Hawaii County residents will get their first chance to weigh in on an audit of the county’s purchasing card program next week, when the County Council Finance Committee takes up the issue.
Hawaii County residents will get their first chance to weigh in on an audit of the county’s purchasing card program next week, when the County Council Finance Committee takes up the issue.
The public can testify at the beginning of the meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers in Hilo. Testifiers can also participate by videoconference from the West Hawaii Civic Center, Waimea council office, the county facility in Kohala, Naalehu state office building and the Pahoa neighborhood facility.
Finance Committee Chairwoman Karen Eoff said the audit report revealed that pCard transactions for the most part were appropriate and in compliance with county and state laws and that industry best practices were followed.
“I do agree with the recommendations of the legislative auditor that to make sure all expenditures provide a clear benefit to the county and taxpayers, we should consider adding explicit language to the code to address any gaps in existing policy and to more closely follow state law,” Eoff said Wednesday.
Council members are currently working on bills to do just that.
The taxpayer-backed credit cards, known as pCards, have been in the news since late March, when West Hawaii Today first exposed a pattern of misuse of the cards by Mayor Billy Kenoi. His pCard records, released after five years of public records requests, revealed he used his card for campaign and personal expenses that included large bar tabs and an expensive surfboard and bicycle.
Kenoi generally paid back the money within a few months, but his pCard use may have broken state and county laws regulating pCard purchases. The state attorney general and the county Board of Ethics are currently investigating.
Big Island newspapers, and also county Legislative Auditor Bonnie Nims, subsequently revealed improper pCard use elsewhere in the mayor’s office and also in the county Department of Liquor Control. Nims is recommending tighter controls in her audit, which can be found at https://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/Weblink8/1/doc/74088/Page1.aspx.
“The county’s pCard program includes several industry best practices and internal controls are generally operational and effective. However, the county management should address gaps in existing policy and improve program monitoring,” Nims said in her July 17 letter to Council Chairman Dru Kanuha.
“While pCard transactions reviewed were generally appropriate and for a legitimate department purpose, some pCard transactions did not follow county policy, had a questionable public purpose and may have violated state law,” she said. “In addition, reimbursements for personal or miscellaneous purchases were not always made timely. “
Nims did not return a telephone message Wednesday for additional comment.