Big Island Voters Asked To Impose New Deadlines For Filling Top County Jobs
Mayor Mitch Roth opposes the charter change, saying it wouldn’t allow enough time to search for the best department heads.
A clash between Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth and the Hawaii County Council over appointments of department heads will finally be resolved by the voters this fall through a proposed charter amendment.
Last spring the council voted to put the charter amendment on the ballot to require the mayor to appoint all department heads — such as the director of Department of Public Works and the head of the Department of Parks and Recreation — within 30 days of taking office.
The would also require the mayor to fill department head positions within 60 days when those positions are vacated in the middle of the mayor’s term.
Roth , saying in a March 19 veto message that the 30- and 60-day appointment windows don’t allow enough time for statewide or national searches for the best candidates.
He said the restrictions might make it impossible to even have a “meaningful interview process” to screen all of the candidates applying to become top county executives.
“A Mayor, and the people of Hawaii County, deserve a meaningful period to fill these essential positions,” Roth wrote in his veto message.
The council overrode Roth’s veto, putting the issue on the Nov. 5 ballot for the voters to decide. It is .
The proposed charter amendment was initiated by , who said the measure is designed to ensure that future councils have a say in who is serving as heads of different agencies in each administration.
The charter proposal was originally an effort to prevent department heads from taking office until after they are confirmed by the council. But the council scrapped that idea, and instead focused on a more narrow issue.
Inaba said it is possible under the existing charter for a department head to be appointed by a mayor and confirmed by the council, and then remain in that same position without any further council action when the mayor is re-elected, or even when a new mayor is elected.
He called that a “gray area” in the charter. Inaba contends every department head appointed by the mayor should be subject to the council confirmation process at the start of each administration, even if they are holdover appointments.
“It gives the opportunity, almost as a performance review, and an opportunity for the public to chime in on who they want leading the departments,” Inaba said. “Nobody gets a free ride.”
The proposed new requirement that the mayor appoint each department head within 30 days of taking office closes that loophole, he said. The 60-day requirement for mid-term vacancies is to ensure the administration moves with “a sense of urgency” when vacancies occur, he said.
Roth said in an interview the mayor appoints the directors of 10 departments, including some that require special skills and qualifications such as engineering credentials. Those jobs are critical, and the administration needs time to advertise and evaluate the applicants, he said.
“I think it just sets unreasonable expectations, and it forces you to rush something that you may not want to rush,” he said. “You want to find the best people possible.”
But Inaba said 30 days should be enough time because any new mayor will have spent many months campaigning, and should be thinking during that time about who to appoint to the top county executive positions.
Besides, the mayor is elected in early November and takes office in December, which means the incoming chief executive actually has more than 30 days to search for top talent, Inaba said.
During the council discussion on the proposed charter amendment, Inaba acknowledged there are no consequences specified in the charter in the event that the mayor misses one of the deadlines.
