Maui County has 3 charter amendments on November ballot. What would they change?

By Rob Collias
October 16, 2024 ·

 

A ballot box is seen at the University of Hawai’i Maui College in August. This year’s general election ballots will ask Maui County voters to decide on three proposed changes to the charter, which serves as the county’s governing document. HJI / COLLEEN UECHI photo

Maui County voters in the general election will be asked to consider three proposals that include giving the Board of Ethics full-time staffing who would be able to prosecute violations.

The three proposed amendments to the Maui County Charter will appear on the general election ballot that arrives in the mail this week. The other proposals would make it easier for people to serve a second term on county boards and commissions as well as better define the role of the Salary Commission.

To get the questions on the ballot, the Maui County Council passed resolutions for each of the proposed amendments to the charter, which is the constitutional document that defines the structure and organization of the government. Each resolution required at least six votes from the 9-member council. Now, it’s up to the public.

Question #1: Salary Commission

“Shall the Charter be amended to require the Salary Commission to determine ‘salaries’ instead of ‘compensation’ for elected officials and appointed directors and deputy directors to maintain consistency with the Constitution of the State of Hawai’i and remove fiscal barriers to create equity through benefits such as reimbursement of travel costs?”

This amendment was proposed by Maui County Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez from Moloka’i, who said it arose from the appointment of Rogerene “Kali” Arce as the director of the county Department of Agriculture in January 2023.

Arce, who farms a homestead with her husband on Molokaʻi, currently has to pay travel expenses out of pocket and is not reimbursed by the county, as she lives on the Friendly Isle.

“For the first time ever we have a director that is a resident of Molokaʻi, so she kind of faced the dilemma of taking on this incredible opportunity to lead and shape our agriculture future or live on Molokaʻi,” said Rawlins-Fernandez, who also lives on the island and travels back and forth to Maui. “That is not a decision that any Maui resident would have to make and that’s not fair.” 

The amendment proposed that the Salary Commission would only set salaries of elected officials and appointed directors and deputy directors and not compensation, which can include travel costs for officials and appointees who live on Lānaʻi or Molokaʻi and must travel to Maui for their positions. Other non-salary benefits that would be part of a person’s compensation would be managed by the County Council or the mayor.

To make it on the ballot, the County Council passed Resolution 24-99.

Question #2: Independent Staffing for Board of Ethics

“Shall the Charter be amended, effective July 1, 2025, to authorize the Board of Ethics of the County of Maui to hire independent staff?”

Steve Sturdevant, chair of the Maui County Board of Ethics, takes up a vote on a motion during the board’s virtual meeting on Oct. 9. Screenshot of Akaku Maui Community Media

Resolution 24-95 calls for adding three full-time staff members — an executive director who is a lawyer, an executive secretary/assistant and an investigator — to help the all-volunteer Board of Ethics in a variety of capacities.

They include providing informal ethics opinions and advice and reviewing financial disclosure statements and lobbyist filings.

The staff also would be able to independently investigate and prosecute ethics violations, which currently the Board of Ethics does not have the budget or capacity to do.

The proposed amendment, initiated by the Board of Ethics, mirrors the City and County of Honolulu’s staffing levels and duties of its Board of Ethics.

Maui County Board of Ethics Vice Chairman Michael Lilly, the Hawaiʻi state attorney general from 1984-85, said it is the right move and has “many, many” advantages.

“Many times council members or public employees working for the county need immediate ethics advice, and they can’t (get it),” Lilly said Friday.

Now, when a person submits a request for advice, it may take weeks because the Board of Ethics meets only once a month. And, if there is not a quorum of the nine-member board, it could be two months or more before the person gets an opinion about the sought advice.

“It may be too late for them because some of these ethics needs are urgent,” Lilly said. “With full-time staff, we would have an executive director/legal counsel who you could call up and get immediate informal advice over the phone and have an immediate response. That is so critical.”

For example, some time-sensitive requests come from council members who need to know whether they have a conflict of interest in voting on certain bills.

Lilly, who was on the Honolulu Ethics Commission from 2013-22, also said the volunteer board could save time at its monthly meetings.

“Currently we handle an enormous amount of minutia,” he said. ”Our meetings go for hours and hours and hours because we don’t have staff, so we’re our own staff.”

It includes the examination of dozens of annual financial disclosure statements and lobbying filings.

The full-time staff also would be able to handle prosecutions of ethics complaints. Now, Maui County’s Board of Ethics obtains attorneys from the Big Island to handle them, Lilly said.

“We need our own staff to do our investigations and prosecute those cases,” he said.

Caleb Rowe, a Corporation Counsel attorney for the county and advisor to the Board of Ethics, said the addition of full-time staff would allow him to concentrate on his role as a neutral advisor to the board about legal questions. Now, he also has oversight on making sure the Board of Ethics’ agendas and notices are properly posted and other administrative duties.

While he has a secretary that handles much of this, it takes away from work needed to be completed on six to 10 other clients he serves for the county.

The staff of the Board of Ethics would be exempt employees, similar to those with the Honolulu and state ethics commissions, and would remain independent of the government of Maui County. They would answer only to the Board of Ethics.

Amendment #3: Board and Commission Terms

“Shall the Charter be amended, effective July 1, 2025, to minimize the risk of vacancies on boards and commissions generally, and specifically with regard to dedicated seats for members residing in less populous areas, by allowing the appointment of members of boards and commissions for two consecutive full terms or 10 consecutive years, whichever is greater?”

The Kalana O Maui county building on South High Street in Wailuku undergoes renovations on Thursday. HJI / COLLEEN UECHI photo

Resolution 24-96 proposes allowing members who have served one 5-year term to serve another term without having to resign and go through the full vetting process again. It also eliminates the two-year waiting period between first and second terms.

This began as a recommendation by the Board of Ethics for its own members, but Rawlins-Fernandez called for the amendment to cover all county boards and commissions.

Many of them have had trouble over the years filling positions. This has led to many vacancies and the challenge of meeting quorum.

Rawlins-Fernandez said the change especially would help more Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi residents become members of boards and commissions.

“I would like to make it as easy as possible,” Rawlins-Fernandez said. “I also recognize why we have term limits because we did discuss not having term limits as well. … I think that there’s an interest in ensuring that people make space for the next generation of leaders to serve on a board or commission.”

Lilly said this amendment would help the Board of Ethics, which currently has two vacancies and at one point had only five active members for the nine-member board.

“It’s not always easy to get volunteers,” he said. “At one point we could only meet when all five of us could meet and all five of us had to be unanimous in order to do anything.”

The proposed amendment also is similar to how the rest of the state operates, according to Lilly.

Laksmi Abraham, spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office, said that “this proposal could significantly reduce the need for recruitment by half.”

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said he is in favor of all three proposed charter amendments.

“The role of boards and commissions is essential to the oversight of fair, equitable and efficient government,” Bissen said. “I am supportive of the proposed amendments that aim to increase recruitment potential, improve retention of quality volunteers, strengthen oversight and expedite our ability to carry out the important work of these governing bodies.”

The general election is Nov. 5. Ballots will start arriving through the mail on Friday to registered Maui County voters.

 

Rob Collias
Rob Collias is a general assignment reporter for the Hawai'i Journalism Initiative. He previously worked as a sports reporter for The Maui News and also spent time with the Pacific Daily News in Guam and the Honolulu Advertiser.