A charter change on the November ballot would give the commission more time to study county operations.

The Hawaii County Cost of Government Commission is a volunteer body with a sweeping mandate to find ways to make government more efficient and effective.

To that end, the most recent commission proposed changes in its own operations that will be on the Big Island ballot this year.

Members who served on the Cost of Government Commission in 2022 wanted to change the Hawaii County Charter to set new deadlines for the mayor to appoint the nine-member commission and for the commission to submit its recommendations to the mayor and the County Council.

The aim of the proposals was twofold, according to Commission Chairman Michael Konowicz.

Main Hawaii County Police Department building in Hilo. Photo: Tim Wright
The Hawaii County Police Department headquarters in Hilo. The Hawaii County Cost of Government Commission currently has just 11 months to study all county government operations — including the police — and then make recommendations for improvements. The proposed charter change would give the commission more time to do its work. (Tim Wright/ Civil Beat 2021)

Commission members wanted more time to do their work. They also wanted to allow enough time for the mayor and council to consider and act on the commission’s proposals before the two-year election cycle changes the makeup of the council.

Their suggestion is on the Hawaii County ballot as .

The commission’s job is to study the organization and operations of county departments and agencies, including boards and commissions, and “determine what changes, if any, may be desirable” to carry out their missions, according to the .

Currently the charter requires the mayor to appoint the nine commission members a year after the mayor takes office, with one member of the commission appointed from each of the nine council districts.

Each new commission then has 11 months after the members are appointed to study all of county government and make recommendations, a daunting undertaking since Hawaii County now has 2,800 employees.

The commission in 2022 made dozens of proposals for changes in county government in areas ranging from processing building permits to maintaining county vehicles. But those recommendations reached the council in late 2022, just as some key council members were poised to leave office.

County Council member Jenn Kagiwada, who co-introduced the charter change proposal, wants the schedule for the commission’s work adjusted to avoid that time crunch.

She said the deadline for submitting the final commission report should ensure “that it isn’t coming at the end of people’s terms, because then they can’t do anything about it, they can’t do anything with that information, their terms are up.”

Under Proposal No. 3, the mayor would have 18 months after taking office to appoint the commission. The commission would then have 20 months from the time it is appointed to produce its recommendations.

The council voted earlier this year to put that charter proposal on the ballot, and Mayor Mitch Roth’s administration is supporting it, according to county Managing Director Deanna Sako.

If voters approve the charter change, the new schedule would require the next mayor to appoint the Cost of Government Commission by early December 2025. The commission would then report back to the mayor and council with its recommendations by August 2027.

That would give the mayor and council more time to carefully consider the commission’s recommendations before the 2028 election reshuffles the political leadership of the county.

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