A Civil Beat Investigation: In Hawaii’s workers’ comp system, people with long-lasting injuries are often forced to battle doctors hand-picked by insurance companies to get treatment and disability payments.
Experts agree it’s a matter of when, not if, Oahu gets hit by a hurricane or tsunami. “Are We Ready?” examines Oahu’s vulnerabilities — from its harbor to the aging Ala Wai canal — and what steps are being taken to make the island more resilient.
The commission hoped to be swearing in a new police chief this summer. But a delay in hiring a consultant to assist in the search has pushed the timeline back to at least September.
Honolulu police commissioners appear to be losing patience in their search for a new police chief to replace Louis Kealoha, who retired in January amid corruption allegations.
One of the biggest hang-ups has been the hiring of a consultant who will help the police commissioners evaluate the 34 candidates who submitted applications to the city.
The commission was in final contract negotiations with a potential consultant last month, but officials said talks disintegrated, although they did not specify the reasons.
Police Commissioner Loretta Sheehan listens as Executive Officer Dan Lawrence, left, explains why it has been so difficult to find a consultant to help select Honolulu’s next police chief.
Anthony Quintano/Civil Beat
On Wednesday, the commission’s executive officer, Dan Lawrence told commissioners that he was again in the process of finalizing a contract with another consultant.
But he also said he was “not comfortable” providing a specific timeline for hiring a consultant, grading the candidates and selecting a new chief.
“There’s so much stuff that’s out of our control,” Lawrence said. “Once the consultant is engaged then the time frame becomes much more definite.”
Only three groups, all of them from the mainland, submitted proposals for the consulting job.
Lawrence told the commissioners that many of the groups specializing in hiring police chiefs prefer to come in as executive search firms, meaning that they take part in the search for candidates.
He noted that headhunters also tend to charge more money for those services.
Commissioner Loretta Sheehan questioned whether the commission should have gone that route in the first place to seek out candidates who are “better suited for the job.”
But at this point it appears to be too late, considering the number of candidates who have applied and the fact the city is already in negotiations with a consultant.
The concern is that any more changes to the process would result in even more delays in selecting the city’s next chief, something that might not happen until September.
“Personally, I’m quite content with our game plan,” Commissioner Steven Levinson said. “I’m not terribly worried about the adequacy of the pool. I just want to get the show on the road.”
Nick Grube is a reporter for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at nick@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @nickgrube. You can also reach him by phone at 808-377-0246.
A Civil Beat Investigation: In Hawaii’s workers’ comp system, people with long-lasting injuries are often forced to battle doctors hand-picked by insurance companies to get treatment and disability payments.
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