Nearly 14 Million For Paid Attack Bloggers And Much More
HART Blows Millions Of Tax Dollars On Pro-Rail Propaganda
HART’s PR team takes a haircut, but questions remain
Politics / “To live in Hawaii you have to be a frugal person, unless you’re very wealthy,” said citizen Christine Bond to the City Council at its meeting on Wednesday, July 11. Her testimony pertained to the proposed Resolution 12-149, demanding an audit of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s (HART) spending on public relations and “public involvement” services which has been tallied at about $4 million. “I don’t think the State of Hawaii is wealthy enough to go blow $4 million in that way,” Bond added.
Twenty-four testifiers (only one person spoke against having an audit) voiced a sense of outrage at the excessive spending and attempts to gain public acceptance of Honolulu’s rail project, which was approved by a public referendum four years ago. Indeed, several individuals who testified in favor of Resolution 12-149 were pro-rail, but still appalled by HART’s reckless spending of taxpayer dollars. “I think rail is a good thing,” said Donna Lei. “[But] I was horrified to hear that we spent $4 million to basically try and influence public opinion on a rail that has already been [approved].”
Auditor: HART Paid $563K to Blogger who said Job was 'Obviously' to Help Pro-Rail Candidates
by Andrew Walden Hawaii Free Press
"Yes2Rail Ends Its 4-Year Run with This Observation: With Pro-Rail Candidates Having Won the Primary Election, 55-to-45 Percent, the Project's Public Involvement Team Obviously Has Been Doing Its Job"
http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/ID/11398/Auditor-HART-Paid-563K-to-Blogger-who-said-Job-was-Obviously-to-Help-Pro-Rail-Candidates.aspx
The long-awaited City Auditor's report on Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) public relations spending is out.
The Auditor questions HART's relationship with rail contractors and whether HART is upholding a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) mandate to replace contractors with city employees. The report explains: "If HART retains consultants, it should be aware that violations of employer-independent contractor rules could result in unintended liabilities, and consultant and other risks may impact overhead rates and other costs."
According to the report, HART spent $13.9M on public relations, including this item:
The city paid over half-a-million dollars to a sub-consultant that used questionable public involvement techniques. In this one exception, we found numerous instances where a sub- consultant’s blog contained posts that appeared to be editorial, political, and inappropriate in nature. The questionable language in the blog posts was inconsistent with the objectives and strategies of the Public Involvement Plan....
On the sub-consultant’s required monthly progress report for July 2008, the sub-consultant stated that his additional responsibilities include creating a pro-rail blog. The sub-consultant’s scope of services included maintaining a web log to promote the project on a continuing basis and to include daily postings if warranted by current events.
During our review of the sub-consultant’s blogs from September 2008 to November 2012, we found 118 blog posts that used questionable public involvement techniques. Rather than providing informative, useful, and accurate information on important issues relating to the project, the blog posts were editorial in nature and used disparaging remarks about certain individuals whose views were different from the author.
The sub-consultant posts that appeared to be inappropriate, editorial, and political in nature violated the HART/RTD public involvement strategy. Exhibit 2.5 categorizes the 118 blog posts. Of the 118 blog posts, 53 (approximately 45%) were editorial, 23 (approximately 19%) were political, and 12 (approximately 10%) were inappropriate. We also found that of the 118 blog posts, 20 (approximately 17%) posts contained both editorial and political language, 9 posts (approximately 8%) contained editorial and inappropriate language, and 1 post contained political and inappropriate language.
The following examples illustrate the disparaging posts and language used. (Links added-editor)
Honolulu Rail Audit: Too Many Consultants, Too Little Accountability
Civil Beat December 17, 2013 By
http://www.civilbeat.com/2013/12/20690-honolulu-rail-audit-too-many-consultants-too-little-accountability/Much of this had to do with Carlson’s attacks on former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano, who was running for mayor on an anti-rail platform.
“During our review of the sub-consultant’s blogs from September 2008 to November 2012, we found 118 blog posts that used questionable public involvement techniques,” the auditor’s report said.
“Rather than providing informative, useful, and accurate information on important issues relating to the project, the blog posts were editorial in nature and used disparaging remarks about certain individuals whose views were different from the author.”
Honolulu's rail project is already facing a nearly $1 billion shortfall.
When it comes to public relations for Honolulu’s $5.26 billion rail project, the city’s auditor is OK with coloring books and lanyards.
But paying a consultant more than a half-million dollars to spout hyper-political, pro-rail sentiments on his blog is another story.
On Monday, Honolulu Auditor Edwin Young released his agency’s findings related to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation‘s public relations and community involvement contracts.
The audit is especially critical of a long-running blog by Doug Carlson of Carlson Communications, calling it “questionable” and slanted. Carlson was paid more than $563,000 for his work.
Since 2005, the city has spent $13.9 million on public relations contracts in general, mainly through its consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff and InfraConsult.
But some of the PR work caused the Honolulu City Council to call for an audit of the program.
No Public Accountability for Rail PR Contracts
When Civil Beat asked to see the 10 companies’ public involvement contracts, city spokesman Bill Brennan said in an e-mail: “They do not have contracts with the city. Their contracts are with PB Americas and/or InfraConsult, so the city does not have their contracts available to look at.”
Civil Beat August 26, 2010·By
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Photos Of West Oahu Community Opposition At City's Kapolei Important Agricultural Lands Meeting
Photos Of West Oahu Community Protests Of Hoopili Project Destroying 1500 Acres Of Prime Historic Ewa Farmland
Photos Of Protest Of Day Of Infamy City Bill 3 Which Destroys 1500 Acres Of Historic Prime Ewa Farmland
FTA HART Rail Farmland Dump Site Is Well Documented Native Hawaiian Burial Place
Ho'opili Project Is Definition Of Insanity - From Transit System To Really Massive Land Development Scheme
