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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, June 28, 2005

EDITORIAL
Audit slams Harris era, puts mayor on notice

Honolulu should react with a healthy dose of righteous indignation to a new audit that details failures of the previous administration to responsibly maintain public systems that are essential to O'ahu residents.

The audit clearly points out that then-Mayor Jeremy Harris deserves much of the blame for our pothole-ridden roads, our deteriorating sewer system and other problems. Resources that should have gone toward systematic road maintenance, auditors note, had been redirected toward niceties such as the beach events he championed so proudly. More extensive repairs are now needed and will end up being much more expensive than they would have been had Harris and his team tended to the basic work of city administration instead of lavishing funds on splashier amenities.

Specifically, City Auditor Leslie Tanaka pointed out that the expense of those Brunch and Sunset on the Beach festivals was "grossly underreported" at just over $2 million, less than half the actual cost of $4.5 million. Accountability here also was grossly lacking: Most of the program documents are missing, he said.

It's difficult to fault Harris for wanting to augment important city districts such as Waikiki and Chinatown. In fact, he promised from the start to focus his attention on such improvements, which languished during much of the Frank Fasi era. Indeed, allowing these areas to disintegrate is also foolish, considering that they are attractions crucial to our image as a tourist destination as well as to Honolulu's cultural legacy that we all treasure.

But focusing on beautification projects while letting basic city services slide is simply irresponsible. Ideally, the pendulum shouldn't swing so radically; maintenance and improvements ought to proceed at a well-measured pace.

The audit is also fair warning to the Hannemann administration that taxpayers expect their money to be used wisely. The audit was conducted after Hannemann came to office, and although the current mayor inherited the deferred maintenance problems from Harris, the auditors had few compliments to offer about the way road repairs are still being executed.

Some balance is needed here. The most courageous public policy, if not the most politically expedient, is to raise more revenue through taxes and fees to finance the most desirable amenities, rather than sacrificing the basics when the bills come due.

Our new mayor should listen to the auditor's voice, and realize that there's a message in there for him, too.