The county Department of Public Works is instituting new procedures — such as requiring tools to be checked in and out each day — in response to an audit that found too much inventory unaccounted for.
Several County Council members, meanwhile, defended the man in charge of the division that was audited. Legislative Auditor Bonnie Nims was grilled Tuesday about her choice of area to audit, why she didn’t audit other divisions and whether she compared the time period of the latest audit with prior conditions.
Auditors concluded in a Feb. 2 report that 78 percent of the DPW Highway Maintenance Division’s inventory was properly accounted for using an inventory system. However, control of at least 179 items, worth $175,500, did not follow county inventory policy and procedures.
Best practices in inventory control sets a standard of 95 percent of inventory accounted for, Nims said. She defended the audit, which studied inventories at all seven Public Works baseyards between July 1, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2015.
“Every which way you can test it, we tried to test it,” Nims said.
Of the 414 items reviewed, auditors could not physically locate 24, including seven mobile radios, five chainsaws, three string trimmers and one generator, mower, pole pruner, vacuum, digital camera, printer, calculator, backpack blower and sprayer.
In addition, the audit identified 19 items that were not timely discovered or reported as lost, missing or stolen, supported by police reports and timely taken off the inventory record system. These included five chainsaws, four string trimmers, three mobile radios, two pole pruners, two backpack blowers and one mower, hand trolley and generator.
The highways division was chosen for investigation because auditors identified large quantities of small and attractive inventory items considered sensitive, portable and prone to theft in comparison to other Public Works divisions, the audit stated.
“We’re looking for a better way to track these items,” Public Works Director Frank DeMarco said Tuesday.
The department created its own Inventory Procedures Manual, initiated training and is considering a new inventory control system and possible security systems for baseyards, DeMarco said.
Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha praised the department for reacting quickly to the audit.
“It’s nice to hear that steps are being taken already after the audit came in,” he said.
Two Hilo council members defended highways division chief Neil Azevedo, who started with the county Feb. 2, 2015.
“What we don’t have here, what our situation was prior to 2015. We don’t have a comparative study with other departments,” said Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung. “I want to dispel any notion that this division and its head is doing anything wrong. … It might have been the same prior to 2015 for all we know.”
South Hilo/Keaau Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy said she went to high school with Azevedo and respects him.
“What was the measurable then and what is the measurable now? … Now to come out with an audit to make these people feel bad?” Lee Loy said. “This audit is just a blip on the radar as far as I’m concerned.”
To view the full text of the audit, visit http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/weblink/Browse.aspx?startid=18592&dbid=1&cr=1.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
