Hawaii County mayor forecast to skip budget meeting

A meeting slated for next week at which Mayor Billy Kenoi typically would appear to make his county budget request before the Hawaii County Council could also serve as an opportunity for Big Island voters to ask questions about his personal use of the county’s purchasing card, but the embattled mayor might not show up.

Kenoi racked up more than $129,000 in purchase card, or pCard, charges since taking office in December 2008 — spending that included tabs at hostess bars. The matter is now under investigation by the state Attorney General Department. Also, the county’s legislative auditor is conducting an audit of county pCard use that’s expected to be released in June. And a pCard-related ethics complaint has been filed against both Kenoi and Finance Director Deanna Sako, whose office handled Kenoi’s more recent pCard charges.

The mayor’s $434,667,890 county budget request on the Council’s agenda for Wednesday would give both the Council and voters their first opportunity to ask Kenoi about his pCard purchases, said Councilwoman Margaret Wille.

But Kenoi spokes­man Peter Boylan said Kenoi might not show up as expected. "He’s on vacation," Boylan said. "He’s with his family."

Wille said Kenoi traditionally pre­sents his budget request to the Council.

"I feel it’s the appropriate time for these questions to come up, including, but not limited to, his pCard spending," Wille said. "That’s all coming out of taxpayers’ money. I would like an explanation."

Wednesday’s Council agenda calls for discussions of Kenoi’s budget proposal, followed by budget requests by Sako and County Prosecutor Mitch Roth, who asked the state attorney general to investigate Kenoi, citing a conflict of interest.

Only four of the nine County Council members responded to repeated requests from the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser about whether they plan to ask Kenoi about his pCard use if he appears Wednesday. Those who did not respond included Council Chairman Dru Mamo Kanuha.

When asked whether the Council should raise Kenoi’s pCard issue at the same time Kenoi asks the Council for money to run the county government, Councilman Aaron Chung said, "No, no, no, no. I’m not going to be putting him on the spot or the finance director. I don’t want to be real trite about it, but we really have more pressing matters to attend to than to investigate, focus, scrutinize something. All you gotta do is read the paper and you have all of the information you need. No, I’m not going to go there. I know some people might expect the Council to do it, and it’s something we should be investigating. It’ll only be duplicating matters. We have better things to do."

But then Chung offered his own questions about how the county’s pCards grew to include an estimated 237 users until Kenoi and Wille lost their privileges in the past few weeks.

"I don’t know how it got to the point where so many pCards have been issued," Chung said. "How did it proliferate into this monster? Maybe it’s time to pull back on the number of people who have it."

Todd Belt, a University of Hawaii at Hilo political science professor, said it’s not unusual for Hawaii County Council members to be reluctant to demand answers from the mayor.

"For a politician, the opportunity to make some headlines through tough questioning while there’s blood in the water is often an attractive thing," Belt said. "But I don’t think we have too many of those politicians here. Our Council members here don’t have quite the level of progressive ambition as some in other counties might. We also have a strong sense of propriety on the Big Island: when it’s the right time or the wrong time to ask questions. Be humble. Don’t be the nail that sticks out and gets hammered."

At the same time, Belt said, "The Council certainly has a fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of the county. They’re the ones that have to sign off and appropriate money. So it is appropriate to have legislative oversight of all matters that are financial."

Kenoi has apologized and taken responsibility for pCard charges that included $400 in 2009 at the Camelot Restaurant and Lounge hostess bar on Sheridan Street on Oahu; an $892 tab at the Club Evergreen hostess bar on Kapiolani Boulevard on Oahu in December 2013; a $1,200 surfboard; his $565 Hawaii Bar Association dues; and luxury stays at the Wai­­k­o­loa Beach Marriott Spa & Resort at $469 per night.

Boylan said that Kenoi spent $129,580.73 on his pCard and has reimbursed the county $31,112.59.

But Wille said Kenoi’s apology occurred at the state Capitol — not on Hawaii island — and that Kenoi has yet to address the issue before either the Council or Big Island constituents.

Councilwoman Karen Eoff, who chairs the Council’s Finance Committee, said in an email, "The Mayor has stated his intention to fully cooperate with the pending investigation being conducted by the State Attorney General’s office. The County Board of Ethics and our Legislative Auditor are also looking into the pCard matter. We need to allow that process to unfold and in the meantime it is our responsibility to focus on the 2015-16 Budget and the Departmental Reviews as publicly noticed on the agenda."

Councilwoman Maile David said in an email that during "Departmental Budget and Program Review, the Mayor as well as all Department Heads appear and answer questions Councilmembers may have regarding their respective budget requests and program goals." She continued, "I do not anticipate discussing anything except budget matters at these meetings. … I do look forward to this matter being thoroughly examined and addressed through these independent investigations."

Meantime, Kenoi has quietly withdrawn his nomination of former county Finance Director Nancy Crawford to the Hawaii County Pension Board.

Crawford’s office handled Kenoi’s pCard expenditures until she retired in December. Her nomination to the Pension Board also would have to go before the Council, where she could have faced questions about Kenoi’s pCard expenses.

Kenoi nominated Crawford on March 19 and said in a memo to Kanuha, the Council chairman, that a "timely" approval of her appointment to the Pension Board "is crucial."

Then on April 8 — a week after he apologized for lavish spending on his pCard — Kenoi withdrew Crawford’s nomination.

He gave no reason. Crawford could not be reached for comment.

Boylan said Thursday that Crawford asked to be removed from consideration.