Lawmakers call Allegations of mismanagement and of staff taking shopping trips during work hours were among the criticisms that surfaced during a Senate hearing on resolutions requesting an audit of the state Historic Preservation Division.
for audit of isle
preservation office
Critics say the state division
wasted taxpayers' dollarsBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com
Patricia Brown-Torres told senators yesterday that she spent a year volunteering at the office and found examples of taxpayers' dollars being wasted.
"Abuses allowed to occur ... ranged from extended shopping trips, watching TV, extended lunch breaks and frequent absences from office during the workday by the clerical staff," Brown-Torres said.
She said when she brought her concerns to division administrator Don Hibbard, he told her that the staff worked hard and needed to get out of the office once in a while.
In defending the 24-employee division, Hibbard testified that the agency is the victim of budgets cuts that have resulted in lost positions and insufficient funding.
"The department is somewhat concerned about the tone of the resolutions and we feel some of the statements are a little bit overstated," Hibbard testified.
The Senate Water, Land, Energy and Environment Committee passed the two resolutions. The House Water and Land Use Committee also passed a similar but "toned down" resolution earlier in the day, a committee clerk said.
The division is part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and is responsible for a number of historic preservation duties including keeping an inventory of about 38,000 historic properties, reviewing federal, state and county projects that affect historic properties, managing ancient burial sites and responding to the inadvertent discovery of ancient remains.
The Senate resolution calls on the state auditor to audit the division's general operations, organizational structure, plans to secure federal funding and grants and internal budgeting and fiscal controls.
According to the resolution, concerns have been raised about the management and operations of the division.
"We believe that the audit described therein will be an effective first step in solving a variety of serious problems that appear to result from mismanagement of the State Historic Preservation Division," testified Robert Hommon, president of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology, which represents more than 200 archaeologists who work in archaeology and historic preservation.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs also supported the audit.
Hibbard said that the staff has in most cases responded timely to project reviews and the office move to Kapolei had a negative impact on efficiency with staff spending a lot of time out of the office, commuting to meetings in Honolulu.
Dana Naone Hall, a Maui activist, sent written testimony against the resolutions, supporting Hibbard's contention that budget constraints are to blame.
"It is obvious to anyone who has worked closely on historic preservation matters that the State Historic Preservation Division's primary problem is a lack of adequate funding," Hall said. "This underfunding is the cause of the division's most serious deficiency: The inability to hire sufficient personnel to conduct necessary historic preservation program activities."
The Hawaii Government Employees Association said that the division employees it represents are also frustrated with the inefficiencies caused by understaffing.
Hibbard said that 87 percent of the division's $1.2 million budget is used for salaries.
About $40,000 of additional federal funding this year went to upgrading the computer system which previously included outdated, hand-me-down equipment, he said.
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