New position requests to be clarified next week

County Council members Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho and Mel Rapozo claim Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s proposed $155.7 million operating budget for the next fiscal year contains “deceptive” requests for new positions in several departments.

“Let’s call a spade a spade,” Rapozo said, noting that the administration simply wants to continue its sputtering Ka Leo O Kaua‘i community outreach program by reallocating the two positions that currently administer it.

A second full day of departmental budget reviews continued yesterday at the Historic County Building, bringing this issue to the surface again and exposing concerns related to the safety of enforcement officers. The hearing featured the Parks and Recreation Department, Liquor Commission, Civil Defense Agency and Kaua‘i Humane Society.

Gary Heu, the mayor’s administrative assistant, said the council seems to have misunderstood aspects of a recently unveiled initiative to embed community relations within some county departments.

“It’s a key role to be played,” he said, noting a general consensus among department heads “to be more in touch with the community.”

The plan would impose community outreach responsibilities on certain employees. For instance, the initiative proposes a senior clerk at the Fire Department to dedicate 25 percent of his or her time toward community relations.

But some council members said critical positions would be compromised as the plan now stands. The mayor has stated his willingness to explore alternative solutions.

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(Source: Kauai Garden Island News)