It took more than four years, but the county has finally implemented a whistleblower hotline, one of the recommendations of a scathing 2017 audit that found questionable hiring practices in county government.
In fact, there are now two of them. And, there’s a web-based form where county employees and the public can input complaints and tips directly.
That was the update Wednesday from County Auditor Tyler Benner, who presented a follow up audit to the original investigation that found the county ripe for favoritism in hiring.
“That is really key to what caused the initial hiring practices audit. A body was put into place and that body was able to exert influence in and throughout the process,” Benner said. “This became an open secret, in 2014, 15 and 16 and it really festered by 2017 when we finally conducted this audit.”
The original audit by former Auditor Bonnie Nims warned county practices contributed to public complaints of unfairness and favoritism and could have violated the law by taking power away from the state-defined appointing authority, the department head, and placing it in the hands of a small committee within the mayor’s office.
West Hawaii Today, in an investigation, expanded on the audit’s findings by revealing the use of sticky notes and the acronym “POI” to designate a “person of interest,” who was selected even before recruitment was conducted for positions.
Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung suggested the county investigate changes to the charter or county laws to ensure there isn’t a repeat of what happened during a prior administration. He’s not disparaging anyone for allowing it to happen, he added.
“There should be some type of legislation which could be enacted that would further take this process out of political hands, because that’s what trying to achieve right,, a level playing field for everyone,” Chung said. “The (Human Resources) director needs to be able to uphold the integrity of the department and the hiring practices of the county at all costs.”
Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy agreed the process should be merit-based.
“We wanted people to get in because of what they know, not who they know,” she said.
Mayor Mitch Roth, at the council Finance Committee meeting on a different topic, weighed in on the issue.
“I fully agree it should be on what you know versus who you know and we tried to set the tone with the way we chose our Cabinet. I did not sit in any of those interviews and let those people do the interviews,” Roth said. “And some people who worked on my campaign didn’t get jobs and some of my friends expected but didn’t do it because I believe what you guys are trying to do and what came out of the audit.”
Information on the new hotline and an online form can be found at https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/departments/office-of-the-county-auditor/whistleblower.
To report fraud and waste, call (808) 480-8213. Fraud is deception intended to result in financial or personal gain, such as theft, forgery and falsifying records. Waste is the thoughtless or careless expenditure or mismanagement incurring unnecessary costs, such as purchasing unnecessary goods or services, purchasing overpriced items from a favored vendor or ignoring competitive bidding.
To report abuse, call (808) 480-8279. Abuse is excessive or improper use or practices, such as awarding government contracts to family and friends, receiving or asking for gifts from vendors and using a vendor’s written specification to eliminate competitive bidding.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
