LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho on Friday signaled his support for a proposed amendment to the County Charter that would give him more direct control in the hiring and firing of five department heads, flouting recent criticism of the
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho on Friday signaled his support for a proposed amendment to the County Charter that would give him more direct control in the hiring and firing of five department heads, flouting recent criticism of the plan from Police Chief Darryl Perry and Fire Chief Robert Westerman.
“I support the recommendation of the Charter Review Commission’s subcommittee that proposes a new method of hiring and firing five department heads that are currently appointed solely by commissions,” Carvalho said in a written statement provided by spokeswoman Mary Daubert. “This proposal maintains the role of the commissions in the process, but provides further checks and balances and gives greater accountability for these department heads to the mayor.”
When the proposal — which would impact the leadership of the Fire, Police, Planning, and Personnel Services Departments and Liquor Control Commission — was discussed by the Charter Review Commission on Feb. 22, Perry and Westerman came to voice their displeasure with the idea.
“What this does, in my opinion, is politicize the chief of police,” Perry said, noting that government leaders and religious clergy are not exempt from criminal investigations, and sensitive situations involving those entities could put police in a “very tenuous situation.”
“Put that dilemma on the chief of police and he’ll be facing major ethical issues,” Perry said.
Westerman noted that the Fire Commission was created by Kaua‘i voters less than four years ago in the 2006 election, and said that change was made to “remove the fire chief from the politics that the previous fire chiefs were in.”
While Westerman acknowledged that politics will never be entirely removed from the equation and said “the mayor is my boss,” he said the roles should be kept separate and suggested that the government should “let the mayor be the mayor and let me be the fire chief.”
Proposal details
The amendments stem from one of three proposals put forward late last year by the commission’s Committee on County Governance, which at that point had shrunk to a single member — former Commissioner Barbara Bennett — after other members resigned.
“This recommendation is based on the findings of the committee that Kaua‘i has a unique decentralized form of government that is weaker in comparison to the other Hawai‘i counties which provides that many department heads be hired and fired by commissions or boards and not the mayor,” Bennett’s report states.
“The first step towards improving accountability is to define and identify clear lines of authority by consolidating the authority and responsibility for all administrative departments under the mayor,” the report states.
“Because our commissions are not involved in the daily operations of these departments, and the mayor is ultimately accountable for the operations of these departments, it makes sense that the mayor have some role in the appointment process,” Carvalho agreed. “The commissions will play a significant role in this proposed three-step process of appointment in that they will be the first ‘screen’ of applicants and will determine the pool from which the successful applicant can be chosen.”
The proposed amendments put forward by the Office of Boards and Commissions would direct the five boards and commissions in question to submit to the mayor a list of three to five applicants for the vacant department head position. The mayor’s selection would need to be confirmed by the Kaua‘i County Council.
Any mayoral decision to remove one of the five department heads before the conclusion of their term could only come to fruition with the approval of the pertinent commission, and would come only after the department head was given a list of the charges against him or her and a hearing before the mayor and the commission, according to the proposed amendment language.
The Charter Review Commission deferred action on the five related proposals until after it can confer with the five commissions that would be impacted, representatives of the county Office of Boards and Commissions said.
State law
The changes to the charter would only have an impact in the real world if “enabling” legislation is passed at the state level. Senate Bills 2177, 2178 and 2179 would authorize each county to appoint its chief of police, personnel director and head of liquor, respectively, as its own charter sees fit.
The state’s four mayors have supported the legislation on the grounds that it would strengthen “home rule” by allowing each county to organize and run its own government, rather than forcing counties to adhere to existing state law that prescribes how those three positions are to be filled.
The three pieces of legislation would only point the county governments toward their own charters, and would give weight to the charter changes, if they are put forward by the Charter Review Commission and approved by voters this fall, but would not effect any change — at least on Kaua‘i — in and of themselves.
A superficial search of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes and the text of all bills this session did not immediately show any legislation, existing or proposed, relating to the appointment of the county planning director or fire chief.
For more information on Senate Bills 2177, 2178 and 2179, visit www.capitol.hawaii.gov.
