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Hawaii County administration reports progress on Cost of Government Commission recommendations
Summary
Managing Director Diana Sacco told the council that departments have implemented or advanced many recommendations from the 2022 Cost of Government Commission, including permit-processing changes, IT budget growth and steps on PONC administration; some proposals require council action or state-law changes.
HILO — The Hawaii County administration on Aug. 6 updated the Communications, Reports and Council Oversight Committee on progress implementing recommendations from the 2022 Cost of Government Commission, outlining steps taken on permitting, information technology, fleet and procurement and noting areas that remain under review.
Managing Director Diana Sacco told the committee that the administration has been working through dozens of recommendations. For permitting and construction, she said some recommendations have been implemented (for example, splitting permit submissions by scope and publishing timing statistics) while others—such as a proposal for provisional preapproved contractor permitting—face state-law constraints and therefore lack departmental support.
On information technology, Sacco said the county has increased IT spending and staffing in recent years: the administration reported a roughly 250% increase in IT budget over the last three years and has added positions. Finance Director Diane Nakagawa said the county is seeking to modernize payment systems, including planning a centralized payments platform and adding credit-card acceptance in some offices, while recognizing merchant fees and procurement requirements must be considered.
Other items discussed included solid-waste contracts and the county's relationship with Hawaii Earth Recycling, where administration staff said they are evaluating whether contract terms are delivering value and whether renegotiation is feasible within procurement law. Sacco said some recommendations to explore public-private partnerships for wastewater treatment are under consideration but noted challenges on the island related to population density and customer base that affect private-sector interest.
Several council members raised staffing and implementation questions. Council member Kirkowitz asked about the status of a proposed property-operations position to manage PONC stewardship grants and a CIP manager; Nakagawa said the administration is actively working with human resources to establish those positions. Michael Konowitz, former chair of the Cost of Government Commission, testified before the presentation and urged the council to require formal reporting so future commissions will receive documented follow-up; he also asked that the mayor's report be posted in the commission's folder on the county website.
On revenue-generation proposals, the committee discussed a commission suggestion for a vehicle import fee (proposed in the report as $6 per year of vehicle age) to offset abandoned-vehicle costs. Administration staff said state law constrains some of those ideas and any change would require legislative or code action.
The committee voted to close file on the communication (Communication 960) after the administration's report. The motion was made by Council member Heather Kimball and seconded by Council member Galimba; the clerk recorded five ayes and noted several council members excused. The administration agreed to follow up on questions about website posting of the report and to work on position descriptions for pending hires.
Next steps include finalizing position descriptions and continuing legal and procurement reviews for contracts and proposed program changes; the administration also offered to provide follow-up information on volunteer use and to explore posting the mayor's Cost of Government follow-up report in the commission folder on the county website.
