The Hawaii County Board of Ethics is scheduled to hear a long-pending complaint against Mayor Billy Kenoi next week following his acquittal on criminal charges for alleged misuse of a county-issued credit card.
The Hawaii County Board of Ethics is scheduled to hear a long-pending complaint against Mayor Billy Kenoi next week following his acquittal on criminal charges for alleged misuse of a county-issued credit card.
Kapaau resident Lanric Hyland filed the ethics complaint last year over Kenoi using the card for personal purchases, which he later reimbursed. He is on the agenda for an informal hearing Wednesday in Hilo.
It’s not clear if Kenoi will participate. The mayor and his attorney, Todd Eddins, didn’t return requests for comment.
The board previously deferred the matter due to concern that any decision could impact the mayor’s theft trial. A 12-person jury acquitted Kenoi on all charges Tuesday in Hilo Circuit Court.
But even if the board finds Kenoi violated the county’s ethics code, it’s unlikely the mayor, who leaves office in December, would face any serious repercussions since the board usually issues advisory opinions in response to informal hearings.
The state Procurement Office already revoked Kenoi’s purchasing card, known as a pCard, in April 2015 after it was revealed he used it to cover a nearly $900 hostess bar bill. He reimbursed the county for the charge about four months after it occurred.
Kenoi said he thought he could make personal purchases if he reimbursed the county, though he acknowledged during trial that a senior staff member asked him to stop. Some transactions took months or years to pay back.
Whether or not there are repercussions for the mayor, Hyland said he still wants the board to send a message that using public money for personal use, even if the person pays it back, is wrong.
“It’s important because justice has to come into play somewhere,” he said.
The mayor reimbursed the county for $22,292 of his approximately $130,000 in pCard charges between January 2009 and March 2015. An additional $9,500 was paid back after Big Island newspapers published a story about the hostess bar expense.
His defense argued in trial that some of the reimbursements were for legitimate county expenses.
State prosecutors said several reimbursements apparently happened in response to records requests from a reporter.
In trial, the state focused primarily on large alcohol purchases made by Kenoi. Eddins said that’s allowed, at least for the mayor, claiming the county code gives him broad authority.
But that could change.
Mayor-elect Harry Kim said he will consider making it explicitly clear that public funds can’t be used to buy alcohol, even by the mayor. Kim said he doesn’t drink.
“The trial shows that some things need to be clarified,” he said.
Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., a witness in Kenoi’s trial, testified that his county prohibits officials from using their pCards to purchase alcohol.
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa doesn’t have a pCard, according to spokesman Rod Antone, who added alcohol purchases aren’t allowed. He said the administration uses pCards to buy office supplies or for emergency situations.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.