Hawai‘i County launches task force to address nearly 700 vacancies

The new Hawai‘i County administration is working to address nearly 700 vacancies across almost all departments, which affect the public in multiple ways.

There are fewer hours at transfer stations and public pools; slower response to maintenance of roads, tree trimming, parks and fields; clerk shortages that sometimes result in no one answering phones when the public calls the county for help.

Newly elected Mayor Kimo Alameda described this as bad business.

Since taking his oath to office in December, Alameda has prioritized a plan to get more of these jobs filled by residents. Last month, he started a Human Resources task force to work on recruitment and retention.

While out on the campaign trail last year, Alameda heard the county had 300 vacancies. After taking office, the mayor was “caught off guard” with the true number of job openings.

Alameda attributed some the vacancy issues to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the government shutdown in an effort to stem the spread of the virus.

“We’re all trying to get back on track,” he said.

Alameda has directed Human Resources to focus on hiring positions who directly deal with the public so residents can walk up to a desk and talk to someone in person.

But while there is a lot of recruitment happening, Alameda said few people are applying.

Per county policy, job openings are set for about two weeks. If there are no applicants, Alameda said the county transitions to continuous recruitment.

“We just keep publishing and re-recruiting until such time as we get a qualified applicant or a pool of applicants,” the mayor said.

While most of the vacancies are within Hawai‘i Island police with 196 among sworn and unsworn personnel and in Hawai‘i Fire Department with 76 openings also among sworn and unsworn personnel, Alameda said those departments are covering their areas with overtime hours. This is not ideal due to burnout and the higher cost of overtime pay.

Alameda identified the greatest need in the following departments: the Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Environmental Management and Department of Public Works.

All of the positions open require some kind of higher education or special licensing. Alameda said the county is losing out on potential employees with high school diplomas who could get on-the-job experience.

There are 48 vacancies in the Department of Environmental Management with a vacancy rate of 28% in the wastewater division and 13% in the solid waste division.

Hugh Ono, the new director of Public Works, said the running average of vacancies in his department is 59 with the majority of the positions in the building division, including building inspectors, clerks who review permits, and architect engineers who determine building code compliance.

Clayton Honma, the new Parks and Recreation Department director, has about 60 vacancies. Topping his priority list to fill are park caretakers, lifeguards at Kona Community Aquatic Center and community service workers who coordinate services for the department’s many recreational programs.

The Kona pool had to close Jan. 28 and the Honoka’a Swimming Pool has shortened it hours, both due to a staffing shortages. The department is able to cover for shortages elsewhere with part-time employees working extra hours and full-time employees working overtime.

While the lack of staff hasn’t severely impacted park maintenance yet, Honma said, it is a stressor for employees with Hilo-based workers required to travel to West Hawai‘i to fill in for the vacancies in Kona.

Honma said part of the reason recruitment has been difficult is because job openings are only part-time positions with an unattractive pay scale. Community service workers, both part-time and full time, have a posted salary between approximately $1,742 and $3,093 per month.

Part of the recruitment plan, Honma said, is filling positions in Kona’s building maintenance with workers who can cover carpentry, plumbing and electric.

“Shout out to employees who are filling the gaps,” Honma said. “They’re keeping our parks safe.”

Wesley Segawa, the new director of the Department of Environmental Management, said there are a lot of personnel working on temporary assignments to fill these positions.

Open positions range from solid waste drivers to engineers. Segawa said drivers also operate equipment at the landfill so it can maximize its capacity.

These positions are difficult to fill because candidates must have a commercial driver’s license, or CDL, and experience operating heavy machinery, like dozers.

When Segawa took over the department, the Human Resources positions also were not filled. Robin Bauman was recently hired as the business manager to oversee recruitment.

On Friday, Bauman said the department was looking to recruit wastewater treatment plant operators, clerks, accountants and more.

“With HR staff, we’ll be able to get through the recruitments a little faster,” she said.

Despite the lack of personnel, Segawa said the department has been able to keep its transfer stations open with current staff working extra hours.

“The staff is feeling the pressure and burnout being asked to cover things,” Segawa said. “The guys on the ground are keeping this running so our community doesn’t feel it.”

On Super Bowl Sunday, the department’s deputy director, Craig Kawaguchi, went to nearly all the transfer stations in East Hawai‘i to thank the employees for working and passed out candy.

Salaries within the Public Works Department range from $40,000 a year to $100,000 a year.

Ono said almost all of the positions in the Public Works department require some form of higher education, with the salaries being offered an issue for attracting applicants.

“We’re really not successful at recruiting at the minimum pay level,” Ono said.

Some positions have a demanding workload, including the clerks who do the initial intake of building permit applications: about 5,000 to 6,000 per year.

“Without the staff, we don’t have the efficiency to process the permits as we should,” Ono said.

Alameda said he’s seeing a combination of people retiring and others quitting their county job to work in the private sector because it pays more. The county is competing with the hotel industry and othe rprivate sector jobs.

Alameda said he also has to work with unions to negotiate some of the government salaries.

Alameda said the county now is looking into paid internships for some of the vacancies.

See below he full list of vacancies by department as of Jan 27. Click here to see all county jobs, salaries and how to apply.

• Aging – Filled positions: 13; Vacancies: 7
• Animal Control – Filled positions: 26; Vacancies: 21
• Civil Defense – Filled positions: 11; Vacancies: 2
• Corporation Counsel – Filled positions: 8; Vacancies: 7
• County Clerk/Council – Filled positions: 20; Vacancies: 9
• Environmental Management – Filled positions: 185; Vacancies: 43
• Finance – Filled positions: 137; Vacancies: 18
• Housing – Filled positions: 55; Vacancies: 10
• Human Resources – Filled positions: 27; Vacancies: 9
• Information Technology – Filled positions: 26; Vacancies: 12
• Liquor Control – Filled positions: 14; Vacancies: 4
• Mass Transit – Filled positions: 18; Vacancies: 7
• Office of the Mayor – Filled positions: 3; Zero vacancies
• Parks and Recreation – Filled positions: 384; Vacancies: 57
• Planning – Filled positions: 57; Vacancies: 17
• Prosecuting Attorney – Filled positions: 67; Vacancies: 21
• Public Works – Filled positions: 357; Vacancies: 65
• Research and Development – Filled positions: 14; Vacancies: 5
• Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity and Resilience – Filled positions: 2; Vacancies: 3
• Water Supply – Filled positions: 147; Vacancies: 44
• Hawai‘i Island police – Vacancies: 142
• Hawai‘i Fire Department – Vacancies: 76

Total Vacancies: 690

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the most updated vacancy numbers for Hawai‘i Island police.