Privatization ruling
puts Kauai plan
on hold
County officials say they fear
By Trish Moore
government unions will sue after
one such case on the Big Island
Star-BulletinLIHUE -- Work on Kauai's general plan update has been halted because county officials say they fear a lawsuit from government unions. In March, Kauai County awarded a $500,000 contract to Honolulu-based Plan Pacific to update the general plan, which has been on hold for six years.
In April, the company was told to stop work on the contract, said Robin Foster, in charge of the project for Plan Pacific.
The delay comes in the wake of the state Supreme Court ruling in Konno vs. County of Hawaii, which struck down government attempts to privatize services traditionally performed by civil service employees.
Although Kauai County privately contracted work on the original general plan in 1971 and on the 1984 update, Kauai Planning Director Dee Crowell said it's not clear whether the Konno decision would apply in this instance.
Crowell said he and other administration officials could be personally liable "if it's ruled that I knowingly entered into an illegal contract."
Keith Ahue, deputy director for the Hawaii Government Employees Association, said he thought halting the general plan contract was "premature at this point" because the union hasn't yet reviewed it.
The union has been so busy trying to meet court deadlines on county contracts for Maui and the Big Island that they haven't had time to look at Kauai's contracts, Ahue said.
Union attorney Herbert Takahashi, irritated that the unions have been blamed for delays in government services, said government can solve these problems quickly by seeking civil service exemptions to hire out work on a short-term basis.
"This should not be problematic," Takahashi said. "There's no reason why the Konno decision should be the cause of any delay in the rendition of services by public officials."
Crowell said the county is "looking at the exemption process to see if that can work." But, he said, civil service rules allow for short-term workers to be hired for a maximum of one year, and the general plan is a two- to three-year process.
Kauai's general plan serves as a guide for the planning commission and county council in approving development projects and granting zoning changes.
"It's very frustrating," publisher Gary Hooser said of the delay. "We're going to see more and more proposals to do things without anything to guide the process."
The update process will likely be "emotionally charged because it can severely limit or expand development, depending on which side wins," he said.
Barbara Robeson, a member of the mayor's advisory committee to the plan, said she is concerned that without an update, zoning changes will continue to be granted that are "driven by economics rather than good planning."
Councilman Ron Kouchi said he is disappointed about the delay, but there is "no finger to point at the administration."
"It wouldn't do any good to go forward now and get sued by the union. We want to be sure of what's going on."
Kouchi is hoping the four counties can present a unified position at the legislature in the next session to seek some resolution to the privatization issue.
Maui County, in the process of developing regional community plans, has some open private contracts for planning services, according to public information officer Lloyd Yonenaka.
Those contracts have not been challenged by the unions, but the county plans to go through the Civil Service exemption process on future contracts, he said.
