The Kaua‘i County Council wants Mayor Bryan Baptiste to fill all county boards and commissions with seven members to comply with an approved charter amendment change, or face consequences. “The charter amendment that also passed now puts the onus on
The Kaua‘i County Council wants Mayor Bryan Baptiste to fill all county boards and commissions with seven members to comply with an approved charter amendment change, or face consequences.
“The charter amendment that also passed now puts the onus on the mayor to recruit an appointment,” councilman Ron Kouchi said during a meeting at the Historic County Building Wednesday. “So the question really is what happens if the mayor cannot find the names to submit to the council.”
Meeting the charter mandate will provide for smoother running of government, as the boards and commissions advise departments on county operations.
Baptiste said the council should have more patience.
“We’ve been working on filling the commissions since the charter amendment passed, increasing the number of members on boards and commissions to seven,” Baptiste said in an e-mail. “Most of them have been filled already. They just need to be confirmed by the County Council.”
While a few vacancies remain, Baptiste said, “I’m certain we’ll be able to fill them with citizens who are willing to serve the community in this capacity.”
The change would affect nine of 12 commissions and boards with five members or more, including the Board of Ethics, the Board of Review, the Civil Service Commission and Police Commission.
The county Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Review Commission and the Cost Control Commission — all having more than five members, apparently the result of existing charter provisions — would not be affected.
The charter change was among 10 of 15 charter amendments approved in the Nov. 7 general election.
Government watchdog Glenn Mickens said either the county government or the council might be in conflict with the charter change through non-compliance.
“If you are in violation, what can be done about it?” Mickens asked.
While saying he raised the same issue during Charter Commission meetings, councilmember Jay Furfaro said the council must continue to discuss the matter.
Even while government seeks an answer, Mickens predicted the county will continue to have a hard time finding new applicants for the seven-member boards and commissions.
Some residents have said Kaua‘i’s sped-up lifestyle and more family and business obligations have prevented them from seeking out non-paying jobs.
Others have voiced frustration over the lack of interest some councils have shown in recommendations they spent months developing, said Louis Abrams, who led the charter commission that developed the 15 charter amendments.
A charter amendment approved by voters this year also calls for automatic approval of the recommendations unless rejected by a majority vote of five council members, Abrams said.
Councilmember Mel Rapozo said the council should not be blamed for any delay in filling the additional board and commission seats.
“The people voted for (the charter amendment change), not this council,” Rapozo told Mickens.
The charter approval opens the way for the re-activation of the Kaua‘i County Salary Commission, which some government officials say is needed to look at raising government salaries to attract the best people for department head jobs.
Baptiste, for instance, wasn’t able to immediately fill the county engineer’s job because of low salaries.
County Engineer Donald Fujimoto, county officials have said, was the exception.
He could have worked in a higher-paying salary job, but took the county engineers post — paying $75,000 a year — to serve the public, officials said.
• Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@kauaipubco.com.
