Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout 04/19/2017 Committee of the Whole minutes MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE April 19, 2017 A meeting of the Committee of the Whole of the Council of the County of Kaua`i, State of Hawai`i, was called to order by Mel Rapozo, Chair, at the Council Chambers, 4396 Rice Street, Suite 201, Lihu`e, Kaua`i, on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, at 3:36 p.m., after which the following Members answered the call of the roll: Honorable Arthur Brun Honorable Mason K. Chock Honorable Arryl Kaneshiro Honorable Derek S.K. Kawakami Honorable JoAnn A. Yukimura Honorable Mel Rapozo Excused: Honorable Ross Kagawa The Committee proceeded on its agenda item as follows: COW 2017-02 Communication (03/30/2017) from Council Chair Rapozo, requesting the presence of the Director of Human Resources, to provide a briefing on the negotiated agreements for all collective bargaining units over the last twenty (20) years, as it relates to salary increases, increased benefits, and other raises received (e.g., standard of conduct differential pay, other allowances, et cetera). (This item was Deferred to May 10, 2017.) Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to receive COW 2017-02 for the record, seconded by Councilmember Brun. Council Chair Rapozo: This is on the agenda at the request of Councilmember Kagawa, as we roll into budget decision-making. He had to leave and has asked if we could ultimately defer this at the end of the day. I will open it up for public testimony if there is any. I will suspend the rules. Do we have registered speakers? CODIE K. YAMAUCHI, Council Services Assistant I: Yes, just Glenn Mickens. COW COMMITTEE MEETING 2 APRIL 19, 2017 Council Chair Rapozo: Mr. Mickens. There being no objections, the rules were suspended. GLENN MICKENS: For the record, Glenn Mickens. This is being deferred, right? Okay. Will all due respect for our Department of Human Resources (HR) Director and those responsible for the duties, that this department has in the operation of our government. I do not believe that the many problems that we have are adequately being taken care of. Let me give you some information about HR Managers and their responsibilities—this is from the internet—"Given the wide range of responsibilities for which HR Managers are held accountable, they need a wide range of skills, abilities, and qualifications. HR Managers interact with every level within the organization, from the executive level decision-makers to the department managers and productive staff. Therefore, their qualifications are broad and encompassing, able to justify budget allocations as easily as they monitor workplace investigations and resolve conflicts among the workforce." Until I delve into the responsibilities of the HR Department, I had no idea that its duties were so all encompassing. In my opinion, if this department was doing their job adequately, and we had a county manager, many of our problems would disappear fast. I say this not only for our HR Director, but for all departments, that the heads of these departments should—you have heard it before—be qualified for the job they get; not a political appointment, but a job they get for being qualified. I see that all of the time in this government of ours here where people are hired for political reasons. The top cannot...obviously, if they do not know what they are doing, they cannot get the people under them to be able to do the job properly. I think this is a big thing. Lonnie Sykos has a lot of expertise in this, so I was hoping he would be here. When will this be deferred to Council Chair? May 10th? Okay. Hopefully Lonnie can be here at that time. I do not think I have said anything that any of you folks are not completely in agreement with, having qualified people at the head of our operation. Thank you. Council Chair Rapozo: Thank you. Next speaker. MATT BERNABE: Matt Bernabe, for the record. This was the agenda item that I waited all day for; however, I am perfectly fine with a deferral and coming back. I am a little bit depleted already for the day. This is one of those subjects that you folks have already heard my opinion on. I will save the energy for May 10th. I will make sure I am here, no matter what, even if my other leg gets cut off, I am going to hop over here. You have to tease yourself sometimes. With that said, I am glad it is on the agenda. I look forward to the discussion. We will have it then. Thank you. COW COMMITTEE MEETING 3 APRIL 19, 2017 Council Chair Rapozo: Any other public testimony? Seeing none, I will call the meeting back to order. Any discussion before we entertain the motion to defer? There being no further testimony, the meeting was called back to order, and proceeded as follows: Councilmember Kaneshiro moved to defer COW 2017-02 to the May 10, 2017 Committee Meeting, seconded by Councilmember Brun, and carried by a vote of 6:0:1 (Councilmember Kagawa was excused). Council Chair Rapozo: With no further business, this meeting is adjourned. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:41 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ttipk,e, Codie K. Yamauchi Council Services Assistant I APPROVED at the Committee Meeting held on May 10, 2017: ItAktuaLferro...7 MEL RAPOZO Chair, COW Committee