Probe into DLNR staff misconduct

On Kauai, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) is tasked with managing and maintaining four small boat harbors as well as Waikaea Canal, Anini and Wailua ramps, and Hanalei Bay and Pier.

The sites edging the neighbor island’s largely rural shoreline are far removed from DLNR headquarters in Honolulu. Still, it’s disturbing that the agency’s internal control mechanisms apparently failed to quickly uncover glaring problems in DOBOR’s Kauai district office.

In the aftermath of a state Ethics Commission investigation, Kauai’s district manager, Joseph V. Borden, resigned on Dec. 15 from the post he had held since 2012. Among the ethics report’s allegations he did not dispute: falsifying records to award 42 state contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars to one contractor.

That contractor, South Shore Lawn Services and Hoff Enterprises Inc., scored nearly $1 million in payments for 107 jobs over a four-year period. Since a majority of the contracts were for less than $5,000, they were exempt from procurement system competitive bidding.

But instead of initiating bidding for the other 42 contracts requiring it, Borden provided DLNR with bogus “filler” bids, listing companies that had no clue a contract was even up for grabs. What’s more, the report raises questions regarding whether the go-to contractor received payment topping market rates for services provided.

Further, questions pertaining to DLNR’s oversight of DOBOR-Kauai are as important as those about whether Borden’s conduct was prompted by pressure to complete jobs quickly, as he has contended, or for some other reason.

In the settlement document, dated Dec. 14, the commission pointed out that immediate DLNR superiors should have reviewed the Kauai district’s expenditures with greater care, and should have required additional verification as to the need for services as well as the attached price tags. Agreed. The state agency owes taxpayers at least that much vigilance.

In Borden’s case, there were other red flags. For example, he used state funds six times between 2014 and 2016 to purchase first-class seats on airline flights for himself. That’s a violation of state travel polices, which limit purchases to coach seating. And in violation of the state ethics code, he used state equipment for personal “projects.”

Borden, who had worked at DOBOR-Kauai since 2004, supervised nine employees. The commissioned also slapped two with fines — one for $1,500, and the other, $2,000 — for using state-owned gear for private use.

Last week, Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairwoman Suzanne Case said DLNR, which has been conducting its own investigations, is looking at how internal procedures, controls and training programs might be improved to ensure strict staff compliance with ethics and procurement laws. That’s the least it should do, and its efforts must be transparent.

To bolster public confidence, the agency owes taxpayers a thorough account of what went wrong at the Kauai district and at the agency’s supervisory and administrative levels. Also, it must disclose details on plans to step up safeguards against more of the same unacceptable conduct.

In addition to DLNR, the commission has alerted the state Procurement Office to Borden’s case “for review and action as appropriate.” Besides getting booted, he’s on the hook to pay an $15,000 administrative fine to the state. Still, it’s apparent that criminal prosecution would be appropriate.

In the sweep of DLNR’s jurisdiction — nearly 1.3 million acres of state lands, beaches, and coastal waters as well as 750 miles of coastline — DOBOR plays an important role. Many of its facilities on the Garden Isle and elsewhere in the state serve as a vital ocean gateway for residents and visitors. The state agency needs to do more to assure the public that staffers’ conduct is aboveboard, and that their work is efficient and effective.