Question: In the past you have reported that some schools and other organizations hire off-duty cops to direct traffic or to provide security. Who pays their workers’ compensation or other costs if they are injured in the course of these off-duty activities? I hope it is not the taxpayer.
Answer: Among the fees charged for hiring a special-duty Honolulu police officer is a workers’ compensation fee of up to $5 per day per officer.
That’s set under Section 6-44.3 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu.
That fee goes into a general trust fund and maintained in a separate account solely to pay workers’ comp expenses for officers injured while on special duty.
When that account has between $500,000 and $1 million, the police chief "shall" reduce the fee to maintain the account within that range.
The workers’ comp fee is waived when the special-duty services are for a city event or activity.
Anyone hiring a special-duty officer also is assessed an administrative fee of $14 for the first officer requested, plus $2 for each additional officer requested. The administrative fee may be waived for an event mandated by law or conducted by the federal, state or city government.
The administrative fee is on top of the fees paid directly to the officer, which is listed on HPD’s website for its Special Duty Program: honolulupd.org/information/index.php?page=specialduty.
Special-duty regular rates range from $36 to $47 an hour, depending on the officer’s rank, plus $10 for a subsidized vehicle, solo motorcycle or bicycle. A mileage charge of 55 cents per mile is applied for escort services or when driving to multiple sites exceeds 20 miles.
Special-duty officers are typically hired to provide security, direct or facilitate traffic flow, escort the transport of heavy or oversize equipment where a permit is required and as funeral escorts.
Officers cannot be hired on behalf of an employer or union involved in a labor dispute or for any union gathering; to be a bodyguard; where performance implies participation in partisan politics; where the primary business is the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages; or at any assignment that conflicts with HPD policies.
Question: How can we get rid of a 40-inch TV set that has died?
Answer: You can find information on drop-off sites for unwanted electronics and television sets on the state Department of Health’s website, health.hawaii.gov/ewaste, or by calling its Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch at 586-4226.
Dozens of locations are listed, although some do not accept TVs.
The Hawaii Electronic Waste and Television Recycling and Recovery Law requires manufacturers of covered electronic devices, such as computers, printers, monitors and televisions, to operate recycling programs.
Currently, Best Buy is the only retailer taking old TVs for disposal, according to DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo.
Another option is to leave the TV out curbside for bulky-item pickup.
Bulky items are delivered to the city’s HPOWER plant, although some are taken to the landfill and mixed with sewage sludge, said Markus Owens, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Services.
For those who prefer recycling options, he pointed to the city’s website, opala.org/solid_waste/eWaste.html.
Another option is the Going Green recycling events held in various neighborhoods throughout the year. For upcoming events, call Rene Mansho at 291-6151 or email renemansho@hawaii.rr.com.
Mahalo
To the city’s Kailua Roads Division. I made an online request to have the median at the intersection of Keolu Drive and Kamahele Street cleaned since it was overgrown with weeds. Within a couple of days, the Kailua road crew had the median cleaned and swept. Mahalo for the quick response and professional job. — Paul Chinen
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
