Commission sending 11 proposed amendments to the ballot
Proposals include creation of new departments, limiting some mayoral powers
After more than a year of review, the Maui County Charter Commission is sending 11 proposed amendments to the general election ballot, allowing voters to decide on the county clerk’s participation in political campaigns, the mayor’s appointment powers and the creation of a Department of ‘Oiwi Resources, among other changes.
The commission on Thursday approved its report to the county clerk with 11 amendments to the County Charter, including two with competing proposals from both the commission and the Maui County Council.
One of these proposed amendments deals with the creation of an independent nomination board to recommend people for county boards and commissions, as well as several mayoral cabinet positions. The commission and council disagree on the size of the nomination board and the positions that it should be able to nominate.
The other amendment with dueling proposals includes whether the police chief should be required to submit a written report when they disagree with the Police Commission’s findings. The commission and the council differ on whether the Police Commission should be the one to request the written report.
On Thursday, the commission was close to wrapping up its work, though it plans to hold at least another meeting to conduct further review of its voter guide to help residents understand the proposed amendments. The meeting has yet to be scheduled but could occur in early June.
Since March 2021, the 11-member commission has studied and reviewed the operation of county government under the existing charter. Tasked with proposing amendments or writing a new charter, the commission initially received 158 amendment proposals, according to a news release. The commission conducted more than 25 meetings and heard hours of public testimony.
Every 10 years, a Charter Commission composed of the appointed volunteer members convenes. The Maui County Council reviews the commission’s amendments and also has an opportunity to make its recommendations and propose its own charter amendments even outside of the Charter Commission’s own process.
Commission Chairman Grant Chun confirmed during the meeting that the council still could send its own amendments to the ballot.
On Thursday, members made grammatical as well as clarification changes to the ballot questions and voter guide.
Dick Mayer, an active community member and retired college professor, raised concerns in public testimony about having alternate proposals from both the commission and council that could confuse the public.
However, commissioners left the proposals as is, heeding direction from county attorneys who said that portion of review had already passed.
After the meeting, Chun said that the commission back in March did have a chance to eliminate its own proposals so they would not compete with the council’s proposals on the ballot.
But, “the commission felt that its proposals were distinct from those offered by the council and were worthy of voters’ consideration as drafted,” Chun added.
As for making changes on Thursday, Chun said the commission’s process, which is defined by statute, does not allow the commission at this point to revisit that decision.
For the amendment creating the independent nomination board, the commission is proposing nine members, appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, to recruit, evaluate and recommend individuals for county boards and commissions and four county positions: clerk, auditor, corporation counsel and prosecuting attorney.
The council is proposing an 11-member independent nomination board, with two members appointed by the mayor without council approval and nine appointed by council without mayoral approval, to recruit, evaluate and recommend individuals for county boards and commissions and two county positions: corporation counsel and prosecuting attorney.
The council’s version also would not require the auditor and county clerk be vetted and recommended by the independent nomination board, according to the commission’s draft voter guide.
Another difference is that the commission’s proposed amendment would take effect July 1, 2023, to allow time for the appointment of members of the independent nomination board.
The council’s alternative would take effect as soon as the vote for the amendment was certified, according to the draft voter guide.
For the proposal regarding the police chief, the commission is seeking to require that the chief of police provide a written report to the Police Commission when the chief disagrees with the commission’s findings related to the conduct of the department or its members.
The council’s version would require that the chief inform the Police Commission when the chief disagrees with the commission’s findings, and upon the commission’s request, provide a written report.
If competing County Council and Charter Commission amendments appear on the ballot and both earn more than 50 percent of the vote (votes are cast separately on each amendment), then whichever receives the most “yes” votes will be the winning proposal, a county attorney explained at a March council meeting.
The other nine Charter Commission proposals, if approved in the general election, would:
● Require remote communications with the public during council meetings, remove certain requirements for council’s organizational meeting and allow access to county records.
● Require the county auditor to assess the financial impacts of proposed charter amendments. ● Authorize the county clerk to update the charter and prohibit the county clerk and deputy county clerk from actively participating in management of political campaigns.
● Limit the powers of the mayor to appoint administrative department heads.
● Require representation from each council residency area on the Planning Commission, allow that Kalaupapa be included within the jurisdiction of the Molokai Planning Commission upon state action and allow for the community plan update process to be set by ordinance.
● Divide the Department of Housing & Human Concerns into two departments and create the Housing Advisory Board and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands liaison within the new Department of Housing.
● Create the Department of ‘Oiwi Resources and affirm that the county operate as a bilingual government.
● Add requirements to the Code of Ethics regarding the financial interests of county officers.
● Allow that penalties for violations of law be set by council by ordinance.