I saw part of a recently televised council meeting where Council Member Riki Hokama was on a tirade alleging actions by the finance director violated Section 7 the 2012 budget ordinance and threatening a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail. This diatribe was for moving real property collection to the Treasury Division while keeping real property assessment in the Real Property Division. Both functions will still be in Finance, as noted in the 2013 budget proposal.
If Council Member Hokama's bellicose outburst is not shibai, he should bring charges against the finance director. Or do the statesman thing, apologize and stop ranting.
In my opinion, the action by the finance director was the right one. By separating assessment from collection, you build a wall between the two so any wrongdoing by assessment is quickly noted by collections and reported to the division head. How often would collections report an anomaly if assessment and collection were under the same division head? Once?
I'm not saying this is happening but this minimal separation would make it difficult for any collusive activities from happening in the future.
Ken Taira
Haiku
