MEDIA RELEASE

County of Hawai’i Mayor Billy Kenoi today released data to the Hawai’i County Council detailing the cost of County hiring during the Mayor’s first year in office.

Mayor Kenoi announced new hiring restrictions the day he took office in an effort to cut the cost of County government, and from December 2008 to December 2009 his administration reduced the size of the county workforce by a net 77 employees through hiring restrictions and attrition.

Mayor Kenoi’s first budget also unfunded 55 vacant positions, the largest unfunding of vacancies in County history. Unfunding vacancies means those positions will not be filled. The Mayor’s budget plans for the coming year include additional de-funding of positions to save more money.

The Mayor also required that all requests to fill any positions in County departments be vetted by an Expenditure Review Committee. The committee weighs whether each position is needed to protect public safety, or to continue delivery of essential County services.

The salary data shows that:

54 police, fire and other public safety employees hired during the year earn a total of $129,428 per month.
11 employees hired to maintain or operate essential infrastructure such as sewer treatment plants and water systems earn a total of $39,780 per month.
20 employees hired to deliver essential public services such as drivers’ license examiners and solid waste transfer station attendants earn a total of $55,529 per month.
20 employees hired for revenue-producing positions such as water meter readers or to provide essential support services earn a total of $64,504 per month.
36 employees hired with state or federal funding (meaning they provide services within the County of Hawai’i at little or no cost to the County) earn a total of $48,193 per month.
16 other employees such as student helpers and a golf course maintenance supervisor earn a total of $25,638 per month.
“The record is clear. We have carefully restricted hiring in order to cut costs and maintain essential services, and the reduction in the County workforce has saved the County millions of dollars in salaries,” Mayor Kenoi said. “I am proud of my administration’s efforts to cut the cost of County government.”

“Again, we thank our County employees for pitching in during this difficult time and doing more with fewer resources,” the Mayor said.

Last month the County Department of Finance announced that restricting hiring, de-funding vacant positions and making a variety of other spending cuts in County departments resulted in a carryover or cash balance at the end of the last fiscal year that was $7.4 million more than had been budgeted.