City auditor plan
is tabled by panel

The possibility of an auditor
named by the mayor is blasted
by the Council and others

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

The decision on whether to create a city auditor's position - and where to place it - won't be made in this November's general election.

The City Charter Commission this morning unanimously voted to table the issue following a plea by City Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann.

Yesterday afternoon, commission members had agreed to a charter amendment that would have asked voters if they would want a city auditor appointed by the mayor to be part of the Budget and Finance Department.

Council members and the League of Women Voters criticized the proposal, arguing that an auditor should be independent to keep administrative agencies in check.

The proposal was one of nine approved by the commission yesterday to be placed on this November's ballot.

The Council earlier this year approved a charter amendment asking voters for a city auditor who would fall under the auspices of the Council.

But the creation of this year's Charter Commission nullified all Council-proposed charter amendments, including the auditor proposal.

Hannemann said he would have preferred that the Council's original proposal been put in this November's ballot. But with a deferral, the Council now has a better chance to explain what it wants to achieve with an auditor.

The Office of Council Services, the research arm of the Council, will be asked to give a workshop to the commission "to explain to them what our auditing functions are like," Hannemann said.

"Had we known this was going to happen, we would have done (a workshop) much sooner."

The commission's opinion on the issue caught Council members by surprise.

Councilman Jon Yoshimura, learning of the commission's proposal yesterday, ran upstairs from his second-floor City Hall office to protest, telling the commission, "You're basically asking the fox to watch the henhouse."

He added, "How are we going to get an unbiased, trustworthy audit of administrative functions and programs when the administration is doing the reporting themselves?"

Yoshimura was unsuccessful in his plea yesterday, leaving Hannemann to make his pitch this morning.

Commission Chairman Lex Brodie said commission members had a difficult time reconciling creating an office from scratch with the city's bad fiscal situation.

"This one was one we found difficult to publicly justify," Brodie said. "In bad economic times, you try to save money, not spend it."

Vice Chairman Ed Hirata said commission members can see where the Council is coming from. "The intent of the Council was to re-create the state auditor's office at the city level with the proviso that the City Council would also be audited," he said.

Among the eight other proposed amendments approved yesterday:

Mayor Harris' reorganization plan, including merger of the Budget and Finance departments, and the Land Utilization and Planning departments.

Mayoral power to appoint more than one deputy director in an agency without Council approval.

Police Commission authority to give police chiefs renewable five-year terms instead of lifetime appointments. Future chiefs also would not be allowed rights to return to lower-ranking positions.