Voters to decide on conflict of interest
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
A proposal aimed at minimizing conflicts of interest among city employees will go before O'ahu voters this fall after the City Council unanimously passed a resolution preventing city officials from ruling on matters involving their previous employer.
The proposed Charter amendment, introduced by councilman Charles Djou, prohibits city employees from making decisions relating to their immediate private employer for one year after taking a city job.
The council voted 9-0 to put the Charter amendment proposal on the ballot this fall.
"I am continuing my long and hard push to strengthen Honolulu's ethics rules," Djou said in a news release. "We strengthen the city's conflict-of-interest rules by preventing newly hired city officials from reviewing their own work submitted while in private employment or benefiting their previous private employer when assuming a public position."
City Human Resources Director Kenneth Nakamatsu said the administration opposes the Charter amendment because it would discourage people from seeking jobs with the city.
"The negativity of this bill will result in applicants self-screening themselves out," Nakamatsu told the council. "The problem I would have is that when the decision is made, it should be made by the appointing authority or the ethics commission. I don't think we need this policy (because) existing laws cover conflicts of interest."
In other council action yesterday:
Property taxes in Honolulu would be adjusted each year based on inflation instead of assessed property value, under the bill.
Under the proposal, the assessed value of taxable residential real property would be determined each year by adjusting the previous tax year's assessment for the property by the most recent change in Honolulu's consumer price index.
The bill, for owners of single-family homes and duplexes, passed second reading before the council.
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
