Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration says the process has begun to find candidates to serve on the new commission that will oversee the city’s Ocean Safety Department.

Via legislation signed into law in May, the mayor created the public-safety sector that employs 294 lifeguards and eight rescue ski teams, which staff 43 lifeguard towers on beaches around Oahu’s 227 miles of coastline.

But many in the public, and on the Honolulu City Council as well, wanted transparency and oversight to the city’s newest first-­responder department.

The Blangiardi administration, with no authority under the City Charter to create such a commission, ultimately backed a charter amendment to form the oversight panel.

On Nov. 5, Oahu voters at the ballot box cast 201,000 votes in favor, versus 105,626 votes against that plan, the city said.

As such, the pending Ocean Safety Commission will make recommendations on the department’s annual budget, review its operations and recommend improvements, and appoint or remove a new ocean safety chief, among other powers.

And following the will of voters, the city confirmed this week it’s working to set up that five-member, volunteer panel.

“We are in the process of establishing a window for the receipt of interested members of the community who wish to serve on the HOSD commission,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy communications director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “We have already received self-­initiated submissions and want to make sure the process is open to all interested.”

He added, “No specific date for formation is available at this time as vetting of candidates, confirmation via Council and organizational activities are to be determined.”

“We hope no later than the second quarter of 2025,” Scheuring said.

As far as the names of folks willing to serve on the panel, the Mayor’s Office said those details were forthcoming as well.

“We intend to start the public solicitation of interests in serving on the commission in January,” Scheuring said. “We are presently working on qualifications and backgrounds and have yet to decide on specific criteria, if any.”

Still, the new oversight body would likely look like the existing Fire and Police commissions, whose members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Honolulu City Council.

As far as the Fire Commission is concerned, its seven volunteer members have the following mandated responsibilities:

>> Appoints and may remove the fire chief.

>> Adopts rules necessary for the conduct of its business and reviews rules for the administration of the department.

>> Reviews the annual budget prepared by the fire chief and makes recommendations to the mayor and the Council.

>> Reviews the Fire Department’s operations, as deemed necessary, for the purpose of recommending improvements to the fire chief.

>> Evaluates at least annually the performance of the fire chief and submits a report to the mayor and the Council.

>> Reviews personnel actions within the department for conformance with the policies under city laws.

>> Hears complaints of citizens concerning the department or its personnel and, if deemed necessary, makes recommendations to the fire chief on appropriate corrective actions.

>> Submits an annual report to the mayor and the Council on its activities.

The Mayor’s Office says the planned Ocean Safety Commission will be charged with similar responsibilities.

“A commission will play an important role in selecting the best qualified chief to lead the department, enhance public confidence in Ocean Safety first responders, insure integrity, fairness and respect of our city lifeguards, oversee complaints and support the mission of our Ocean Safety first responders,” Scheuring said.

He added, “We look forward to standing up Hono­lulu’s first Ocean Safety Commission.”

In July, Kurt Lager, a 19-year city lifeguard veteran, was named acting director of the city’s Ocean Safety Department.

At the time, Lager told the Star-Advertiser that he’d lead the approximately $24 million department “until such time as a vote in November goes through for a commission or not.”

“And either a commission will hire a chief or, if the vote is not passed, the mayor will appoint a director,” he said.

As far as priorities, Lager said his department’s focus will be on its new $2.5 million project in Kailua — a 10,000-square-foot lot that will become a single-story center for lifeguard equipment storage and Ocean Safety operations — which broke ground May 30.

“We’re excited to be building that,” he said, adding that his agency also will work on its ongoing lifeguard tower replacement program around Oahu. “We have a new tower going in at Kalama Beach Park.”

The city is focusing “on new positions that we need for the department, administratively, and to continue the expansion and growth,” he said.

Lager’s annual salary as acting director is $194,208, according to the Mayor’s Office.

This week Lager did not immediately respond to questions about his future directorship at Ocean Safety.

Meanwhile, former Ocean Safety Chief John Titchen — a critic of the mayor’s initial plan to create the stand-alone Ocean Safety Department without an oversight panel — led the city’s Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Serv­ices Division for 5-1/2 years, until he was abruptly suspended earlier this year.

Titchen was first placed on unpaid administrative leave, effective April 23, pending investigation of an unexplained personnel matter, the Star-Advertiser previously confirmed.

He was then placed on paid leave, and remained “on leave with pay,” through the early part of this year, according to city Managing Director Mike Formby.

This week Titchen confirmed that his employment with the city ended in late July.

He said he’s now employed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “I’m very excited to have moved on,” he added.

Titchen said he’s also pleased with voter approval of the Ocean Safety Com­mission, which will allow greater public transparency over the first-responder department and its leadership.

“One needs to simply look at the (Fire Commission) model to see that the minutes of meetings by the commission are posted and public,” he said. “The questions that commissioners ask of the department leadership are pretty transparent, and it’s a much better way to craft a strategic vision when you have input from the community through the commissioners.”

“So hopefully and theoretically you’ll see a commission of like-minded ocean safety individuals who prioritize where the focus should be for Ocean Safety,” he said. “Because it might change from year to year, and it probably will, as the department faces different kinds of hazards and threats and changes to something as simple as the visitor industry or the actual physical coastline.”

“So I think it’s great to have a bit more community involvement in those decisions,” Titchen added, “and I see that as the biggest reason for a commission.”