Question: Since we now have green, blue and gray (bin) pickup, how do we thank the drivers? Do I need to set up three gifts or do I have one driver for our route? When we do set out our gift, is it shared? My thought was to give a gift certificate or gift card of some sort. Is there a price limit on the gifts that can be given to city employees? What kind of trouble am I creating?
Answer: We’ll address your last question first: To avoid causing trouble, limit your gifts to inexpensive “tokens of aloha,” such as food and lei, that don’t run afoul of the city’s ethics rules, which are intended to help eliminate conflicts of interest and foster trust in government.
Along with such tokens, city employees, except those with discretionary authority or authority to enforce the law, also sometimes may accept “gifts of relatively small value” (under $50) as long as such gifts are neither solicited nor intended to influence their work, according to the Honolulu Ethics Commission’s guidelines on gifts. Gifts worth more than $200 generally are forbidden.
However, even gifts worth less than $50 are prohibited “if a reasonable person could conclude that the gift is intended to influence or reward the officer or employee in the performance of an official duty,” the guide states, adding that even the appearance of a conflict matters.
City personnel who have the authority to enforce laws, including police officers, building inspectors and others, are held to a higher standard and should not accept gifts of any value from any person or business against whom they may have to enforce the law, according to the guide.
You can read the commission’s gift guidelines at 808ne.ws/giftethics, with examples of what is and isn’t allowed, and the city’s overall ethics laws at 808ne.ws/ethicslaws (see Section 11-102, conflicts of interest).
Returning specifically to garbage collectors: Markus Owens, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Services, said that it’s his understanding that multi-cart automated routes generally have the same driver all week and that drivers usually share gifts — emphasizing that they are not expected. Although holiday beer for the rubbish crew is a longtime Hawaii tradition, the department doesn’t favor that tribute.
“Many city employees are doing great work throughout our community. Saying ‘thank you’ can be as simple as just saying ‘thank you’ or a card,” Owens said. “We do not encourage giving gifts, but we understand that it has become somewhat traditional with our refuse collectors since they are in your neighborhood and touch your lives weekly. ENV discourages gifts of alcoholic beverages.”
Auwe
What can be done about people driving at night without headlights or taillights? Almost every time I drive at night there is someone driving without their headlights and taillights turned on. A lot of those are people who have newer cars with DRL (daytime running lights). They think because they have DRL that their lights are on, but only their headlights are on at a lower setting. They don’t realize their taillights aren’t on. It’s not only annoying but hazardous. — L.K.
Mahalo
Before the current year fades away, I would like to use your column to express my very belated but heartfelt gratitude to the wonderfully thoughtful couple who found my purse in the Walmart parking lot back in May. Since it was turned in to the customer service department promptly, it was returned to me safely and without delay. I cannot even imagine how much time, effort and money it would have taken to replace the contents of that purse. May they be blessed with the best holiday season ever and many more! — Grateful grandma
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