LIHU‘E — Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said he is all about keeping Kauaians informed about the goings on of county government. “My tagline is wanting to get into everyone’s living room,” to engage everyone, even those working three jobs, Carvalho
LIHU‘E — Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said he is all about keeping Kauaians informed about the goings on of county government.
“My tagline is wanting to get into everyone’s living room,” to engage everyone, even those working three jobs, Carvalho said as he addressed the Kaua‘i Police Commission Friday in Council Chambers at the Historic County Building.
His second quarterly report card is now available at www.kauai.gov, as is the entire county budget, and as will be his third quarterly report card due in September, he said.
He said he has opened his doors to county unionized employees and union members who are not county employees.
Carvalho continued his round of “good discussions” with various county boards and commissions. There are six bodies, including the Police Commission, that have the authority to hire and fire corresponding department heads.
The mayor requested agenda time Friday to discuss county “visions and goals” and “directions and priorities for the Police Commission,” though he didn’t get into much detail about the latter.
“I’m open” to talking story, sharing his vision with various stakeholders and community leaders, said Carvalho, recalling how a meeting of island-wide community leaders, from Kekaha to Hanalei, resulted in a consensus to make such meetings quarterly.
He told the commission that he met with student government leaders at the public high schools, learning about things they wanted to talk about and issues they want to be involved in.
“I want to be part of everything that needs to be done. Again, I hope to do a better job providing information” and supporting KPD and the commission, Carvalho said.
There are some tough choices to be made, all dependent on funding, said Carvalho, adding that he has confidence in County Attorney Al Castillo and his deputies.
“We have a good, solid legal team in place,” with a deputy county attorney to be assigned to KPD and report to Castillo, as deputy county attorneys are also assigned to other county departments, like Public Works and Parks and Recreation.
He announced a plan to attempt to “come to some sort of standardized process” for those boards and commissions responsible for hiring and firing department heads, in order to facilitate the best possible decision-making and avoid litigation.
In addition to the Police Commission, which hires and fires the police chief, boards which appoint and can remove specific department heads include the Board of Water Supply (manager and chief engineer of the Department of Water), Liquor Control Commission (head of Liquor Control), Kaua‘i Fire Commission (fire chief), Planning Commission (planning director), and Civil Service Commission (director of the Department of Personnel Services).
• Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com
