• Integrity in government Integrity in government By Horace Stoessel Here is a synopsis of testimony I submitted to the Charter Review Commission: I advocate writing a new charter now. A new charter will not guarantee integrity in government, but
• Integrity in government
Integrity in government
By Horace Stoessel
Here is a synopsis of testimony I submitted to the Charter Review Commission:
I advocate writing a new charter now. A new charter will not guarantee integrity in government, but an updated charter can foster sound practices and may forestall potential corruption.
The charter was written for a different time. Population, budget, and complexity in daily life and government have grown exponentially since the charter was first adopted 35 years ago.
The charter has been amended dozens of times. Between 1972 and 1984 alone the voters approved 36 of 61 amendments. The charter resembles an old-time inner tube that has been patched so many times it has patches on its patches. At some point patching becomes counter-productive, and the need for a new charter becomes evident.
Advocating a new charter implies no disrespect for the original charter commission. They wisely foresaw a day in which not only amendments but a new charter would be appropriate, and they provided the situation to be evaluated every 10 years.
Merely correcting contradictions, ambiguities, and gaps in the charter is not enough. Conceptual changes are necessary and desirable as well. For example:
A top priority should be changing to a council-county manager form of government, where the mayor becomes the elected leader of the council and the council hires a qualified professional to manage the administration (There are island residents experienced in and familiar with the advantages of this arrangement).
The county attorney, like the prosecutor, should be elected. The office needs to be, and to be perceived as, free from political interference.
Every official and agency receiving an opinion from the county attorney should be required to file the opinion with the county clerk for the public record except where compelling reasons justify withholding it from the public.
Just to “study and review the operation of the county government under this new charter” is a formidable task, if done right. But to write a new charter is a monumental undertaking, requiring support and participation from the public as well as extraordinary commitment from the commission.
The needs of the community, not the magnitude of the task, should govern the decision about a new charter.
I believe the commission owes it to the public to explain why a new charter is not needed if that is the decision you reach.
Horace Stoessel is a resident of Kapa‘a.
