: Anything else? Thank you. Announcements Next Meeting: Tuesday, August 22, 2017 – 3:00 p.m., Mo’ikeha Building, Liquor Conference Room 3 Adjournment Vice Chair Iida: Any concerns? Okay this meeting is adjourned. Ms. Muragin: Chair, can you please have someone move and second. Ms. Hahn: I move we adjourn. Ms. Faulkner: Second. Deputy County Attorney Bentley Adams: Are you going to take a vote? Vice Chair Iida: All in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) All Opposed? (None) Ms. Hahn moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:11 p.m. Ms. Faulkner seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0. Civil Service Commission Open Session July 25, 2017 Page 8 Submitted by: __________________________________ Reviewed and Approved by: _________________________________________ Sandra Muragin, Commission Support Clerk Jeffery Iida, Vice Chair ( X ) Approved as circulated. 8/22/17 ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of ___________ meeting.