Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 12, 1 December 1997 — The only constant is change [ARTICLE]

The only constant is change

ARECENT EDITORIAL began, "Leadership shuffles are simply part of the reality of any polhieal board, group or organization. So by that measure, the apparent ouster of OHA trustee Clayton Hee is no big deal." What is a "big deal," we all know, is what happens after a leadership change.

The new team has hit the road running: The chairperson's office complex is no longer a secluded fiefdom; the chair, vice chair and respective staff will all be located there. The staff attomey and legal secretary will relocate to the 12th floor. An additional phone line is being installed for eaeh trustee to improve communication. Clarification of the "sunshine law" is being sought - is it really tme that two or more tmstees cannot discuss matters with eaeh other or with staff, constituents or beneficiaries? Hereafter, Hawaiian entitlement decisions and grant recommendations will go to the Committee of the Whole, not the chair or a select group of tmstees. And on Nov. 10, the board took a giant step forward by appropriating: • up to $150,000 for a temporary workforce of no more than 10 full-time equivalents for collecting, sorting, and classifying stored data to help facihtate informed and pmdent decisions by OHA tmstees and staff; chairperson and OHA's administration; • up to $225,00 for out-sourced audits to assess OHA's fiscal management, procurement and spending;

• up to $10,000 for one or more writers to eompile and memorialize OHA's policies and procedures; • up to $100,000 for a cadre of legal service providers to up-date OHA's operational manuals; • $12,940 to fund and develop a beneficiary outreach project to establish a means for beneficiaries to provide input on OHA's programs and broad4

er issues affecting the agency and its beneficiaries; and • $9,264 annually to expand the executive assistant position into a patronage chief of staff responsible for facilitating productivity of the board, administering to the chair's business and confidential needs, overseeing the operation of her office and staff and serving as liaison with OHA's administration. These actions were not created by whim or without

serious consideration and consultation. Eaeh stems from OHA audit recommendations submitted over the past nine years and not yet implemented. In 1997, state auditor Maiion M. Higa's report elaiified she is now required by law to audit OHA at least onee every four years and recommended OHA build on its firm foundation of solid investment policy and management by planning strategically to link investments to programs. This echoed her previous reports. Her j 1993 report concluded, "OHA did not have up-to-date plans and complete policies and procedures. OHA also failed to follow its fiscal procedures, and program evaluations were not being used productively." The 1990 audit found, "OHA lacked a budget policy and expenditure reports." This past February, Deloitte & Touche, OHA's financial auditor, expressed eoneem regarding "other matters related to the intemal structure and certain other matters (some of whieh were reported in previous

years)." These recent actions, spearheaded by the new leadership, are part of an ongoing evolution that will put OHA's house in order and solve many of the problems that have, for a long time, delayed our ability to effectively reach our beneficiaries. I will keep you abreast of developments as they are implemented and will be happy to respond to questions you may have. ■

i M M

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