HILO — Members of the Hawaii County Band would officially get the status they’ve held unofficially for a decade, under a charter amendment making its way to the Nov. 8 ballot.
Under the current charter, members of the county band are exempt from civil service laws and pay classifications. The bandmasters are appointed by the mayor and can be removed by the mayor.
The bandmasters, in turn, appoint band members and other employees and may remove them with the approval of the county’s managing director. The bands are part of the Department of Parks and Recreation for administrative purposes.
The county hasn’t abided by the wording of the charter since 2006. The amendment would remove all reference to the county band, effectively giving the members the same treatment as other county employees.
The County Council on Thursday is scheduled to approve Resolution 548, directing the county clerk to put the measure on the ballot. The council will also vote on Resolution 549, putting changes to the county general plan on the ballot.
Hilo Councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, sponsor of the 2015 ballot amendment on the band, said the changes will pretty much reflect current county practice.
“It was just to bring it up to what we’re doing now,” Onishi said Monday.
In 2006, the county administration under former Mayor Harry Kim more than doubled band members’ pay and made them civil servants.
The county was empowered to do so, the administration said, because state law on the issue trumped the county charter.
Former Human Resources Director Michael Ben cited a mid-1990s Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that all county positions have that classification unless they are specially exempted by state law. Citing another Hawaii Supreme Court ruling, Ben said Hawaii’s civil service law takes precedent over the charter provision.
The 133-year-old band’s status has been discussed over the years, and some proposed changes to its makeup have been controversial.
Mayor Billy Kenoi, who signed the ordinance putting the latest changes to the voter, raised community outrage in 2009 when he tried to cut the band’s budget during the lean years and turn them into nonprofit entities. The mayor backed off after dozens of testifiers, including Kim himself, pleaded with him not to cut the bands’ funding.
The West Hawaii Band subsequently turned itself into a nonprofit organization, but it still receives taxpayer dollars.
Lisa Ahuletta, the nonprofit band’s treasurer, couldn’t be reached Monday, a government holiday in the United States.
The 2016-17 budget that went into effect Friday allocates $242,339 for the county band, up 37 percent from $176,836 expended in the 2014-15 fiscal year, the most recent figures available. The band has 40 positions, with 16 of them unfunded for 24 total positions. All but the director are part-time positions, Onishi said.
The other positions are one-fifth time, requiring musicians to attend two practices each week and at least 40 performances annually.
The West Hawaii Band is allocated $40,871 in the new budget, up 42 percent from $28,783 in 2014-15. The West Hawaii band has 19 county positions, with nine unfunded.
The ballot initiative that would be put on the ballot through Resolution 549 is sponsored by Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille and was also signed by the mayor.
It would expand the scope of the county’s general plan, which is the long-term document governing land use on the island. It adds health to factors that should be considered in planning growth, and specifies that the plan is the “long-range policy for the comprehensive physical, economic, environmental and socio-cultural well-being of the county.”
“These words may seem very theoretical,” said Wille, “but they are important.”
The council is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Thursday in council chambers in Hilo. The public can testify at that location or by videoconference from the West Hawaii Civic Center, the Waimea council office, old Kohala courthouse, Naalehu state office building or the Pahoa neighborhood facility.