County governments have long struggled to persuade private developers to build truly affordable housing. They have offered incentives such as property tax breaks, waivers of fees, exemptions from certain building and zoning requirements, and affordable housing credits.

But the need remains: The housing shortage among low-income residents is so acute that some gubernatorial candidates have suggested using emergency executive powers to alleviate it.

So it was discouraging — infuriating, really — to learn of an alleged scheme to use Hawaii County’s affordable housing program to bilk the county out of millions of dollars — without building a single affordable unit.

This week, the U.S. attorney for the District of Hawaii, Clare Connors, and the FBI announced the indictments of two attorneys, Paul Joseph Sulla Jr. and Gary Charles Zamber. Federal officials said they and two others, Alan Scott Rudo and Rajesh Budhabhatti, were part of an elaborate conspiracy to obtain land and housing credits for never-to-be-built affordable housing in South Kohala, Kailua-Kona and Waikoloa. The land and credits would be sold for a tidy profit.

“They enriched themselves to the tune of more than $10 million,” Connors said.

What’s more troubling are indications that it was an inside job that went undetected for years. Rudo was a Hawaii County affordable-housing specialist who allegedly helped his co-conspirators push through the necessary paperwork.

While the indictment said that Rudo got involved in the conspiracy in December 2014, federal authorities only learned of it in 2018 — initially from reporting by Environment Hawaii, a Hawaii island newsletter that covers environmental issues.

The case is reminiscent of the recent scandal involving the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP), in which five employees past and present were charged with accepting bribes to accelerate building projects. Some familiar with the system said those charges are symptomatic of a larger culture of pay-to-play at DPP.

If counties want to accelerate development of affordable housing, they need to make reforms. Transparency is critical. Anyone should be able to track building permits going through the system to guard against cheating. Computer systems should be modernized so the processes are simpler, more efficient and less likely to be abused.

The DPP has taken initial steps toward these goals, and that’s a good thing. But with affordable housing crisis upon us, there’s no time to lose making the necessary changes.