Proposal to do away with neighborhood boards is rejected

The Honolulu Charter Commission voted to not advance a proposal that would have asked Oahu voters to consider scrapping neighborhood boards and redirecting a portion of funding to other efforts aiming to increase civic participation.

The commission’s vote against the measure, cast last week, means that the proposed Charter amendment will not be included on the November general election ballot. Commission members received hundreds of written comments on the matter and heard testimony from dozens of residents at a meeting Thursday.

Commission Vice Chairman Kevin Mulligan, who presided over the meeting and voted against the proposal, said the majority of those who submitted comments and testified for about three hours opposed eliminating neighborhood boards.

“The opposition was very clear. We’re not going to advance a proposal where there’s that significant opposition from neighborhood board members and the public,” Mulligan said.

A subcommittee tasked by the commission to look into open-government proposals recommended in a May report that the Neighborhood Commission develop a strategic plan and timeline to restructure “delivery of information to community members through implementation of current communications technologies” and to do away with the neighborhood board system.

The Charter amendment question proposed stepping up communications by way of television, the internet and email.

Commission member Pam Witty-Oakland, who led the subcommittee, pointed to the lackluster voter turnout for neighborhood board elections as evidence that the system is failing to adequately engage citizens in participation in local government matters.

In 2015 there were about 19,700 ballots cast, a return rate of 10.1 percent.

“I believe that those in support of the neighborhood board system are a vocal minority,” Witty-Oakland said. “I was glad to be a part of the process. I would’ve preferred it be on a ballot and let it unfold there. But democracy is what it is.”

Robert Finley, chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board and vice chairman of the Neighborhood Commission, said he was relieved that the proposal did not move forward. He maintains that efforts to increase civic participation need to include both online and in-person engagement.

“We do have a large group of people, believe it or not, who don’t have computers,” Finley said. “There are those people who show up at our meetings because they want to see their Council member, their legislator, us, police and fire and talk to them one on one.”