Kauai still lacks county auditor after 11 years, oversight concerns grow

Kauaʻi taxpayers have spent 11 years without a permanent county auditor, leaving outside firms to handle oversight work while the county plans hundreds of thousands of dollars more for audits in the next budget. The gap has made Kauaʻi the only Hawaiʻi county without a staffed auditor’s office, even as spending decisions, performance reviews and questions about accountability keep moving forward.

Voters approved the Office of the County Auditor in the November 2008 general election, backing the charter amendment by nearly 64%. The Kauaʻi County Charter places the office in the legislative branch, gives the auditor a six-year term, and grants broad authority to review county records, administer oaths, subpoena witnesses and compel documents. Ernesto Pasion, the county’s first auditor and a longtime county clerk, was appointed in September 2009.

The office has been vacant for 11 years. During that time, the County Council has launched at least seven recruitments, hired an executive search firm in 2018 for $30,000 and reposted the job again at the end of March 2026 with a salary of nearly $154,000. County officials have said the search has been hampered by a shortage of qualified candidates, including one rejected offer.

In the meantime, the county has leaned on contract work to fill the void. Outside firms have conducted 13 performance audits, and the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget includes about $535,500 for a CPA firm to perform the annual financial audit, plus another $600,000 in the council’s own budget for performance audits. That means more than $1.1 million is already tied to audit work without a resident auditor in place.

The lapse matters because independent audits have uncovered problems in other parts of Hawaiʻi government, from weak record-keeping in Hawaiʻi Island’s affordable housing credit program to limits in Honolulu’s rail system and possible fraud, waste and abuse in Maui emergency procurements during the pandemic. On Kauaʻi, the missing watchdog leaves residents depending on contract reviews instead of the charter-built office voters approved.

Former council member and state senator Gary Hooser has argued that the role is “invaluable” and necessary because voters overwhelmingly backed it. As the county weighs other issues, including the penny phaseout and traffic cameras, the bigger question is why a charter mandate approved in 2008 still has not been fully honored in 2026.