OHA board Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees have begun to address stinging criticism in a recent state audit that said trustee allowances were used for personal gains.
still squabbling
over audits
At a different venue,
trustees still disagree on
questionable spendingBy Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinHoping a change of scenery would be the first place to start, OHA Policy Chairman John Waihee IV moved his committee meeting yesterday to the Havana Cabana, a downtown cigar bar on Nuuanu Avenue.
Waihee said the cramped OHA boardroom in Kakaako -- site of some heated board battles over the years -- is full of negative energy and karma. He said he hoped a more relaxed atmosphere would help trustees as well as attract more people to OHA meetings.
Waihee said the room was for free and that he paid for the pupus with his own funds.
"It's a start," said Waihee, the youngest trustee and the son of the former Hawaii governor by the same name.
Earlier this month, state Auditor Marion Higa released a scathing report that questioned the fiscal management practices of the agency, including the use of $7,200 in allowances each trustee is given at the start of the fiscal year.
Higa said some trustee expense reports showed questionable transactions between 1996 and 1999, including $8,000 interest-free personal loans and another $1,000 for beauty salon expenses.
Waihee, presiding over yesterday's cigar bar meeting, proposed OHA amend its rules so trustees be reimbursed for money spent under their $7,200 allowance, rather than having the agency prepay the full allowance to them at the start of the fiscal year.
Others, however, rejected the idea, saying the problem lies with the lump-sum payment.
Instead, they suggested the $7,200 be divided in quarterly payments, with stricter rules that could void the rest of the allowance if it is misused.
"That's $1,700 a quarter -- what kind of damage can you do with that?" wondered trustee Colette Machado.
Oswald Stender, OHA's budget and finance chairman, said any solution should mirror legislative and City Council policy on allowances and have clear guidelines on what is being spent. His suggestion to use credit cards to avoid any cash transactions drew little support.
Trustee Rowena Akana suggested OHA rules be amended so violations of trustee allowances would result in board censorship and possible lost of committee assignments.
Meanwhile, Big Island trustee Linda Dela Cruz said she has been waiting for five months to be reimbursed for flying two people to Oahu to attend an OHA meeting. She said she does not think OHA needs to do anything more than outline exactly what the allowance can be used for.
Dela Cruz added the board does not have to comply with any of Higa's recommendations in the audit, and challenged her authority over the state agency.
"She's not God," Dela Cruz said.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
