Just months after the city administration tried to "raid" the fund of more than $1 million, Kobayashi and Norris say there is not enough detail in the available financial data to reassure them the money is being spent as intended — solely for the operations of the bay.

"It makes you wonder how the money is moved around," said Kobayashi, chairwoman of the Council's Budget Committee. "The budget process is so complicated."

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said it was no problem providing the information sought by Kobayashi and the Friends, but the release was delayed by several factors.

"There's an inference that we are hiding something, and that is not correct," Costa said.

After recording a surplus in four of the five years from 1997 to 2001 — a total of about $1.9 million — expenditures exceeded income at the bay for the past two years. The surplus now stands at $1.4 million, according to a letter from city budget director Ivan M. Lui-Kwan that accompanied the numbers.

Lui-Kwan emphasized that no money had been improperly diverted to other city projects.

The numbers also show:

• Expenditures at the nature preserve reached an all-time high last year: $3.69 million.
• Debt service increased by nearly $1 million last year with the construction of the $16.2 million, award-winning Hanauma Bay Marine Education Center. The debt service will be paid over a period of years.
• Money spent on emergency services, which includes lifeguards and ambulance, increased by more than 40 percent in the past two years, from $271,177 in 2001 to $395,022 last year. The rise accompanied an increase in lifeguard protection at the bay after 10 drownings in 2002.

On the plus side, the bay's income totaled $3.2 million in the 2003 fiscal year. That includes concession fees charged to businesses that run the snorkel rental stand and the shuttle bus service, as well as parking and admission fees.

The city has not disclosed details on how the money is spent. For example, the numbers don't show what the city parks department did for the $1.68 million it received last year to operate the bay — the single largest expenditure for 2003.

Hanauma Bay nature preserve had income of $3.2 million in fiscal 2003, leaving a surplus that the city tried to raid this year. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

The numbers released are not what was requested at a June 23 budget committee hearing, Norris said. At that meeting, the city was asked to provide a breakdown of revenue and expenditures for the 2003-04 budget year, and suggestions on how procedures for the fund could be changed so management of the bay could have more control over the fund.

The accounting of the Hanauma Bay Special Fund has become an issue since the city sought to tap into the fund in May for a one-time raid of $1.1 million to help balance its budget. That proposal was voted down by the full council.

It was then that the Friends and the council realized the fund must be operating with a surplus substantial enough that it could be used to make improvements at the bay or purchase more equipment.

Meanwhile, there were unmet needs at the bay — positions that had not been filled, equipment not purchased, even a contract with the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant program, which runs the education program, that had gone unpaid.

Specifically, the bay's manager had asked for, but was denied, money to pay for a $15,000 security camera; to hire three maintenance workers, a ranger and a clerk receptionist position; and to buy office furniture, a public address system, a defibrillator, a photocopier and night-vision goggles for lifeguards, according to the Friends.

Meanwhile, the city said that as of June 4, "all requests for Hanauma Bay operations are accommodated except for $4,000 and all vacant positions are funded. Therefore, requirements for maintenance, repair and public safety have been well provided," according to a memo sent to Kobayashi's office on June 2.

Kobayashi vowed to hold another hearing of her Budget Committee to go over the figures, and she and Norris were critical of the city's delay in revealing the information.

Under state law, a government agency has 10 days to respond to a written request for information, said Cathy Takase, an attorney with the state Office of Information Practices, which oversees the open records law. If the agency denies a request, it must state why, Takase said.

Costa said the city had not received the July 16 Friends letter requesting financial information on Hanauma Bay. Kobayashi, who asked for the information at a June 3 budget committee meeting, had not submitted her request in writing, as required, Costa said.

"Requests for information need to be in writing to ensure accuracy and that a proper response is given," Costa said. "Much of the information sought isn't readily available, so it needs to be compiled and assembled. Once in a while, a letter falls through the crack."

Meanwhile, the city's budget director was out of the country on a three-week vacation, Costa said. The letter from city budget director Lui-Kwan that accompanied the Hanauma Bay financials also advised Norris that the $200,000 obligation to the UH Sea Grant Program had been paid.

"The city has an obligation and a requirement under the law to provide all the financial details, as long as it's not a human resources issue," said Lowell Kalapa, president of the nonprofit watchdog group Tax Foundation of Hawai'i. "Public dollars should be public record."

Kalapa laid some of the responsibility on the City Council to seek detailed answers. "The council has the legal means to subpoena the numbers or go to the state Office of Information Practices to force the issue. The city has to produce what is public record."