Shortly after his inauguration, President Barack Obama promised Americans that transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency. Already, he has taken the initiative to hold agencies responsible to Freedom of Information Act requests, freeze senior officials salaries, and limit enemy interrogation standards to those outlined in the Army Field Manual. At the start of the 2009 legislative session, the timing is right for Hawaii's government to follow his lead.
Half a year ago, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii began investigating government waste and corruption for its first Hawaii Pork Report. While newspaper headlines occasionally feature instances of government mischief, digging deeper into state agency records and budgets revealed many egregious abuses of hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
A trip to Disney World last year by over 600 school employees sparked public outrage, yet state workers continue to take frivolous trips on the taxpayers dime. DBEDT employees flew to Los Angeles to attend the Grammy music awards. The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts paid $130,000 on ceramic water cooler decorations at the Convention Center. Almost $500,000 was doled out to a not-so-starving artist in the last five years for necessities like glass murals and paintings.
The city spent $875,000 to reconstruct a hiking trail and continues to spend an additional $50,000 a year on security to keep hikers out. Not to be outdone, the Honolulu Zoo operates at a multi-million dollar deficit. For FY 2008, nearly $6.9 million was approved to construct an elephant facility. Taxpayers foot a $2.4 million bill for substitute custodians in public schools, while substitute teachers take up $800,000. The city's Handi-Van service costs $23,211,669 a year.
On the opening day of the legislature on January 21, state budget director Georgina Kawamura said that projected deficits stand at $315.4 million in fiscal year 2010 and $549.8 million in the following year. Yet, in the midst of staggering deficits, the 2009 Hawaii Pork Report finds that bureaucrats continue to spend public funds in questionable ways.
Turning the tide of economic woes in the Aloha State is by no means impossible. Citizen awareness and education go a long way in opening the closed doors behind which the state government decides to spend our dollars.
For starters, the legislature passed a bill requiring all awards and contracts worth over $25,000 to be made public via a state web site that was to be operational by Jan. 1st. But to date, there is no web site.
As evidenced by the contents of the report, waste exists in myriad, unimaginable forms. Whether reading it makes one laugh, or cry, or both, it is the Institutes wish for citizens to come away with a greater commitment to step up efforts in demanding greater transparency and accountability from their government- after all, they make a living to serve us.
Pearl Hahn is a Policy Analyst with the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. She can be reached at pearl@grassrootinstitute.org Visit http://www.grassrootinstitute.org and http://www.hawaiiporkreport.org for more information.
