Languishing
commissions ADVERTISING Languishing
commissions With reference to last December’s Tribune-Herald story on board vacancies being slowly filled, apparently there now are four candidates ready to fill vacancies on the Transportation Commission and allow the commission to reconvene soon. However, there still
Languishing
commissions
With reference to last December’s Tribune-Herald story on board vacancies being slowly filled, apparently there now are four candidates ready to fill vacancies on the Transportation Commission and allow the commission to reconvene soon.
However, there still will be two vacancies after almost a year since the commission last met, meaning two county districts remain unrepresented. I also understand that at least one candidate was selected by the mayor several months ago, which, if processed, would have allowed the commission to meet long before now. Why the delay?
Based on recent calls to county staff (several calls were not answered), there appear to be 19 vacancies on just the Fire Board and Veterans Advisory Committee alone, not the nine vacancies as stated by the county in the Tribune-Herald article.
And why is the county website so out of date regarding the boards and commissions? One board “fact sheet” dates back to 2008! Many of us rely on the website for basic information. Why can’t it be kept current within 30 days of any changes?
The mayor and his staff need to do a better marketing job. Local newspapers are willing to publish stories to help reach potential volunteers. There is little online at the county website to entice or attract volunteers.
The mayor’s public relations newsletter, Holomua, should contain more to persuade constituents. The county should be more proactive in reaching out to each and every community and volunteer organization and especially our retired folks, who generally have more life experience and time to serve.
Not only should there be no vacancies, but there should be a backlog of candidates ready to fill vacancies as they occur. Having a bare-minimum quorum is insufficient, because all required positions need to be filled to ensure quorums in case of absenteeism, and for full representation of all of our Big Island districts and interest areas.
Neal Herbert
Hilo
Spend, spend, spend
Hold on to your wallets. The state Legislature is in session.
Most of the politicians are listing their spending requests. The governor is trying to spend more than he takes in. One of the exceptions to this madness is Rep. Joy San Buenaventura of the Puna District. Her suggestions do not have any effect on the taxpayers. The rest want to spend more money.
I see no savings in their proposals. Where does it come from? Right — tax increases.
Bob Dukat
Pahoa
