Voters will be asked in the November general election whether they want to give the Honolulu Police Commission more authority over the police chief under a proposed change to the City Charter.

The proposed amendment, approved in principle by the Charter Commission this week, would:

>> Make the position of Honolulu police chief an at-will position, allowing the Police Commission to dismiss the individual as it sees fit. The charter now lists “gross or continuous maladministration” as the reason to fire the chief. It is silent on whether there are other causes.

>> Allow the Police Commission to suspend a chief. The Charter now allows only for the commission to hire and fire, but gives no stated authority to suspend, the chief.

>> Give the Police Commission authority to subpoena records or witnesses when it investigates public charges of misconduct against officers or other department employees.

The proposal, which is being discussed as Police Chief Louis Kealoha is under fire on several fronts, now goes to the Charter Commission’s Style Committee to ensure its language jibes with the style and form of the Charter. Kealoha and his wife, a deputy city prosecutor, are believed to be the subject of a federal investigation involving the alleged misuse of their authority. Meanwhile a number of HPD officers have been in the news as a result of allegations of criminal activity or other transgressions. The city has paid $4.7 million to settle discrimination lawsuits by two former officers who allege they were sent into dangerous situations without proper backup.

“We’re making the police chief at-will,” said commission member Kevin Mulligan, who headed the subcommittee tasked with coming up with recommended changes to HPD and the commission. “We’re removing cause from the Charter. I think that’s a very significant change, and it’s designed to establish to the chief and the commission that the police chief serves at the will of the commission.”

Two of four criteria listed for suspension or removal include acts that run counter to the interests of the public or the Police Commission and acts that show “a reckless disregard for the safety of the public or another law enforcement officer.”

The Police Commission now is also tasked with taking complaints brought by the public and can make recommendations for discipline, but it has no authority to compel the chief to act in a certain manner. A fourth component of the proposed Charter amendment requires the chief to explain in writing within a specified period why he or she chooses not to follow a Police Commission recommendation.

A push by some commission members to give the mayor, with concurrence by a majority of the City Council, authority to fire the chief failed to muster the support of a majority of the 13-member commission.

Commission members who expressed support for that proposal, including former state Sen. Donna Ikeda and former Gov. John Waihee, said they felt that placing the fate of the chief in the hands of an elected mayor could provide more direct accountability to the public than an appointed Police Commission.

State Sen. Will Espero, vice chairman of the Senate public safety committee and a leading critic of the recent actions of Kealoha and HPD, urged the commission to support giving the mayor, with the concurrence of a majority of Police Commission members, authority to fire the police chief.

The Charter Commission proposal “provides a few more tools” for the Police Commission to oversee HPD, Espero (D, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) said. “The problem, however, is that the status quo is still basically maintained in that the Police Commission still hires and fires the chief, and the police chief can still override the decision of the Police Commission with respect to misconduct cases that come before it.”

Espero noted the recent string of news headlines involving alleged misconduct by HPD officers, including Kealoha. “The feeling from the public is that general oversight is lacking or weak, primarily because of the Charter,” he said. “And you have a great opportunity to change that.”

Several commission members questioned whether Espero’s concerns were more about personalities than about the structure of government. Espero shot back, “Something is not working within the infrastructure between the Police Commission and the police chief and the Police Department, and that’s why we’re saying things.”

The only reason there was an uptick in the number of HPD officers fired in 2015 is because a high-profile domestic violence case shined a light on cases of police misconduct the previous year, he said.

City Managing Director Roy Amemiya testified that the Caldwell administration supports the proposal.

A representative for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers earlier testified against any changes to the current structure of the department and the commission, calling it unnecessary.

Meanwhile, a Charter Commission subcommittee this week released a report recommending that an amendment be moved out that gives the city Ethics Commission the authority to set the salary of its executive director and staff attorneys. The Charter Commission is scheduled to take a vote on the proposed amendment Friday.

The panel rejected other proposals aimed at making the Ethics Commission more accountable to the public, including one that eliminates the commission entirely and replaces it with an inspector general’s office that would serve as a public watchdog over misconduct or gross mismanagement in city government.

The Charter Commission on Thursday also advanced a proposal that creates a city office tasked with creating policy and coordinating efforts to tackle climate change with other city agencies, other counties and the state. The proposal also creates a Climate Change Commission made up of experts that would advise city agencies. The proposal now goes to the Style Committee.