Posted on: Thursday, July 29, 2004

Panel approves Hanauma Bay audit

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — An audit of the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Fund has received preliminary approval in the wake of city efforts to tap the fund for $1.1 million.

The City Council is set to make a final decision on the audit Aug. 11, following yesterday's approval by its budget committee.

Council members learned last month that needs were going unmet at the bay, but without a picture of its revenues and expenditures, neither the council nor interested citizens could justify a push for more money, said John Norris, president of the Friends of Hanauma Bay.

"This is just a start," Norris said. "This is what we've been asking for. There are unmet needs at the bay. ... If we knew the finances, then we could create a financial plan that looks at the bay's long-term needs."

City Councilwoman and Budget Committee chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said "an audit will clear up a lot of the unknowns, so in the future there will be accountability."

If the measure is approved, the earliest the city auditor can begin work at the nature preserve would be spring 2005.

In June, the city said it planned to tap the bay's fund to help balance the city budget. But a court order forbids money raised at the bay to be spent anywhere else.

Friends of Hanauma Bay, a volunteer group that helps with education at the bay, sought information on revenues and expenditures from the city, but did not received an accounting, Norris said. He said the Friends of Hanauma Bay plan to draft a proposal to create an appointed commission to oversee spending at the bay.

Revenue from admission, parking and fees charged businesses that run concessions at the nature preserve is supposed to be used solely to finance operations and upkeep at Hanauma Bay, according to a city law that created the special fund.

In 2002, U.S. District Judge Alan Kay ruled that while the admission fee was constitutional, the money it generated could be applied only toward Hanauma Bay, and not spent elsewhere, including at neighboring parks.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.