Committee postpones charter change on civil defense administrator qualifications after questions about appointment process and advisory panel

The committee discussed Bill 89 on Oct. 21, which would amend Chapter 7, Article 1 of the Hawaii County Code to require the civil defense administrator to have at least three years of responsible administrative experience in emergency management, disaster planning, homeland security or public safety services management. The bill also includes a new provision allowing the mayor, in the event of a vacancy, to convene a selection advisory panel that could include the fire chief and chief of police to evaluate applicants.

Councilmember Eustace moved to postpone the item to the Nov. 4 committee meeting; Councilmember Galimba seconded the postponement. The motion passed and the clerk reported the outcome as recorded in the meeting: “Any opposed? We have 7 8 ayes with council member Kerkowitz absent,” after the vote count, and the item was postponed to Nov. 4 for further consideration.

Committee discussion raised three primary points: (1) Councilmember Onishi recommended including communication skills and improved community explanation of emergency actions as part of administrator qualifications after noting residents’ questions following the recent tsunami; “So you need someone there that can really explain … what the hiccups were,” Onishi said. (2) Councilmember Kimball questioned whether specifying that the mayor may convene an advisory panel should be placed in the charter because that could create Sunshine Law or privacy conflicts around hiring; he suggested removing the clause and cleaning up language that currently states the mayor is the head of civil defense while the administrator has delegated emergency duties. (3) Assistant Corporation Counsel Jay Yoshimoto said he would consult further about the practical effect of referencing Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 76 (the civil service law) together with a mayoral appointment and removal clause and report back to the council.

Civil Defense Administrator Thomas Magno appeared and described prior practice in which a panel that included the fire chief and police chief reviewed candidates before the mayor’s appointment, and said a similar panel had been used recently in Maui County hiring. “We gave our best candidate suggestion to the mayor for his selection,” Magno said, describing the vetting precedent.

No public testimony was recorded on the item. The postponement gives the committee time to refine language, resolve questions about civil service applicability and consider whether to include communication responsibilities or limit the advisory panel language.

Committee members requested additional legal guidance from Corporation Counsel about whether chapter 76 and a mayoral appointment clause create a practical conflict and asked staff to return with clearer drafting options at the Nov. 4 meeting.