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Okay, in so far as the repayment in a timely manner. It's been established that his self-identified personal expenses were repaid on a timely basis, which is to say prior to the publicizing of his use of the pCard. This was not made clear by the Trib as they broke the story. Lots of confusion reigned because of that.
Apparently practicing an abundance of caution the Mayor then reimbursed charges that went back to the beginning of his administration that were either ambiguous or lacked support, for whatever reason. These charges were then paid as well, leaving precious little to base a theft complaint on.
The perspective I was provided on why the Mayor used only the pCard instead of carrying a personal card (which BTW he obviously was capable of qualifying for ), was to simplify the accounting between personal and business at the end of every charge cycle.
Since the Mayor is essentially on duty all the time, including weekends and while traveling, it makes some sense to have used the credit account that would reflect the majority of his charges. That was the pCard.
It was much simpler for that user to repay the card account than to get the Finance Dept to reimburse the use of a private cc. As Nancy Crawford testified, the accounting cycle for his pCard was expected to be within 1-3 months but was not specified exactly.
As far as impeachment....well that would require the Council to have investigated to the extent that the AG eventually accomplished. It's asking a lot when that body doesn't have the staff, the in house council, or the investigative powers as the Attorney General has.
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Originally posted by HiloPuna
As far as impeachment....well that would require the Council to have investigated to the extent that the AG eventually accomplished.
No, Hilopuna, the Hawaii County Charter tells me different. All the Council had to hear was his apology for the mistakes he made and they should have started impeachment proceedings. The Mayor was so distrusted that they took his pCard away before anybody investigated.
“To the Hawaii County Council I begin by apologizing to all of you for the mistakes I made.”
-Mayor Billy Kenoi
http://www.staradvertiser.com/breaking-n...-spending/
At the point that the Mayor apologized for wrongdoing is when the council should have said “Mayor, say no more. Get an attorney because it is our duty to start impeachment hearings.”
Or maybe we should just let everyone get away with it. That's funny the Mayor apologizes to the County Council for his pCard spending and that is suppose to get him out of impeachment? Is that the way it goes for everybody who make these errors?
I know that when you misuse your pCard, especially for personal gain, government workers are terminated and elected officers are impeached. All they have to do is postpone his trial one time and he won't be Mayor any more. Then he wins the case on a technicality and he comes out clean as a whistle with all the honor and dignities of being the former Mayor rather then the impeached and convicted Mayor.
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HiloPuna said, "The perspective I was provided on why the Mayor used only the pCard instead of carrying a personal card (which BTW he obviously was capable of qualifying for), was to simplify the accounting between personal and business at the end of every charge cycle."
Who provided that "perspective?" I ask because I recall Kenoi being described more than once as not having a personal credit card. If true, I can think of only two reasons someone who makes about $130,000 per year would not have his own card. Either his personal finances were a total shambles and he couldn't qualify, or he chose not to have a card for philosophical reasons. (I've actually known some financially secure people who didn't like or use credit cards.) Kenoi had no problem whatsoever using someone else's card, however, so he obviously had not qualms about using them. I also wonder why he didn't use a debit card or check for his personal stuff, particularly for the bar association dues.
And how would only carrying the county card simplify the accounting between personal and business charges? It is a sure way to literally get everything mixed up, and Kenoi did so to an extent that went far beyond the occasional mistake that happens when businessmen carry both company and personal cards. The lack of receipts and other documentation is also quite telling. Kenoi may be foolish as RJ says, but he is not so stupid that he can't tell cards apart.
RJ, Coincidently only a few months after our Mayor's P-Card issues, our County Council received significant pay raises as did others like the managing and finance directors. If our county council and others did not do their Duty or jobs as you state then why did they receive these raises?
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-ne...ty-council
Our Mayor promised to donate every dollar of his unwanted positional raise to charity, possibly Over $22,000 "A year". Anyone know if our Mayor upheld this promise? OR, the name of the Organization or cause that was chosen to benefit from this generous donation? Maybe "Puna's ROD" or geothermal relocations?
HiloPuna, I always try to use or repeat the word may or jmo often because my written opinions on this forum are just that, opinions. We may see or view a few things quite differently. For example, What you see or refer to as weekly Starbucks money has been known as Diaper Money in my home for more than a few decades now. jmo
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Chunkster
Someone from the previous Kim administration who stayed on for a while and knew the pCard process. They haven't been in the administration for a while.
It's not so hard to imagine why the Kenoi administration would do this, though it is perhaps other than either of your two reasons offered. Since you've known of successful people who are philosophically opposed to cc's perhaps you can imagine a staff who know their boss is gregarious, generous, and somewhat difficult to corral. Better they control the accounting by having the statement come directly to them. And, for the record, I do the same thing. An employee takes care of my accounts, calculates my reimbursements between business and personal, and argue with me over how some charges should be classified. Sometimes my CPA weighs in as well as the deciding voice, just as the pCard Administrator would have between the Mayor, his staff, and the Finance Dept.
Please dont go off on "generous with the publics money" or some such take off...his total charges over the 7 years that have been referred to are less than a year or two for any CEO of a large corporation. $1500/ month average total charges? Good grief, I spend more than that and I have fewer than 10 employees.
App. $350/ mth in reimbursement....Really? Impeachable offenses?
The hue and cry of the offended echoes the debilitating hysteria that Fox and the alt-Right have been able to ferment towards the Clintons. They've done it since the '90's so the scale is out of proportion, but from what I can read there's as little in the p-Card "scandal" as there was fault by Hillary in Benghazi or operating a private server (never hacked) versus the oft hacked Federal systems.
Nevertheless we could end up with Trump and Billy is permanently damaged as a public figure. I believe that was the basis of his apology to the public and the Council. He was truly sorry for how this has played out, whether for substantive complaints or not.
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Billy Kenoi was from the previous Kim administration.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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The perspective I was provided on why the Mayor used only the pCard instead of carrying a personal card (which BTW he obviously was capable of qualifying for ), was to simplify the accounting between personal and business at the end of every charge cycle.
This is not standard practice in business or government. Almost everyone uses a business card for business, and a personal card for personal purchases. The IRS frowns on the practice of mixing business accounts with personal accounts. Certainly charges may end end up on the wrong card occasionly, but it should be the rare exception to the rule. Using a pCard for both business and private purchases does not as you suggest, simplify the accounting. It creates a situation exactly like we have at this point in time. A complicated mess, that requires vast amounts of public resources to sort out.
If Billy is too generous to be turned loose into the world with a personal credit card, he should have used a debit card. You can't overdraw your balance with a debit card.
- Be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. - Work slowly. - Refer all matters to committees for "further study and consideration. - Hold conferences. - Make travel as inconvenient as possible. - Haggle over precise wordings of communications. - Advocate “caution.” Be “reasonable” and avoid haste. (Excerpts from the WWII OSS Simple Sabotage Manual)
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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This is not standard practice in business or government.
Which sort of implies that Hawaii County is neither business nor government...
Snark aside, all I want is the same "benefit of the doubt" when I "forget" to pay my taxes, renew my safety sticker, etc. Otherwise the concept of "rules and laws for everyone" is nothing more than a fairy tale used to frighten small children.
Not sure what Rob means by his "Billy Kenoi was from the previous Kim administration" comment. How I read it is that Billy Kenoi was no stranger to the mayor position or it's responsibilities. He may have had knowledge of how the p-card system was designed to work or how it could be scammed well before he became mayor himself. jmo
Was Kim's administration also able to use these p-cards?
Has the P-Card personal spending by our mayor's become a Hawaii County tradition, part of our unique culture and charm of the Island? Kim's turn again?
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" . . . Billy is permanently damaged as a public figure."
Finally something we can agree on. If nothing else comes out of all this, we can at least be spared the likelihood of Kenoi in some higher office.
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