Streamlining the building permit process, cracking down on unpermitted structures, renegotiating the county’s composting contract, exploring public-private partnerships for wastewater processing and beefing up the Information Technology Department are the top recommendations of the Cost of Government Commission.
The commission, in its 87-page report scheduled to be presented to the County Council in mid-November, also listed as secondary and tertiary focus areas the county’s fleet vehicle program, water system efficiency, open space land buying expenditures, roads and transportation and optimizing the number of commissions and boards.
In addition, other recommendations were to use more volunteers to reduce costs and backlogs, explore money-making opportunities such as advertising and fees and add public information specialists to improve communication.
“Serving as chair for the Cost of Government Commission has been an incredible whirlwind: meeting with all county division leaders, interacting with dozens of county employees, listening to and reading volumes of community testimony, and probing as much as we could to see how the county government could be run more efficiently,” Chairman Michael Konowicz said.
Vice Chairman Neal Herbert and commissioners Matthias Kusch, Chantee Shiroma, Madie Greene, Shannon Matson, Kenneth Obenski, Daniel Malakie III and Karie Wakat rounded out the commission.
The report was especially critical of two programs in the Department of Environmental Management.
The island’s deteriorating sewer systems could benefit from public-private projects such as Honolulu has undertaken, commissioners said. While Hawaii County is cautious because of the Konno decision, where a court found the government couldn’t privatize work customarily done by civil servants, there are paths to doing so, the commission concluded.
“Mayor Roth has been approached by a couple of wastewater companies with very large portfolios willing to invest in solutions for Hawaii County. We should find a way to say yes while operating within the current confines and exemptions, if any exist, of the Konno decision,” the report states. “… according to the administration there may be obstacles in the path forward that could get resolved by legislative amendments and union and political support.”
The county’s contract with a company processing green waste is an “egregious example of inefficiency” and waste of taxpayer money, the report said.
The contract, which is valid through 2036, guarantees Hawaii Earth Recycling a minimum annual payment of 40,000 tons at approximately $105/ton, a figure that increases with the Consumer Price Index. The current $4.8 million the county pays annually includes about $840,000 for which the county gets nothing back because it is sending only 30,000-32,000 tons to the green waste processor even though it has to pay for 40,000.
The commission recommended an increase the overall Department of Information Technology budget from 0.77% to 4% of the county budget. With that would come additional positions and more competitive pay to attract workers, as well as other upgrades.
Among the 10 recommendations specifically dealing with permitting, the commission recommended installing EPIC kiosks to make the system more accessible to the public, allowing provisional permits for pre-approved, licensed A/E, electrical, and plumbing firms and contractors and scaling permit fees to the size or cost of the project as a way to minimize unpermitted structures.
The commission is formed every four years for an 11-month term, under the county charter. It’s charged with investigating the organizations and methods of operations of all departments, commissions, boards and offices, of all branches of the county government to determine what changes, if any, may better accomplish the policy of the county.
“Our commission was very diverse with people of different ages, skill-sets, and backgrounds,” Konowicz said. “Many commissioners held very different points of view and while we didn’t always agree on paths to pursue or recommendations to make, I felt everyone took their role seriously and treated the task at hand with incredible professionalism.”
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
