The volunteer board often cancels meetings due to lack of quorum, and there is no paid staff to shoulder some of the burden like in other counties. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Hawaii County’s government ethics watchdog has been on life support for years with no sign of help on the way.<\/p>\n
The Ethics Commission has canceled at least six monthly meetings starting in 2024, including the regular meeting in February, due to a lack of quorum. At least one committee member has been absent from all 2025 meetings, and three of the board’s seven seats are currently vacant. To hold a meeting, four commissioners appointed by the mayor and approved by the county council must be present.<\/p>\n
Managing to meet is only part of the challenge. The volunteer board, like other counties, does not have paid staff or an independent executive director to help review all complaints, hear potential violations and advise county officials on whether certain conduct violates the code of ethics. The board is also evaluating hundreds of financial disclosures from county employees, including elected officials and department heads, to ensure no conflicts of interest exist.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lack of trust in the system, a lack of a sense that the government is actually working for them, and therefore a lack of participation,” said Common Cause Hawaii state director Kamron Hart.<\/p>\n Hart added that while the county can find money to fund the commission, it is hindering the commission’s effective work by not prioritizing more resources.<\/p>\n Over the past year, the board has issued opinions on a variety of issues, many of which took months to develop. For example, City Council member Horeka Inaba filed a petition seeking advice on whether council should report free food received as a gift during a meeting with the Kohala Coast Resort Association. Four months later, the board agreed that if the value exceeds $100, the City Council must report it as a gift.<\/p>\n The Hawaii Police Department sought an informal advisory opinion on whether a county employee’s participation in a part-time assignment with a close family member as a supervisor violates the Code of Ethics. In March, Casey Psaki, an administrative assistant in the mayor’s office, requested an informal advisory opinion on whether hiring outside food businesses is a violation.<\/p>\n The committee also commented on concerns about conflicts of interest and whether public servants can continue to work off-count. Some people take a month, others several months. <\/p>\n Current and former directors did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n The county received four applications to the Ethics Commission last year. One of them led to the nomination. Mayor Kimo Alameda said the county is actively recruiting members primarily through social media. <\/p>\n This is a challenge not just for the Ethics Commission, but for the county as a whole. Hawaii County’s two planning commissions had to cancel more than a third of their regular meetings last year because the minimum number of commissioners could not attend, resulting in months of delays for some projects.<\/p>\n The mayor recently appointed Robert Yagi to the Ethics Commission. If he is confirmed by the Hawaii County Council, there will still be two vacancies on the board. The board’s next meeting is April 10th.<\/p>\n Some residents share concerns that the county is holding off on appointments to find someone loyal to the mayor. Mr. Alameda denied those allegations.<\/p>\n “I just appoint the person who can best do the job,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re black or white or green or purple or live in the East or Mars. I just care about getting it done.”<\/p>\n Mr Hart said it was important that the board be fully functional. Without an agency to ensure the county is acting ethically, people will make mistakes without realizing they are unethical at best, he said. In the worst case scenario, employees may abuse the system and use it for their own benefit. <\/p>\n Even with a full board, concerns remain about whether it will be effective in ensuring the county follows its own ethics rules. <\/p>\n Paid employees would increase government oversight, but that’s not a start under the current administration, Hart said. Alameda said the county doesn’t have the money or need to fund the board. <\/p>\n Hawaii County budgeted $8,470 for the Ethics Commission in 2025. It cost $920. The Board’s proposed budget for 2026 is $9,270, or 0.001% of the proposed operating budget of $966 million.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think states, counties and local governments that aren\u2019t invested in ethics, all the way down to the federal government, have a real interest in ethics,\u201d Hart said. <\/p>\n The state is asking each county to strengthen its ethics committee. The Legislature has passed two resolutions in the past three years urging counties to fund ethics agencies and follow the example of state boards. <\/p>\n According to the resolution, the state found that county ethics boards and commissions lack the resources to carry out their duties and that more efforts are needed to restore confidence in county government. <\/p>\n In 2024, Maui County voters passed a charter amendment to provide paid staff for the Ethics Commission. Michael Lilly, vice chair of the Maui Ethics Commission, said the move cleared the agenda and meant night and day. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are becoming more sensitive, more relevant, more transparent and more effective than ever before,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it allows ethics committees to think more strategically and at a higher level forward-looking.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hawaii County Ethics Commission is attempting to revise its practice rules and procedures starting in 2024. It established a licensed exchange group in November 2024, but it disbanded in October 2025 after two members resigned and the group no longer had a quorum to continue meeting. The board is currently considering whether to form a new group or explore other avenues.<\/p>\n Lilly said that before the Maui board had a full-time employee, it spent much of its time disclosing financial information and advising county employees. Now, paid staff can do that work for you. <\/p>\n The advice director Lauren Akitake now gives used to be more formal. If county employees have questions about whether their actions violate the ethics code, they must file a petition and wait for the board to provide an informal opinion. In Hawaii County, this process can take months.<\/p>\n Lily says it used to be the same on Maui. But now Akitake and his staff can provide informal ethics advice by email or phone. The changes also led employees to ask more questions, Lilly said, and Akitake advised more people in one year than the board had done in 10 years. <\/p>\n More time on the agenda would allow the Maui board to discuss new lobbying rules, for example. Lilly said the board is considering the county’s new nepotism and gift rules and is creating an ethics training program for employees.<\/p>\n “In the three years I’ve been on the board, we’ve never had an hour of such substantive discussion on a major issue. We just didn’t have the time,” he said.<\/p>\n Maui’s Volunteer Ethics Committee currently has three paid employees, including Akitake, and has a 2026 budget of $258,044, including salaries, operations and equipment. This represents 0.01% of the county’s overall budget of $1.56 billion.<\/p>\n Sign up for our free morning newsletter and stay informed every day.fill a seat<\/h2>\n
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