Honolulu City Council Policy Resolutions

ESTABLISHING GUIDELINES FOR THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIPS.

    WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu has established thirteen sister city relationships and continues to receive invitations to establish sister city ties from other cities and special interest groups wishing to develop such ties between Honolulu and a particular city; and

    WHEREAS, while Honolulu's sister city affiliation with certain cities has proved to be enduring, meaningful and worthwhile, some of Honolulu's other sisterhood relationships have been inactive and virtually forgotten through the years; and

    WHEREAS, this is partly due to the informality of Honolulu's sister city program which usually begins simply with Council adoption of a resolution to establish a sister city relationship and ends with the exchange of gifts and one or two goodwill missions; and

    WHEREAS, although such informal ties were well-intentioned and appeared to foster good international relationships, the lack of periodic communication and activities between Honolulu and some of her sister cities over the years reveals the need to establish practical criteria in the development of future sister city relationships; and

    WHEREAS, such criteria should be formulated to provide guidelines to assist the Council in the decision-making process of establishing and maintaining future sister city relationships; now, therefore,

    BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City and County of Honolulu that the establishment of sister city relationships shall be governed by the following guidelines:

Criteria Policy

    It is the policy of the City and County of Honolulu to consider the establishment of a sister city relationship with a city that:

    1.    Shares a direct historical, cultural, or ethnic relationship with the people of Honolulu;

    3.    Is similar in population size or character which makes for analogous problems and concerns and the exchange of meaningful ideas and applicable solutions for either or both cities; and

    4.    Recognizes other common bonds that are mutually beneficial to the citizens of both cities and serves as a liaison for the exchange of information and other lifestyle and practical values.

The City and County of Honolulu shall have no more than four sister cities from any one country at any time.

Implementation Policy

    In the establishment of sister city ties with a city, the following implementation policies shall apply:

    1.    The sister city relationship shall be established by the adoption of a Council resolution approving the establishment of the sister city tie and the signing of a formal agreement between the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu and the appropriate public official of the proposed sister city that such ties exist. The agreement shall contain a proposed program that will be instituted by both cities to make these ties lasting and purposeful;

    2.    City funds shall be appropriated within two years of the signing of the document establishing the sister city relationship and every five years thereafter to provide for the exchange of gifts or goodwill missions to promote the newly established sisterhood and the concept of mutual understanding. Such goodwill missions may include student exchanges, art, cultural or industrial exhibits and athletic team visits; and

    3.    Any sister city relationship in which there is a failure to implement the agreement or to exchange gifts or goodwill missions within a five-year period shallresult in the automatic termination of the agreement and relationship.

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor be, and he is, requested to appoint and house in the Office of the Mayor a City "protocol officer" to be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the official document signed by the City and County of Honolulu and the sister city; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such protocol officer shall be responsible for informing Honolulu's existing sister cities of the terms and conditions of this Resolution and shall submit an annual report to the Council by December 31 of each year which summarizes the activities conducted with Honolulu's sister cities and identifies the sister cities for which no activity has occurred within five years, thereby resulting in an automatic termination of Honolulu's sisterhood affiliation; and

                            INTRODUCED BY:

                            Gary Gill

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                                 Councilmembers

DATE OF INTRODUCTION:

October 2, 1991
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Honolulu, Hawaii

ADOPTED this 23 day of October , 1991.

(@OCS/092591/ec)

Policy Resolutions