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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, July 2, 2003

New auditor signals fresh start for city

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Leslie Tanaka was sworn in as the new city auditor at Honolulu Hale yesterday during a low-key ceremony that City Council members hope will signal the beginning of a new era in government efficiency and accountability.

Leslie Tanaka is sworn in as the new city auditor at Honolulu Hale yesterday.

Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Tanaka is the first to hold the job called for by voters when they adopted a charter amendment creating the position during the past election. His term is for six years.

After spending the past 19 years as an auditor, including the past eight as state deputy auditor under Marion Higa, Tanaka said heading the new city office is a natural move. "Basically I'm going to be doing exactly what I did on the state side, now at the city level," he said.

Tanaka said the state auditor's office has "kept the departments accountable over their expenditure funds, kept them accountable in terms of meeting their mission, kept them accountable in terms of being efficient and economical. I think it's saved taxpayers a lot of money in terms of recommendations."

He plans to bring this to the city level, along with oversight that could prevent large scale corruption, such as the $5.8 million 'Ewa Villages scandal that might have been detected if an auditor had been in place.

Tanaka's interest in balancing finances dates to his junior year at Roosevelt High School, when he decided he would become a certified public accountant. "It was an honorable profession at that time," he joked.

City Council members seem eager to put Tanaka to work, although Councilwoman Barbara Marshall said they will have to decide as a group what the priorities will be.

For Councilman Rod Tam, one priority will be getting more information from the administration.

Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said that if the auditor could identify places where the city could save money, "it will certainly help the budget committee with their deliberations."

Tanaka, who will start setting up his new office at Kapolei Hale today, said he's waiting for directions from the council. "I'm sure they have a lot of items on their agenda," he said. "It's just that with a small office they need to be sort of pared down, make sure that there's some sense of priority because I won't be able to do everything."

Tanaka said a good audit will take four to six months to complete, so once one more auditor is on staff he expects the office will produce at least four audits a year.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.