Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 1998 — Funny Money [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Funny Money

BY HER OWN pen, Frenchy DeSoto described the "accomplishments" of the leadership in her December Ka Wai Ola article. In it she bragged, "The new team has hit the road running," and proceeded to detail how they, (DeSoto, Apoliona, Beamer, Machado and Springer), voted to spend $507,204 of trast funds in November. For example, she said, "The board took a giant step forward by appropriating" $150,000 for 10 more employees; $225,000 for "mini" audits; $100,000 for a "cadre" of legal service providers; and another $9,264 for a patronage chief to "administer to the chair's business and confidential needs." It must be Christmas. The final appropriation DeSoto bragged about was $12,940 more to, "fund and develop a beneficiary outreach project to establish a means for beneficiaries to provide input on OHA's programs and broader issues affecting the agency and its beneficiaries." Doesn't that put you in the holi-

day spirit? So in November the five leaders spent a total of $507,204. Add that figure to the $425,000 the five leaders voted in October to pay the state for an inventory (as opposed to deducting that amount from the $9.9 million the state owes Hawaiians from landing fees), and their two-month grand total is $932,204! Oh, they're certain to espouse the "necessity" of these programs, the "critical" need to spend money, the "compelling"

and "unavoidable" choices to spend more money, and so on and so forth. They may even tell you that OHA's house will finally be in order, whatever that means. With all of this spending, how have you benefitted? Well so far, you've benefitted by the commitment of five leaders to "inventory" public lands by paying cash up front. Oh, by the way, take comfort in knowing that at minimum $500,000 more is expected, although the five leaders will say the state is "forcing" OHA to pay more money. You've benefitted by knowing that $150,000 has been spent to "collect, sort and classify stored data to help facilitate informed and pradent decisions," and that OHA has a new "cadre of legal service providers to update OHA manuals." Now, doesn't that make you feel good? People ask me all the time what'OHA is doing with its $275 million. Well, now you know what happened in October and November. And you thought OHA wasn't spending its fortune on you. Here's a new year's prediction: For the first time in OHA's histo-

ry the five leaders will exceed the general fund appropriation from the State. At the current spending rate, the five leaders for the first time will dig into the principal in OHA's portfolio for more trast dollars to spend. To do so, they'll sell off stocks and/or bonds that are profitable. Piineiples, ideals and vision in the form of austerity, down-sizing and budget-cutting will remain foreign concepts to them. The thought for the new year? Trastee Keale said it best. "Who benefits from this allocation(s)? Definitely not the beneficiaries. One month, $1 million. Two months $2 million? Make sure your seat backs are in their full, upright positions. Tighten those seat belts." If this is "hitting the road ranning," stay tuned and watch Apoliona, Beamer, DeSoto, Machado and Springer reach new spending heights. Funny thing, the five leaders spend lots of time spending your money and not one talks about making money. You think maybe they don't know how? Nah! Happy New Year. ■

: ^8™»* . TRUSTEE MESSAGES

[?]