Hawaii Gov’s Security Costs Taxpayers $1.2M
Hawaii taxpayers paid at least $1.2 million for security personnel for the governor last year, Civil Beat has found.
The figure includes more than $217,000 in overtime pay for 26 deputy sheriffs assigned to the governor’s security detail. Members of the detail — employees of the state Department of Public Safety — are under investigation by the state Attorney General’s office for alleged overtime abuse.
that officials are investigating not only alleged overtime abuse by employees, but also allegations of hiring a prostitute while on duty, according to an unnamed whistleblower. The whistleblower also claimed, according to KITV, that a supervisor conducts side businesses, including promoting an energy drink, while at his state job.
The security force, formally called the Executive Protection Unit, provides security for the governor and lieutenant governor, as well as for Washington Place, the governor’s residence near the state Capitol. The detail includes uniformed and plain-clothed officers, some of whom accompany the governor and lieutenant governor on travels.
The Department of Public Safety initally denied Civil Beat’s initial request for the names of members of the security detail. Under Hawaii’s open records law, a state is public information.
When the department was asked to cite the statute that permits them to keep the information secret, it instead provided a list of the 26 names.
The size of the governor’s detail had been unclear until now. Previous had put the group at “about 20.”
In light of the overtime abuse allegations, Civil Beat then filed an open records request for the overtime hours worked by each deputy sheriff during the fiscal year that ended June 30 and the current fiscal year to date. While the department provided the hours for fiscal 2011, a spokeswoman said it did not have overtime data for the current fiscal year.
$217,000 in Overtime
The security costs provided to Civil Beat covered both the terms of former Gov. Linda Lingle and Neil Abercrombie, covering July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. Abercrombie took office in December. A spokeswoman for Abercrombie deferred questions to the Department of Public Safety.
Collectively, the 26 sheriffs earned $217,356 in overtime pay for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to the department. That’s on top of base salaries totaling between $948,192 and $1.4 million1. All together, costs amounted to at least $1.2 million and as much as $1.65 million on salaries and overtime alone.
A department spokeswoman said overtime costs for the detail2 are mostly tied to traveling with the governor and lieutenant governor to neighbor islands or out of state.
“It all depends on the Governor and Lt. Governor’s schedules. If they have commitments — meetings, events, speaking engagements, etc. at night, then the security detail will be required to work longer shifts,” Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said in an emailed response to Civil Beat. “A majority of the overtime comes from traveling with the Governor and Lt. Governor in-state and out-of-state.”
Schwartz said the department doesn’t see the overtime as a problem, and says it budgets for the costs. Despite spending more than $200,000 on overtime pay for the security detail, the department maintains it is adequately staffed.
The payroll costs could potentially be even higher. The KITV report said “members of the governor’s executive protection unit get an 8 percent pay premium, on top of their base salary, the only unit in the sheriff division that gets such a premium.”
An Extra 14 Hours a Week
One employee worked the equivalent of an extra 14 hours a week last year, the most among the group, according to overtime records obtained by Civil Beat. He earned at least $18,738 in overtime pay alone. Three other sheriffs earned more than 525 overtime hours, or a minimum extra 10 hours a week on average for the year.
Some earned more than others because the governor and lieutenant governor often pick the same sheriffs when traveling, the department said.
The sheriff who earned the most overtime hours worked 720 hours. That comes out to an extra 14 hours a week. As a Deputy Sheriff II, his base salary is between $36,072 and $55,5242. Based on overtime compensation of time-and-a-half, his annual earnings would come to a minimum of $54,810 and a maximum of $84,370.
Here’s a look at the six highest overtime earners.
| Employee | Position | Base Salary | OT Hours Worked | OT Pay3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Ofisa | Deputy Sheriff II | $36,072-$55,524 | 720.42 | $18,738-$28,846 |
| Refford Makue | Deputy Sheriff II | $36,072-$55,524 | 695.33 | $18,086-$27,841 |
| Rodney Kauhane | Deputy Sheriff II | $36,072-$55,524 | 615.6 | $16,012-$24,649 |
| Larry Alesna | Deputy Sheriff II | $36,072-$55,524 | 525.09 | $13,658-$21,025 |
| Geoffrey Peterson | Deputy Sheriff II | $36,072-$55,524 | 482.42 | $12,548-$19,316 |
| Bryan Marciel | Deputy Sheriff II | $36,072-$55,524 | 449.83 | $11,700-$18,011 |
On the opposite end, some members of the detail earned few overtime hours. One employee worked 10 overtime hours for the entire year, while another worked 12 overtime hours for the year.
Preferential Treatment?
Asked about the varying overtime shifts among employees, Schwartz said the governor and lieutenant governor tend to pick the same officers to travel with them.
“The governor and lieutenant governor have preference over who travels with them,” Schwartz said. “We make sure that they are comfortable with the security detail that they will spend many hours with so it’s not uncommon for the governor or lieutenant governor to pick the same people to travel with them for various trips. The lower overtime hours are from the uniform security who work regular shifts at Washington Place and the Governor’s Mansion gatehouse.”
