Sheri Kajiwara

To describe Sheri Kajiwara as a hard worker doesn’t quite convey the determined enthusiasm she exudes as director of the city’s Department of Customer Services. Leading a department of 350 employees across four diverse divisions requires her to work closely with many others, collaboration that she cites as key to improving delivery of a variety of city services.

A veteran of the Fasi and Harris administrations who also has private-sector experience in marketing and public relations, Kajiwara retains the decisive self-assurance of the schoolteacher she used to be. An alumna of Sacred Hearts Academy, Kajiwara holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Hawaii and taught elementary and middle school for years on Oahu before joining the city government. She returned to municipal service with the Caldwell administration, taking the helm of DCS in 2013 and assuming oversight of its division of motor vehicles, licensing and permitting; satellite city halls; the city’s public communications branch and an administrative branch that, at the moment, coordinates everything from animal control to towing contracts to the beloved annual holiday tradition, Honolulu City Lights.

“There’s always a lot going on around here. I love that,” said Kajiwara, who manages to find time for hobbies that include woodworking and cake decorating. She’s known for designing and baking wedding cakes up to 15 tiers high, and tackles home-improvement projects such as handcrafting her son’s loft-style bedroom furniture.

She and husband Lance, a manager in the state Judiciary’s communications division, have two children. Daughter Carly, 15, is active in student government at Kamehameha Schools and son Jordan, 12, “loves his sports” at Moanalua Middle School. The energetic family follows mom’s credo “to always look at how you can contribute. Never approach anything thinking about what you can get out of it. Think about what you can put in.”

QUESTION: This department … manages so many things, from motor vehicle licensing, to taxi operations, satellite city halls. … Can you can start by talking about some of your top priorities … ?

ANSWER: I think everything points to really easing the task of getting a basic government service … So that’s a two-fold goal: One is to find ways that we can actually provide the service more quickly, and the other is to make whatever wait time remains comfortable. We’re thinking about the comfort and convenience of the customer. … That’s why we installed cameras online, so that people could actually check out the situation before they head down …

Q: To see the line?

A: Yes. And we have a lot of hits and I use it myself and I monitor our lines there. … Allowing people real-time views of the service lines was an idea that cost $99 at each site. We bought them (the cameras) on eBay. We also decided to put in some chairs and a queuing system so that you could pull a number and no longer have to stand in line. Before we had people … who couldn’t get out of line to go the bathroom, feed their meter, take care of their kids — because they were holding their place.

Q: So it’s really about easing the frustration while you are standing in line. This is at the satellite city halls?

A: We tried it first at Koolau, which is a driver’s license facility. Then we opened a brand-new one at Pearlridge. We’re now looking at putting it in at Kapolei and Ala Moana. … It would have cost us $5,000 a month per site to purchase an existing “pull-a-number” system used by other states. Our Aloha Q (queue-less) system was designed in-house by DIT (Department of Information Technology), costing taxpayers nothing extra, and saving us thousands over the next several years.

Q: You’ve talked about in the future having more services available online. Is that something that you can talk about now, or is still in the planning changes?

A: I think I can speak generally about it. … We are setting our sights on identifying what things need to be addressed, and we are making steady progress. There are still some barriers to overcome, but hopefully very soon, within a month or two, we’re hoping to be able to offer driver license replacements and duplicates online. … If you got your wallet stolen, you misplaced it, or it’s damaged, you need a replacement. So instead of you going and standing in line, adding to the congestion, what we’re doing is giving you the exact same license as what we have on file. So I thought, why not be able to do that online, pay by credit card and you get that in the mail?

Q: Updating technology seems to be a challenge across all levels of government, state and city, at every department. Is that primarily a budget issue? What is the issue?

A: Moving the needle takes collective leadership. For example, there had to be a desire on our end to seek out and identify problem technical areas. The administration in DIT has the creative ability and willingness to design what we need. The effort would stall without the support of management in DFM (Department of Facility Maintenance), who does the installation on site. BFR (Budget and Fiscal Services), DHR (Department of Human Resources) and COR (Corporation Counsel) all step in to help as needed. But it’s the top that sets the tone. Our mayor stresses “no silos” (departments working in isolation). And I believe this is the first time in decades that we have this kind of leadership synergy in the city to make things like this happen — in months, not years.

Q: Will all these improvements happen at once, or will they be phased in?

A: It will be phases because each improvement requires different things, different levels of changes to the ordinance, some of them require City Council approval, some of them require funding and contracts, and some of them are multi-tiered. So, for example, customers have never been able to use a credit card at a satellite city hall. That pretty much amazes a lot of people when they come in to pay their water bill, buy a bus pass, buy a dog license. Any kind of city service, you need cash or check. I don’t even have a checkbook anymore. A lot of people don’t. … So I’m happy to say that within the next five months or so, we will start accepting credit cards for all transactions at our satellites. There are a lot of details to work out, but we are getting there.

Q: People will be happy about that.

A: It’s one small thing, but it’s a convenience. … Same thing with the pull-a-number as a technology. You don’t just stand in line. It will call your name. We’re looking at it also being able to text you, so that you can shop at Pearlridge or Ala Moana, or you can go across to Costco, because now we’re moving facilities to … Kapalama Hale. So you can go to Costco, and we’ll text you 20 minutes or so before your time, to say ‘it looks like you will be served in 15 minutes, head on back.’ It gives people a bit more flexibility and freedom. …

Q: You mentioned the online service for driver’s licenses. Would that be for renewals too?

A: Initially only duplicates or replacements. Hopefully by the end of the year … you’ll be able to renew your 8-year license online, which would seriously decrease the number of people who have to wait in line. We’re still developing the product. … We’re not there yet, but we’re actively working on this. I’m hoping that if everything falls into place and we are able to manage certain barriers, this will happen by the end of the year. One barrier … is the photo. We need to get a new photo (for the license holder). So we’re looking at things like face recognition software that can identify the person so we can accept an updated photo online. I also have to make sure that your vision test can be verified with the renewal. We might also want a stricter process for higher-risk drivers. …. So those are the kinds of things that we need to address. …

Q: It seems like it should be possible. When you look at distance medicine, for example, that is occurring. Doctors are using technology to see patients online. …

A: … Doctors can put in prescriptions with a code, they can call in prescriptions. That’s a very acceptable way of ensuring that there is no fraud. It’s a good working system. Why couldn’t an eye doctor enter approval (in a similar way for a driver’s license) … We can use technology to improve efficiency and customer service …

Q:You don’t have an IT background yourself, do you?

A: I do not.

Q: You’re just enthusiastic and know it can be done?

A: I have a desire and I have great key people all around me who know more and can advise and come up with all sorts of out-of-the-box solutions. It’s a team effort. It always is.

Q: Speaking of the team, how many employees do you oversee?

A: We have about 350 employees, that’s with our part-time and contract hires … The Department of Customer Services includes the Division of Motor Vehicles, Licensing and Permitting, with six service sites; the Satellite City Halls, with nine service centers out in the community; the Public Communications Branch and the administrative branch. …

Q: What are the biggest issues, the perennial things that you hear about from the public … ?

A: The top two complaints into the city’s complaint system are potholes and streetlights being out. That’s the top two, on a citywide level. For CSD (the customer services department) one of the top issues would be the documents that you need to comply with the federal REAL ID Act (which imposed stricter rules regarding the issuance of state IDs and driver’s licenses). I think it’s important for people to know that it’s not the city that’s requiring all these documents. It’s not the state. It’s part of a federal mandate. … If a state is not compliant with the REAL ID Act at the time we reach phase three, (the ID holder) cannot board an airplane. … Phase three is targeted for January 2016, which is right around the corner. And if I allowed Hawaii to lose compliance, as an island state, that would be big for all of us. … So we are very, very strict about meeting the REAL ID mandates …. For our cultural environment, that’s hard sometimes. We always have people who say, ‘I’m your auntie. You know who I am. Why do you need my birth certificate?’ They want us to just waive certain things. Maybe way back, personal recognition, that’s how it was. But for REAL ID compliance, we have to scan those documents in and we are audited. If at any point in time, I’m missing a document, or I accept a facsimile instead of a original, or I allow something to slip that is not allowed, Hawaii could lose its compliance.

Q: We are compliant, though, right?

A: Yes.

Q: So that’s the biggest complaint, over having to supply the documents?

A: Yes. Why do I need this? I can’t find that document. Why can’t you waive it? Especially for the homeless. Why are we being so hard? … But if you think about it, anybody could come from out of country … claim to be homeless and get an ID. The REAL ID Act is for national security.

That’s the bottom line of the whole program, so they’re not going to allow that. We need to know who you are and that you have a right to be in the United States.

Q: So how do you deal with IDs for homeless people?

A: People will need a state ID to get services like welfare or food assistance, housing or even job training. They need their documents. So there are social-service agencies that help them secure their original birth certificate, or get a Social Security card replaced. …

Q: Is it difficult dealing with complaints? How do you approach this job, day-to-day?

A: My philosophy in life, and I try to raise my kids the same way, is this: No. 1, treat people well, no matter where you are, and No. 2, whatever you endeavor to do, never look at what you’re going to get out of it, but at what you can contribute. …

I know why I am here. I’ve made a personal commitment to help make Honolulu a better place. That’s my whole reason to be in this job.

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CORRECTION: The city hopes to process driver’s license replacement orders online within a month or two. An earlier version of this story referred to driver’s license renewals in one reference.