Reading about the county manager discussion in Thursday and Friday’s TGI, I notice how entrenched some are in maintaining an old, broken, political system to the detriment of our county. Councilmember Kagawa is against the manager idea even before the
Reading about the county manager discussion in Thursday and Friday’s TGI, I notice how entrenched some are in maintaining an old, broken, political system to the detriment of our county. Councilmember Kagawa is against the manager idea even before the subcommittee presents its information, saying, “We have a system already and I say let’s see how we can improve it.” Nothing wrong with that idea — except that we’ve been doing it for the past 35-plus years.
Councilmember Kagawa is unsure that we could find someone qualified enough to step up to the plate for a salary of less than $200,000. Thousands of communities across the United States and around the world have hired city managers to effectively manage their cities.
Surely, there were applicants for those city manager positions who were not selected who would love an opportunity to do their chosen work on this Garden Isle — for less than $200,000. Or perhaps the savings I would expect from new efficiencies due to their training and focus would soon balance the amount of their salary.
Electing a managing mayor by popular vote and political appeal, with little regard for professional education and experience running a city/county the size of Kauai, has resulted in the current state of our county. And how much to we pay for that?
I really like our current mayor. From my perspective, he is a perfect choice to lead the council and to represent Kauai as our spokesperson. He (and his position) belongs at the head of the council as part of our elected team that together moves our county in the best direction.
Along with the mayor, the council would interview and select a manager with the education and skills to carry out the vision and direction of the council. If the manager doesn’t perform, the council can fire and replace that person quickly without waiting for a term of office to expire.
Under the current charter, a politically effective person can get elected as mayor to manage the county even though their management may be poor and they might be terrible at running any organization. A hired county manager would have the financial and management expertise to effectively run an organization that serves all of Kauai. Perhaps that person would not be effective at representing our county with the same aloha spirit of our current mayor.
Because our council members and mayor have long term residence here, they have a vision and loyal relationship with our island that makes them care deeply about our future.
A county manager may have to come from off island, given the requirements for the special expertise needed to effectively and efficiently manage.
This new manager will have to be educated about the ways of our county in order to properly carry out the responsibility to hire and lead department/agency heads, be financially accountable, and produce the results communicated by the council/mayor. That includes police, fire, financial, everybody except perhaps the county attorney and the auditor. A little independence would be a good double check on the manager for the council to have.
Councilman Kagawa said, “In Hawaii, unlike no other state in the nation, we’ll be the first if we put it on the ballot.” We’ll be first in Hawaii, and isn’t that wonderful? Our island is the first to create a co-op electrical system. While we may not have done that in the most effective way, we have KIUC working diligently to create the most efficient, self-sustaining electrical system in the state if not the entire United States.
As a co-op, we elect a board that hires a manager to carry out the vision of the board. I see the council operating in a similar way. Kauai has demonstrated with KIUC that it can lead effectively while other islands are contemplating how to get control of their electrical systems from shareholders looking for profits.
Will the council always hire the best manager? Probably not. But with this system the council can correct any mistake much more quickly and easily than if we voters select an incompetent mayor to run our county as the current charter allows.
On Sunday in the TGI, councilwoman Yukimura, in her article on tax policy, reported how, for the past five years, she has repeatedly requested an accounting of the conditions of our roads, the cost to improve them, and a plan for eliminating the backlog. It took several years for her to see the report of road conditions; two years ago she saw the estimated cost of $100 million; and only a couple of months ago she finally saw a semblance of a plan.
I would suggest that a county manager, accountable to the council, would have provided that information complete with a thorough plan in a year or less.
I encourage the council and mayor to be bold. Exercise your leadership skills and lets take our island forward in ways that respect our differences, honor our creative minds, builds community and works for the good of the whole.
And fills potholes!
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Glenn Head is a resident of Wailua.
