Ethics Board to hear Kenoi complaint in November

KAILUA-KONA — The county Board of Ethics in November will hear a complaint that Mayor Billy Kenoi’s use of a county-issued credit card violated the Code of Ethics.

The board has deferred the complaint against the mayor for various reasons since its filing in 2015. It’s now on the agenda for a meeting Nov. 9 — a month after the mayor’s criminal trial in connection with his misuse of a purchasing card, or pCard, starts and a month before the term-limited Kenoi leaves office.

Kenoi faces two felony theft charges, two misdemeanor theft charges, three counts of falsifying a government record and a single count of making a false statement under oath. His trial is slated to begin Oct. 10.

Kenoi spent about $130,000 with the card before it was revoked last year, an amount that included county and noncounty expenses. He reimbursed the county for $22,292 in charges between January 2009 and March 2015. He later paid back approximately $9,500 more after Big Island newspapers published stories examining his pCard use.

The man who filed the ethics complaint against the mayor, Kapaau resident Lanric Hyland, is criticizing the board for delaying consideration of the complaint and calling for the board’s members to resign.

Hyland filed the complaint against Kenoi in April 2015, but in May the board deferred the matter for a year pending the disposition of the state’s investigation into the criminal allegations.

The board considered bringing up the matter during a meeting in May this year, but ended up passing on it. The board deferred the matter once again in July. Previously, the board was forced to cancel several meetings because it lacked a quorum to legally conduct business.

During the July meeting, Richard Sing, one of Kenoi’s attorneys, asked the board to delay moving forward with the complaint until after the trial finishes. Kenoi leaves office in December.

Hyland said by postponing a hearing for the complaint this close to the end of the mayor’s term, any decision is effectively meaningless.

He said he’s concerned once Kenoi leaves office, the board will lose any jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The Nov. 9 meeting, an “informal hearing” according to the notice informing parties of the meeting, will take place in council chambers at the Hawaii County Building in Hilo. The board also is working to find a teleconference location in Kohala.

Informal hearings allow the board to hear testimony from those involved as well as from any witnesses or review any evidence in the matter. Once the investigation is finished, the board will issue its advisory opinion.

Gary Murai, Maui County Deputy Corporation Counsel, is assisting the board with the complaint on behalf of Hawaii County Corporation Counsel to avoid any potential conflicts.

He said, speaking generally, if the board issues any guidance or advice, that’s the end of the issue unless an employee continues to violate the rules. If a violation persists, the board can refer the matter to the County Council.

Hyland said the best the board can do now is call Kenoi and any other witnesses to testify in order to make a decision before the mayor leaves office.

That’s assuming the board commits to hearing the matter at November’s meeting.

“The clock has run out,” Hyland said.

Given the board’s handling of the matter, Hyland said its members should give up their positions.

A secretary for the Ethics Board referred questions to Murai. Calls to Murai weren’t returned as of press time Wednesday.

Hyland said the issue is a representative example of why people lose faith in the local government and why voter turnout is dropping. Just 37.3 percent of the Big Island’s registered voters cast ballots in August’s primary election.

“They understand it doesn’t make a nickel’s worth of difference,” he said.

Kenoi’s attorney declined to comment.

Email Cameron Miculka at cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com.