LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative members still have time to vote for three seats at the co-op’s Board of Directors. Voting began March 1, and will end Saturday at noon. Voting can be done by mail, on a KIUC-provided
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative members still have time to vote for three seats at the co-op’s Board of Directors. Voting began March 1, and will end Saturday at noon.
Voting can be done by mail, on a KIUC-provided pre-stamped ballot, at www.alohavote.com/kiuc or by calling (877) 778-5482 on a touch-tone phone.
If voting by phone or on Internet, members still need a pin number in the back of the ballot provided by the co-op.
KIUC is governed by a board of nine directors elected by and from the co-op’s membership. The directors set major policies, hire the CEO and lead the development of the strategic plan in consultation with senior management. Directors are not involved in the day-to-day operations of the co-op.
Each director serves a three-year staggered term. Candidates are put in the ballot by a KIUC nominating committee or through a petition signed by at least 35 co-op members in good standing.
Current board directors are Karen Baldwin, Pat Gegen, Calvin Murashige, Secretary David Iha, Chair Teofilo Tacbian, Peter Yukimura, Carol Bain, Vice Chair Jan TenBruggencate and Treasurer Allan Smith.
The terms of Bain, TenBruggencate and Smith expire this month. All three incumbents are running for re-election, and are being joined in the ballots by Jonathan Jay, John Benzie and former director Stewart Burley.
KIUC spokesman Jim Kelly said board members are not volunteers; they are paid “per diem” for board and committee meetings, and training and duties that could “easily” take an average of 16 hours per week.
“Per diem is paid according to the co-op bylaws,” Kelly said. “It was set at $150 when the co-op was established and it rises with the local inflation rate. In 2011, per diem was about $196.50 a day.”
According to KIUC’s most recent tax records, the co-op’s nine board directors received $169,741 combined in 2011. Board directors worked an average of 16.35 hours per week, and received an average of $18,860 each.
The hours logged in KIUC’s tax returns differed for each member, as well as their pay.
Here is the break down for average hours per week each KIUC board member worked in 2011, and what they were paid, according to the co-op’s 2011 tax records:
• Chairman Teofilo Tacbian — 18 hours, $26,328
• Vice Chair Steve Rapozo — 30 hours, $19,629
• Treasurer Allan Smith — 10.2 hours, $17,472
• Stewart Burley — 15 hours, $19,258
• Carol Bain — 8 hours, $18,271
• Secretary David Iha — 16 hours, $17,880
• Jan TenBruggencate — 20 hours, $17,678
• Ben Sullivan — 15 hours, $16,917
• Peter Yukimura — 15 hours, $ 16,308.
After the 2012 elections, Rapozo, Burley and Sullivan were replaced by Baldwin, Gegen and Murashige. Tax records for 2012 have not yet been released by KIUC.
The terms for Iha, Tacbian and Yukimura expire in March 2014; and the terms for Baldwin, Gegen and Murashige expire in March 2015.
Additional assistance on how to vote by phone or online can be found by calling (877) 324-7655 and leaving a message, and a call back should be received within an hour, according to an instructional video posted online by KIUC.
To see a profile on each candidate running in the election, visit www.thegardenisland.com.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
