Hawaii County
may drop landfill
The ruling on private contracts
By Rod Thompson
could bring about such action
Star-BulletinHILO -- Over the strong objection of the United Public Workers Union, a Hilo judge has left open the possibility that Hawaii County may drop all involvement with the Kona landfill. Circuit Judge Riki May Amano also granted injunctions yesterday that prevent lawsuits from being filed for several weeks over hundreds of county contracts.
The actions by Amano deal with the fallout of a state Supreme Court ruling that the county cannot have private contractors perform work historically done by county workers.
The high court said Hawaii County must cancel a contract with Waste Management Inc. to operate the Kona landfill and must operate the landfill itself.
But Mayor Stephen Yamashiro has repeatedly said no law requires the county to operate a landfill, and the county may turn it over entirely to Waste Management, to the state, or to another company.
"The county's position is absolutely and clearly irresponsible," UPW attorney Herbert Takahashi told Amano. "This court has no authority to second-guess the highest court in the state."But county attorney Nadine Ando argued that the Supreme Court's ruling isn't clear about what should happen after the Waste Management contract is canceled.
Amano appeared to agree, setting a hearing for June 10 on whether the county is required to continue operating the landfill.
Amano set a June 14 meeting to review a method to determine whether other county contracts must be canceled. To be consideredis what the high court meant when it referred to work "customarily" performed by county workers and the transition from contracted work to county work.
In the meantime, Amano said it is important to maintain a high level of county service. She granted the injunctions preventing lawsuits by approximately 140 county contractors or providers of services through purchase agreements.
On Maui, Circuit Judge Boyd Mossman continued a temporary restraining order to prevent similar lawsuits over some 250 contracts and grants for millions of dollars in services. He scheduled a hearing on July 1 to rule on whether these contracts and grants are exempt from the Supreme Court decision.
And the Kauai County Council this afternoon was set to vote on a resolution asking Gov. Ben Cayetano and the Legislature to convene a special session to resolve the issue of privatization.
The resolution said that various agencies are coming up with different interpretations of the recent Supreme Court ruling, creating confusion for private contractors and spawning extensive litigation.
Mayor Maryanne Kusaka and her staff also have been pushing hard for a special session, which lawmakers have resisted.
Star-Bulletin reporters Gary Kubota
and Joan Conrow contributed to this report.
