Assistant librarian
job ‘favoritism,’
senator says
The $89,000-a-year post and that
By Pat Omandam
of a secretary are under scrutiny
Star-BulletinThe highest paid official in the state library system is again under pressure by lawmakers who want to eliminate his job -- and it isn't state Librarian Bart Kane. Assistant Librarian John Penebacker, who at roughly $89,000 a year makes $4,000 more than his boss, watched from the audience as a joint Senate committee yesterday quizzed Kane over the need for a special assistant when the library system and the rest of the state must continue to make tough fiscal decisions.
Kane testified a bill that eliminates Penebacker's post, and that of his secretary, would impair the management of the system. As chief of staff, Kane said Penebacker supervises the library's logistic support services and its management information branch. He's also the liaison with numerous organizations, including the Board of Education.
"If the recent auditor's report is the basis of the introduction of this bill, I would like to state for the record that at no time during this audit did anyone ask me, the supervisor, if the position was being used properly," Kane told the Senate Education and Human Resources committees.
"I consider these two positions to be critical to the library administration, and I ask this committee to reject this measure," he said.
Education Co-Chairman Rod Tam (D, Pauoa), who introduced the bill, said before the hearing that the library system needs to cut its managerial staff so it can continue to deliver basic services to residents.
Tam criticized the assistant librarian post as a political plum, one that has endured while the economy soured and forced library staff to cope with budget cuts. Tam said the job was created 10 years ago by then-Gov. John Waihee as an appointed position. The job's pay, he said, was also tied to civil service classifications, meaning if civil service employees got a raise, that position did, too.
"People know outright it's based on political favoritism, and that should stop," said Tam.
Human Resources Co-Chairman Brian Kanno (D, Ewa Beach) said his committee will vote on the measure today. Tam said his committee will decide the bill's fate Friday.
Penebacker had no comment after the hearing, saying it's too early in the session to "draw battle lines."
Board of Education Chairwoman Karen Knudsen testified the post is essential to the efficient management of the library system. Doing away with it will severly impact upon its operations, she said.
Lawmakers, however, remained skeptical. With only Kane and Knudsen offering testimony, Kanno wondered if Kane had instructed librarians not to testify.
"I make no such orders," Kane responded, suggesting his staff may be saving their energy for tonight, when the Board of Education evaluates the state librarian's performance.
Knudsen said the board does not have a policy that calls for the review the assistant librarian's performance.
To deal with this year's budget cuts, Kane told lawmakers he will eliminate his supplemental budget request and will make do with what he already has in his budget.
Kane added Penebacker's initial salary was $50,000 a year, which increased along with civil service pay over the past decade.
It has only been in recent years that Penebacker's salary surpassed his, which as an appointed position is set by law at $85,302.
Panel backs Kau
By Mike Yuen
prison construction
Star-BulletinThe House Public Safety Committee has approved Gov. Ben Cayetano's proposal to have a private firm build a 2,300-bed state prison in Kau on the Big Island. But the panel balked yesterday at having a private company run the proposed facility.
In voting for the measure with reservations, House Minority Leader Quentin Kawananakoa (R, Nuuanu), an advocate of privatizing state prisons, said he prefers giving the administration "a full plethora of options," including having the prison privately run.
The panel also passed a bill that would expand the minimum-security Kulani Correctional Facility outside of Hilo by 1,500 beds for medium- and maximum-security inmates.
The Kulani expansion would be an option if plans for a Kau prison are derailed. The Big Island appears split on whether there should be a prison in Kau. One petition, with 800 signatures, favors the facility. Another, with 1,300 signatures, opposes it.
Cayetano sees the Kau prison providing needed jobs for the economically depressed Big Island.
Originally, the bill for expanding Kulani called for only an additional 1,000 beds. But state Public Safety Director Keith Kaneshiro said he favored 2,300.
House Public Safety Chairman Nestor Garcia (D, Waipahu) compromised at 1,500 beds.
He said he was concerned about the costs associated with 2,300 additional beds and whether Kulani's infrastructure could support such an expansion.
Kaneshiro testified: "We need more than 1,600 medium-security beds just to meet today's need. We will not solve the overcrowding problem by building only 1,000 beds. If we build only 1,000 beds, we will have to come back to you to expand the new prison or to build another new prison somewhere else."
Maile Bay, an official with the Hawaii Audubon Society, told lawmakers any expansion of Kulani should not threaten the natural area reserve adjacent to the correctional facility.
The reserve, protected under state law, "is a high-quality forest that is home to numerous endangered species," she said.
The state's prisons were built to house only 2,912 inmates but, as of mid-January, there were 4,149 prisoners in the system, excluding 600 incarcerated in Texas facilities under privatization contracts.
LEGISLATURE UPDATE
A calendar of tomorrow's hearings -- to be held at the state Capitol, 415 S. Beretania St., unless noted:
HOUSE
Human Services and Housing: Hearing on bill relating to making appropriation for homeless shelters and service programs, 8:30 a.m., Room 329.
SENATE
