Today we begin delving into "reality checks" on Animal Control’s Report to the Public Safety Committee on 10.18.22. We will start with one of the main obstacles Hawai’i County Animal Control (AC) stated they are struggling with in order to operate effectively . . . STAFFING.
According to Animal Control, they are currently operating with only 1/3 of available positions filled; 23 out of 37 positions are unfilled, causing obvious issues with performance. Why, then, have NONE of these job positions and their descriptions EVER been posted on the County Job Opportunities page, nor on the County Police Dept’s Animal Control website information page?
AC has been operating for 16 months; they report to Council that they are understaffed and working overtime; they are in desperate need of a dedicated Dispatcher; but have never published the positions!?
How does one fill jobs if they have not been advertised? And, how can one justify reporting that as an obstacle to performance if you haven’t even tried to resolve it - after 16 months?
The AC budget for FY 2022-23 is $2.3M for the 37 positions. Based on discussion at the Public Safety meeting, unexpended funds will revert to the General Fund.
AC's website information page - see excerpt in picture above - says that recruitments for these contract positions will be “forthcoming.” You can send an email if you’re interested in applying . . . but, where are the descriptions of these positions? And, where’s the mention of the all-important Dispatcher position that the Council was horrified about? This is, well . . . absurd!?
We’re ‘assuming’ the Council Members were not aware of any of this during the meeting; thus, it will be part of our education process going forward. With the community’s current negative perception and distrust of AC, at this point, it will be more than difficult to attract applicants, once, in fact, the positions are finally posted. We certainly hope this isn’t the case.
A video clip of the report by AC, and subsequent Q&A with the Council Members, can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/1172893967/videos/5538152162929067/