Thursday, November 21, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Sunday, June 29, 2014
Ethics: Caldwell Admin Blocks Investigation of No-Show City Workers
By Andrew Walden @ 8:12 PM :: 4192 Views

The following draft letter from the Honolulu Ethics Commission to Mayor Caldwell has been leaked to the media: 


To Mayor Caldwell

From Katy Chen, Vice Chair Honolulu Ethics Commission

June, 2014  (DRAFT)

Requesting the Administration's Support for the Ethics Commission

I am writing on behalf of the Honolulu Ethics Commission to ask your Administration to take steps to support the City Ethics program.

Beginning in September, 2013, the Corporation Counsel delayed and impeded the Commission's work, as described below.  Similar actions continue to undermine the Commission's ability to provide the best services to Honolulu's citizens.

In the Fall of 2013, the Corporation Counsel asserted that she had the ability to control the Commission's budget, even to the extent of making line-item reductions.  The Commission repeatedly expressed that her unilateral changes to the Commission's FY2014 and FY2015 budgets endangered the Commission's independence.  When the Corporation Counsel restricts the Commission's budget,  she is also limiting the resources that can be brought to bear on the ethical issues facing City government.  Examples of interference include the Corporation Counsel challenging the need for and delaying the contract of the Commission's only investigator and rejecting the need for additional staff resources for FY2015. 

The Corporation Counsel's conduct in the last month provides another example of misguided budget control.  In early May, the Commission requested to purchase a $600 GPS tracking device to aid in investigating an alleged scheme by certain employees to defraud the city by taking pay for work that was not performed.  The scheme is estimated to cost the public $250,000 annually.  The purchase request was based on a COR legal opinion that use of a tracking device was lawful.  Regardless, she waited five weeks while apparently mulling over 'policy implications' before conditionally approving the $600 purchase, by which time the investigative window on the case had closed.

By memorandum to the Commission dated June 5, 2014 Corporation Counsel will now allow the purchase of the tracking device, but only if the Commission agrees in writing to certain conditions. The conditions point out that the Corporation Counsel retains serious legal concerns. Yet. she has failed to describe, much less advise on, those issues. For Instance, the Corporation Counsel requires that the Commission comply with all laws, and governmental rules, regulations and policies, including the federal and state constitutions with regard to this device." It goes without saying that every agency must follow the law. Why is the Corporation Counsel conditioning approval on such generalities while not discussing the specific legal problems she believes may be implicated by the use of the tracking device?  Moreover the Corporation Counsel will not say whether the use of the device Is legal. This is perplexing In light of COR's legal opinion on the same subject from a few years ago. Is the opinion no longer valid?

In another example affecting the top echelon of city leaders, the Managing Director appears to have directed all cabinet members to seek ethics advice from Corporation Counsel, not from the Commission. There are several cogent reasons why this order Is poor ethics policy and we submitted those reasons to the Administration .

In addition, when the Managing Director appeared before the Commission to discuss  the Commission's FY2015 budget, her comments focused on the employee grievances that might result from finding that personnel had misused City resources, not on the loss of taxpayer funds and the public trust in City government.  The Commission hopes this does not reflect the position of the Administration.

It is the Commission's desire to work collegially with you and the members of your Administration to resolve these difficulties.  As a first step, the Commission suggests that COR's role be clarified regarding the Commission. The role of the COR should be limited to the ministerial functions such as payroll, purchasing and tracking budget expenditures. The Department may also advise the Commission on personnel and budget matters, but should not substitute its discretion for that of the Commission in these matters. This will help revitalize the independence of the Commission, as wall as

demonstrate the Administration's commitment to an excellent ethics program.

The Commission looks forward to your response.

cc: Donna Y. L. Leong, Corporation Counsel

LINK: PDF of Letter   

  
Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii