Posted on: Wednesday, December 13, 2006
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ON THE MONEY TRAIL
Focusing on wasteful spending
By
Jim Dooley
Advertiser Columnist
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CURBING WASTE
There are many more examples of wasted spending. That’s where you come in. Send us your tips and ideas on government waste: large or small, silly or infuriating. We’ll do our best to track it down. Contact Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2447.
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Follow the money trail to track down government waste.
Sometimes the quarry is small and elusive. Sometimes it's huge but invisible.
The small. Plumbing contractor Arthur Inada re-caulked several bathroom sinks at the airport, a job he later admitted was worth $60 to $80, not counting the caulk. But Inada billed taxpayers $6,155 for the work. And he collected.
The large. Inada's small job was actually part of something much bigger. He was in a group of contractors who conspired with airport officials to rig bids for "small" repair jobs. The conspiracy ran for more than 10 years and wasted millions of dollars of airport money, according to recent federal court testimony. Two of the contractors and two state workers will be sentenced in the case next year.
The frustrating. State employee David Tong has been on administrative leave (with pay) for more than three years now. Tong stays home, collecting full salary and benefits for not coming to work. He even gets vacation time. Tong was banished from the office while his bosses investigated and then litigated his allegations about civil rights violations and other workplace issues.
The inexplicable. A state housing agency employee was on leave with full pay for six years. He was eventually fired, then filed a grievance for reinstatement. One of the highest-paid employees at the state Tax Department was at home on leave-with-pay status for 16 months before he was allowed back to work. The state won't explain the details of these cases, citing privacy issues.
The "cannot-be!" The Rosco AR-300, a state-of-the-art pothole patching machine, cost the state $156,000 but only worked once. State workers didn't clean it properly after a demonstration to news media of the Rosco's wondrous abilities. Plus, the right kind of asphalt mix for the Rosco wasn't available on this island. So the apparatus was stored under a freeway overpass, where it was vandalized.
The never-ending. At the end of Lagoon Drive stands a monument to squandered tax dollars. The airport boathouse cost $1.3 million to design and build in the early 1990s. The state just had to have it to protect a "state of the art" rescue boat that would fight fires and save lives in waters off the airport. Once built, though, the boathouse was empty for five years or so because there wasn't any money to buy the boat. When it was finally purchased, the boat price had gone up from $175,000 to $260,000. And when the boat arrived, an electronic pulley-and-hoist system inside the boathouse had rusted shut after years of disuse. So the aluminum-hulled vessel couldn't be suspended out of the water when not in use. It bobbed in the salty waters of Ke'ehi Lagoon inside the boathouse. And that meant regular and expensive maintenance work on the boat. Two months ago, a contractor was charged with fraudulently obtaining four contracts worth about $100,000 to repair the boathouse.
If you know that a particular money trail will lead to boondoggle, excessive spending or white elephants, reach Jim Dooley at 535-2447 or jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com
