On February 7th, 2023, Bill 22 will be introduced to the Governmental Operations & External Affairs Committee at the Hilo County Chambers. It is our understanding the sole purpose and intent of this piece of legislation is to move the function of Animal Control from the Hawaii Police Department and to create an independent Animal Control and Protection Agency that will report directly to the Managing Director of the County. Specifically, the Bill states this Agency will assume Animal Control functions as stated in Hawai’i Revised Statutes, Chapter 143 and Hawai’i County Code, Chapter 4. The legislation is being introduced by Council Chair Heather Kimball (District 1) and Council Member Cindy Evans (District 9).
We encourage you to review the draft of the Bill, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/997022537630163/permalink/1129435784388837/
Note that this ordinance basically amends Chapters 2 and 4 of the Hawai’i County Codes for purposes of the “creation” of the Agency. It does not include ALL sections of those Chapters, only the ones amended by this ordinance to achieve its purpose. Chapter 4, in its entirety, is currently Hawai’i County Animal Control’s mandate . . . their official order or commission to do something. In other words, Animal Control does not have a separate, detailed Scope of Work as previous contracted vendors did. This presents several problems and has left several gaps in the system.
We are not clear, at this time, whether Chapter 4 is intended to remain the new Agency’s mandate, or if County plans to require a detailed Scope of Work within a comprehensive Strategic Plan. This is highly important to understand, even at this stage. And, while we support the removal of Animal Control functions from the Police Department, and are encouraged by the opportunity to build a new system starting with a strong foundation, the legislation leaves a few additional key questions open and critical areas excluded, including:
· Establish an Oversight Committee – we advise that this be added directly to the Bill, as a friendly amendment.
· Update & Revise Chapter 4, Hawai’i County Code – we advise this be completed before moving forward with the creation of this Agency.
· Create the Agency’s “Scope of Work” – as opposed to Chapter 4 serving as the Agency’s mandate; includes identification of operational guidelines, organization chart, provision for services, etc. This can happen after the Agency is established, but a commitment of intent should be made at this stage.
· Authorize the Implementation of other Services & Programs – Spay/Neuter, TNR, adoptions, microchip, etc.; with a clear definition of who will own and be accountable for these critical functions within Animal Control.
To summarize, we support the creation of the Animal Control and Protection Agency provisionally. Prior to the Agency’s creation, we advise that Chapter 4 be comprehensively revised and updated. We further advise Council to take this first step (Agency creation), as well as the detailed steps providing for the authority and duties of the Agency and its Administrator, in conjunction with others - the community through a “planning team”, and with a professional who has experience advising Municipal Agencies on Animal Control operations. Consultant, Kristen Hassen, currently working with Maui Humane Society, the Island’s Animal Control provider, has offered to meet with the new Agency’s planning team when she’s back on Maui at the end of March/early April. Her track record speaks for itself.
To learn more about each key area that we’ll be addressing via testimony at the Committee meeting, please continue reading. We encourage everyone to voice your thoughts and constructive recommendations via testimony, as well:
How to provide testimony: https://www.facebook.com/groups/997022537630163/permalink/1129523187713430/
Oversight Committee - the size of our County alone, with varying animal-related issues in each District, makes an “Oversight Committee” crucial to the effectiveness of the Agency. Throw in the infancy of the Agency (little to no experience in the coordination of a multi-faceted operation), and we have an even more compelling reason for the formation of this Committee. This recommendation was previously noted by NACA (National Animal Control & Care Association, which all the RFPs point to as the authority) and the Hawaii County Legislative Auditor (HCLA) in their assessments completed 20+ years ago; both stating than an Oversight Committee/Commission should oversee Animal Control. Again, in our meeting with the NACA executive committee in September, 2022, this was identified as a top priority.
Chapter 4, Hawai’i County Code – we do know that Chapter 4 is Animal Control’s current mandate. What we do not know is if that will continue to be the case with the new Agency, or if a detailed Strategic Plan will be created and mandated. If the mandate remains with Chapter 4 solely, there are significant details missing in the Bill (see next section, “Agency Scope of Work”).
Regardless of the intent, we advise a comprehensive revision and update of Chapter 4 - as discussed during the PRPSC Meeting on October 18, 2022 - before moving forward with the creation of this Agency. Without doing so, we are inserting new legislation into an obsolete and vague set of laws.
As with the Oversight Committee recommendation, an update of Chapter 4 was recommended by both NACA and HCLA over 20 years ago. NACA states in their report, “County of Hawai’i should reevaluate its Animal Ordinances. Minimum holding time is unusually short and not consistent with other Animal Control Agencies”; while HCLA reports that “Council should formulate policy and draft a comprehensive code revision of Chapter 4”.
Our community has dealt with accountability, transparency, and effectiveness issues from Animal Control for a very long time. We need to start by clarifying and updating the laws by which they carry out their mandates.
Agency “Scope of Work” – if Chapter 4 continues to be the new Agency’s mandate, as mentioned above, significant and detailed additions/revisions related to the Agency’s overall operation would need to be made. However, the Agency will, ideally, operate under a separate Strategic Plan which outlines their Scope of Work, containing detail and providing clarity and accountability regarding policies, procedures, enforcement, etc.
RFP 3950, which is the contract under which Hawai’i Rainbow Rangers operated, is a solid starting point for this purpose - https://www.facebook.com/groups/997022537630163/permalink/998930597439357/
Other Services & Programs – Section 3. of the draft of Bill 22, under “Powers and duties of the animal control and protection administrator”, appears to provide that any additional programs, such as Spay/Neuter, TNR, Adoptions, Foster, Volunteer, Transfer, etc. would have to be approved by the Council. These are programs implemented by proactive, effective, and successful Animal Control Agencies – without these additional programs, an Agency will not be able to get, nor stay, on top of the issues.
As with the Oversight Committee, we advise that the authorization to implement such programs be added directly to the Bill.