It’s been a couple of weeks since the third-party audit of the Maui County Department of Liquor Control was released, and at 104 pages long, it’s a keg of a report. While there’s yet to be a moment of reckoning or serious response from the department, commission, or political leadership, what’s clear is that this is a department that has gone over-served on power for too long, without the firm guidance of a friend to take it home when its drunkenness turns to belligerence.
Don’t believe it’s that bad? Here are 10 figures from the audit to paint the picture.
20 years: The number of years the LC has operated without a comprehensive review of the rules, resulting in outdated rules such as the prohibition of beer flights and obscene language in songs.
72 percent: The percentage of violations in fiscal year 2017-18 for minor violations such as dancing with a drink in hand.
One third: The ratio of the enforcement division’s time spent on minor violations.
45 percent: The percentage of major items required for liquor license applicants that are not required, or are required in less detail, by at least two of three other counties in the state.
15.8 percent: The department’s turnover rate, double the average of all county departments.
26.7 percent: The vacancy rate of staff over the last two fiscal years.
270.5: The amount of overtime hours accrued by LC Director Glenn Mukai’s secretary.
3: The number of employees that are children of the director or a former director.
2: The amount of evaluations of the LC Director conducted by the LC Commission from 2014-2018. The charter mandates these evaluations should occur every year.
0: The amount of commission members that attended all commission meetings during any fiscal year. Also, the number of commission members that have been recommended for removal.
I’m no math whiz, but from the looks of it, it all adds up to zero accountability and one department in serious need of reform.
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