Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 5, 1 Mei 2019 — OHA continues to improve in service to beneficiaries [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
OHA continues to improve in service to beneficiaries
LEO 'ELELE V TRUSTEE MESSSAGES '
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees continues to make headway in better serving its beneficiaries. On March 28, 2019, OHA announced that its Board of Tmstees had approved awarding $500,000 to lOnonprofit organizations under its pilot Kūlia Grants Program. Through this piloī program, OHA is providing smaller, one-year grant awards for projecLs that benefit the Native Hawaiian community and
align with the agency's broad strategic priorities of health, education, ineome and housing, land and water, and culture.OHA received a total of 8 1 applications with 5 1 eligible for ieview.The applicatioas weie reviewed by a team of extemal Native Hawaiian grant ieviewers and scored on organizational capacity, scope of services, experience, project plan, service delivery and budget The Board of Trustees is also in the process of considering a revised allowanee policy to address concems raised by the State of Hawai 'i Office of the Auditor in its Febmary 2018 report, Report No. 18-03 Audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.This revised Trustee allowanee policy was considered and reported by the Committee on Resource Management and has gone through one of two required readings before the Board of Tmstees.This revised policy would: • Rename the allowanee to the Tmstee Protocol Allowanee (TPA) to match the statutory language contained in Hawai'i Revised Stamtes § 10-9; • Revert to the original purposes of the Trustee allowanee - establishing a communication network and promoting a broader understanding and participation in the resolution of Native Hawaiian issues; • Set the current level for the TPA at $7,200.00 per Trustee seat, whieh was the funding level prior to enactment of policy amendments in Action Item ARM #13-11; • Make the TPA a reimbursable fimd; • Specify allowahle and disallowable expenses; and
• Establish an appeal process when determinations made by the Administration disallows an expenditure. Other important issues to note in this policy: • Trustees will have access and be able to utilize TPA funds beginning July 1, 2019. • The CEO shall be guided by the TPA policy to develop intemal guidelines and procedures for the use and administration of the TPA, including reporting require-
ments, required documentation, and auditable record keeping. • The budgeted TSAAF funds for FY2019, totaling $199,800($22,200 per Tmstee seat), will remain under continued moratorium until the BOT decides how those remaining funds are to be reallocated in FY2019, or such TSAAF funds will lapse into fiscal reserve. • The moratorium on the Tmstee and CEO-initiated Sponsorships will remain in plaee. Both the Kūlia Grants guidelines and the Tmstee Protocol Allowanee represent the work of the Board of Tmstees' Ad Hoe Committee on Grants and Sponsorships.This Ad Hoe Committee has done tremendous work in its review of policies and recommendations to the Board in response to the State Auditor's report. I am proud of the strides that OHA has made to better serve its beneficiaries and improve policies and overall transparency in response to the State Auditor.When the Tmstee Protocol Allowanee is approved, OHA will have partially or fully implemented all 39 of the recommendations outlined in State Auditor Report No. 18-03. This review of policies has been an ongoing elfort of OHA's Administration and its Boaid of Trustees.These have been well-vetted intemally and extemally.I rernain conmiitted to this process and to our continued betterment of the conditions of our lāhui.Any claims that OHA is not moving forward is misinformed and irresponsible.I look forward to great things to eome from OHA. E onipa'a kākou! ■
Cūlette Y. Machado Chsir, īrustsB Mnlūka'i ard Lāna'i