HCR102

WHEREAS, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu (Mayor) wields broad and flexible powers to propose an executive reorganization under section 4-202 of the Revised Charter of the City and County of Honolulu 1973 (Amended 2017 Edition) (Charter); and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Charter section 4-202, entitled "Executive Reorganization Power", "In the interest of administrative efficiency, effectiveness and economy, the mayor, and only the mayor, may propose to the council that the duties and functions of existing departments or agencies of the executive branch, excepting departments or agencies reporting directly to the mayor and not including semi-autonomous agencies, be changed or departments or agencies be created, combined, rearranged, renamed or eliminated."; and

WHEREAS, Charter section 4-202 further provides, "Such proposal or proposals shall take effect upon approval of the council or sixty days after transmittal to the council unless rejected by a two-thirds vote of the council's entire membership."; and

WHEREAS, by Resolution 21-122, adopted by the Honolulu City Council on June 2, 2021, the Council expressed its support for separating the Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division from the City's Department of Emergency Services by urging the Mayor to reorganize; and

WHEREAS, the City's Department of Emergency Services is comprised of the Emergency Medical Services Division (EMS), the Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division (Ocean Safety), and the Health Services Branch; and

WHEREAS, Charter section 6-603 tasks the Director of Emergency Services, who heads the Department of Emergency Services, with:

(1) As to medical services, serving as the primary provider of emergency medical care; developing programs and providing training and educational programs related to emergency medical services and injury prevention; taking responsibility for medical matters relating to public health and welfare; and taking responsibility for the administration of the City's health services programs and medical evaluations of current and prospective City employees;

(2) As to ocean safety, serving as the primary responder to emergencies arising on the beach and in the near shore waters; taking responsibility for ocean safety training, educational, and risk reduction programs relating to ocean safety; and performing such other duties as may be required by law; and

(3) Performing such duties as may be required by law; and

WHEREAS, Ocean Safety's kuleana encompasses one hundred ninety eight miles of Oahu's coastline; and

WHEREAS, Ocean Safety personnel and its lifeguards perform public safety and service functions, including staffing forty-one lifeguard towers, ocean rescues, emergency medical treatment, mobile patrol and response, and education and prevention strategies to assist the roughly eighteen million beach users on Oahu each year; and

WHEREAS, Ocean Safety makes thousands of rescues and takes tens of thousands of preventive actions annually to keep Oahu's residents and visitors safe; and

WHEREAS, for fiscal year 2021, EMS had 328.5 full-time equivalent positions, while Ocean Safety had 251 full-time equivalent positions; and

WHEREAS, the State currently reimburses the City for costs incurred by the City for the provision of emergency medical services separate and apart from the budget and costs associated with the operations of Ocean Safety; and

WHEREAS, due to the enactment of Act 208, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, the Department of Health will transfer certain duties, functions, and powers relating to emergency medical services to the City, and the workload of EMS is expected to significantly increase while reimbursement for costs incurred by the City for emergency medical services is expected to significantly decline beginning in fiscal year 2023; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that it may be in the best interest of the City and in the interest of administrative efficiency, effectiveness, and economy to create a separate department for the Ocean Safety duties, functions, and personnel to allow for greater autonomy in its budget and operations, and to ensure that the needs of Ocean Safety employees are best served; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Senate concurring, that the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu and the Honolulu City Council are urged to create a separate department for the City's ocean safety and lifeguard services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; Chair of the Honolulu City Council; Managing Director of the City and County of Honolulu; and Director of Emergency Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services; Separate Department; City and County of Honolulu

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	102
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII