RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, police officers and firefighters have demanding and difficult jobs that require them to place their lives at risk each day in carrying out important law enforcement duties and responsibilities, including anti-terrorist security, and to protect and serve the public; and

WHEREAS, police officers and firefighters are often required to work long hours under highly stressful circumstances with a high level of dedication and professionalism exhibited on a daily basis; and

WHEREAS, it was reported that Hawaii County police officers routinely work twelve hour shifts which may get extended to sixteen hours due to ongoing personnel shortages, and that, for instance, Hawaii County police officers who live in Hilo must make a three hour round trip drive to work in Ka`u which increases to four hours if the officer needs to travel to work in Kona and North Kohala; and

WHEREAS, long work hours and sacrificing valuable time with their families, is symptomatic of the experience of other county police officers and is directly related to the high vacancy rates in each county police department, despite active recruitment efforts by these departments; and

WHEREAS, the Honolulu Police Department has the highest vacancy rate of almost twenty-one percent, followed by the Hawaii County Police Department at seventeen percent, the Maui County Police Department at sixteen percent, and Kauai County Police Department at fourteen percent; and

WHEREAS, firefighters are also subject to similar working conditions and, like police officers, are required to respond to all types of emergencies, including medical as well as provide anti-terrorist response, prevention, and mitigation assistance; and

WHEREAS, the respective county fire departments may also face similar personnel shortages if future deployments of the Hawaii Army National Guard or Army Reserves take place, for example, with the Honolulu Fire Department expected to lose as many as seventy-six active firefighter or related personnel if called to military service in the Middle East; and

WHEREAS, prospective police and firefighter recruits routinely point to the level of pay and the lack of attractive incentive or bonus programs as the primary reasons for not choosing a career in law enforcement or fire fighting; and

WHEREAS, incentive or bonus programs must not only be creative in design and approach, but also flexible in order to satisfy the individual needs and interests of each prospective recruit; and

WHEREAS, it is vital that incentive and bonus programs not only be explored, but instituted at both the state and county levels to lower the level of vacancies in each counties' police and fire departments as well as prevent future vacancies from arising; and

WHEREAS, for any incentive and bonus program to be successful and flourish, it must be developed with the input and support of police officers, firefighters, the respective mayors, county councils, county civil service directors, the Department of Health Emergency Medical Services Division Chief, and the Department of Transportation Airport Firefighting Staff Officer; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Police and Fire Chiefs, the Mayors, County Council chairs, and civil service directors of each respective county are urged to jointly convene a task force to address the issue of establishing flexible and creative incentive and bonus programs designed to recruit additional candidates for police officer and firefighter training; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as part of its fact finding process, the task force is requested to actively solicit recommendations from current and retired police officers and firefighters, prospective recruits, the community at large, and appropriate county officials with regard to the type of bonus or incentive programs that should be established in order to encourage the enlistment of additional police and firefighter recruits; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that discussions on county or statewide incentive or bonus programs include, but are not limited to, providing tax relief in the form of tax deductions or tax credits for police officers and firefighters to attract and retain recruits, offering tuition waivers or tuition assistance to enable firefighters or police officers to attend local or national training or educational programs, implementing a signing bonus schedule to compensate recruits for specialized training or experience that will assist them in the performance of their duties, a loan forgiveness or financial assistance program to defray educational or training related expenses or loans accrued while attending educational programs related to law enforcement or emergency response training; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor, Chief of Police, County Council Chairs of each county, the Division Chief for the Department of Health's Emergency Medical Services Division, the Staff Officer for the Department of Transportation's Airport Firefighting Unit, the Director of Human Resources for the City and County of Honolulu, the Director of Personnel for the County of Hawaii, the Director of Personnel Services for the County of Kauai, and the Director of Personnel Services for the County of Maui.

Report Title:

Task Force; Police and Firefighter Recruitment