City workers organize
to fight layoffs

A rally is planned for next week
in front of Honolulu Hale

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Mayor Jeremy Harris' plans to lay off workers and reorganize government won't save money and will even disrupt service, employees say.

That's why a rally to protest the plans will be held in front of Honolulu Hale at noon Tuesday, said Patricia Tompkins, one of about 94 employees slated to be laid off July 1.

"People will dress in black," Tompkins said. "It's the two-week anniversary of layoff notices."

While the administration had originally said it would save $10 million under the plan, union officials have estimated the city won't save more than $3 million, Tompkins said.

In the Real Property Tax Division, employees are objecting to up to 38 layoffs and the proposal to merge the Finance and Budget departments.

Assessors have complained that layoffs will hinder plans to switch to a three-year assessment cycle and a new computer system. A move is afoot by key City Council members to save some of the jobs in that division.

All but six of the 28 members of the Housing and Community Development Department are also being laid off, including Tompkins, a housing development specialist.

Tompkins believes her position has been eliminated because she's been outspoken in criticizing her department's policies.

"There's no objective research behind (the layoffs)," she said.

"You basically have an architect (Chief of Staff Ben Lee), a marine biologist (Harris) and an accountant (Budget Director Malcolm Tom) figuring out how to do" the downsizing, while the Bank of Hawaii is hiring experts to figure their reorganization, she said.

Tompkins said remaining members of the Housing Department, who will be shifted elsewhere, will be hard-pressed to keep up with monitoring bond issues, housing applications and environmental reviews associated with federal housing grants.

Employees with the Board of Water Supply have protested a merger with the Wastewater Department and the Solid Waste Division of the Public Works Department in a new Environmental Services Department. The employees feel the administration is after the board's money and fear their agency would be politicized if it loses its semi-autonomy.

That merger has been postponed pending a City Charter amendment and approval by the board, but employees continue to picket twice a week.

Water Board spokeswoman Denise DeCosta said board employees will likely show up at the rally to make their views known.

Employees with the Motor Vehicles Division of the Finance Department are protesting their merger with the new Customer Services Department. They also object to the cuts of four temporary hires, which they feel will slow down processing time.

The employees say they are being penalized for protesting changes in the promotional system at satellite city halls several years ago.

Harris said the layoffs are necessary and were not politically motivated.

"I realize workers are never happy about being laid off and changes to the status quo are often viewed with some trepidation, but there's no doubt that we have to streamline city operations," the mayor said.

Charges that the layoffs are politically motivated "are absolutely ridiculous," Harris said.

The Council called for elimination of the Housing Department and called for merging the Planning and Land Utilization departments. Harris said it's also essential to overhaul the Real Property Division.