Every other meeting in Kona!

Residents may vote on holding Kona meetings
by Tiffany EdwardsWest Hawaii Todaytedwards@westhawaiitoday.com Wednesday, April 26, 2006 8:48 AM HSTHILO --

Big Island voters may decide if the County Council must meet in West Hawaii every other month. Residents may also be able to determine if an independent auditor of the police department should be hired.Two proposed amendments to the County Charter will be considered by council next week that, if passed, would put the issues on the ballot this November.North Kona Councilman Angel Pilago has introduced Bill 268 calling for an amendment to the County Charter to require the County Council to meet in Kona during the even numbered months.Bob Jacobson, representing Puna, Ka'u and South Kona, meanwhile, has introduced Bill 270 establishing an independent police auditor position and amending the functions of Hawaii County police commissioners so they no longer investigate charges against police officers brought forward by the public.Both bills will be heard at committee level Monday, with Jacobson's heard at 8 a.m. in the Public Safety and Parks and Recreation Committee and Pilago's heard at 9 a.m. in Finance Committee.The bills require a two-thirds majority vote in council to be placed on the November ballot. A majority of voters must approve of the amendments for them to become law.Pilago hopes council members will view his proposal to meet in Kona as often as they do in Hilo as "the responsible and correct thing to do.""We need to do this in order to heal the divisiveness that prevails between East Hawaii and West Hawaii. We must alleviate the public's frustration and alienation, and we must be all-inclusive in the work we do," he said.
Pilago said he realizes the expense of renting hotel space for meetings and having council staff travel to the west side has dissuaded his colleagues in the past."I think expenses are a non-issue," he said. "The more important priority is we begin to take the discussions out to the public for public debate and testimony."He said to satisfy council members' concerns about the expense, he will foot the bill for the six meetings on the west side through his contingency relief account.Jacobson and Council Chairman Stacy Higa, of Hilo, both said they will vote for Bill 268. Although they don't support the idea of council members meeting in Kona six times per year, they do think it should be up to the voters to decide.Donald Ikeda, of Hilo, said he won't be voting for Bill 268, not only because of the $4,000 to $5,000 expense for renting space and having staff travel, but also the inconvenience of the six East Hawaii council members who would have to travel. He noted that only three council members currently travel from West Hawaii.Also, Ikeda said Hilo residents wouldn't be able to participate in meetings when they are held on the west side. It's not feasible for council members to set up teleconferencing equipment at the hotels where they hold their meetings, in order to have the Hilo residents participate via teleconferencing, he said."I don't think Angel gave much thought to it. I think he needs think about it a little more," Ikeda said.Jacobson said his call for an independent police auditor comes, in part, at the suggestion of Paul de Silva, a retired county prosecutor and judge who quit the police commission before his term expired because he was disenchanted with the process.But Jacobson said his "main motivation" for Bill 270 came from complaints about police officers that he has received from constituents over the years and the fact that as a councilman he has been unable to "effectively deal with these complaints."He said the only oversight council members have over the police department is the approval or disapproval of their budget. The police commission, he said, sees less than half the complaints that are waged against police officers. The others are handled internally."In order to have a decent, modern police force we need to have deep oversight provided by a paid professional," Jacobson said, suggesting a judge or a trained investigator for the task rather than "part-time volunteer businessmen" that comprise the police commission."I honor the police commissioners, but they are out of their league on this," he said."The whole system allows for the corruption of good people," Jacobson said. "The system is set up so that people naturally can't testify against their partners, they can't reveal the level of corruption that they are expected to engage in on a daily basis."Jacobson maintained that those officers who do speak out against their partners are treated negatively by the department. They are either transferred to undesirable positions or positions that require a long commute, or they work in fear that they will not have the back up of their fellow officers when they needed it, he said."It's the system. It's not the individual officers. I want to avoid demonizing any particular individual. The system allows for the pattern to develop, and the only way to change this pattern is to change the system and the only way to change the system is to find out what is wrong with it," Jacobson said