A voter-mandated law could expand the independence of the Maui County Board of Ethics, enabling its staff to perform more classes to promote ethical conduct as well as independent investigations into political wrongdoing.

Because of a charter amendment passed by voters last year, the board is scheduled to have its own executive director/attorney, investigator and executive assistant effective June 1.

The vote comes on the heels of the sentencing last year of former Maui County official Stewart Olani Stant to 10 years in prison for accepting bribes to fix contracts. Stant was investigated by the FBI when he was the director of the county’s Department of Environmental Management.

In the past, the volunteer board managed all complaints and requests for guidance with one secretary and one county attorney, who have been shared with several other departments and boards.

The charter amendment passed in 2024 allows the board to pay for an executive director and other staff to help perform duties such as investigating ethics violations and answering requests for guidance.

The new Board of Ethics is structured similar to the Honolulu Ethics Commission with its paid staff, said Michael Lilly, board vice chair.

Lilly, a former state attorney general, was vice chair of the Honolulu Commission on Ethics, when its staff assisted the FBI in an investigation that led to the conviction of Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife on federal charges.

Lily said the Honolulu Ethics Commission’s staff involvement in the Kealoha case was focused on investigating allegations of unethical behavior.

Lily was also a member of the commission that imposed a $50,000 fine as part of a settlement on former Honolulu City Council member Romy Cachola for multiple alleged violations of city ethics laws.

Asked about his goals for the board, Lilly said he’d like county employees to understand the county’s ethical rules and see the staff provide ethics training for all county employees.

“Right now, there is no formal training,” he said. “We should be training people, and we should be training regularly.”

He said he’d also like to see a case-management system that shows the status of all cases at the click of a computer mouse.

In the past, the board has not had an independent staff and has only had access to the county’s corporation counsel, which also serves as legal advisor to all county departments, boards and commissions.

As part of its work, the board can investigate ethics complaints, including gift-giving, financial disclosure requirements and lobbyist registration.

According to the board, gifts generally not allowed include food or alcoholic beverages from a person or organization licensed, regulated or inspected by an employee’s county agency. Also disallowed are cash gifts or gift cards, as well as travel upgrades and tickets to sporting events, concerts, theatrical performances, movies, parties or other entertainment events.

In preparation of the change in the board, the Maui County Council is establishing pay scales for the board’s staff.

The staff are exempt from civil service, but the council’s budget committee has proposed salary ranges that are aligned with civil service positions. The committee initially proposed to set a salary range of $110,520 and $157,668 for the executive director, who is required to be an attorney; $71,016 to $101,064 for the investigator; and $63,096 to $89,8929 for the administrative assistant.

The County Council is reviewing the executive director’s salary based on recent increases in comparable positions of county deputy directors.

The counsel’s efforts are diffused and also can present a conflict of interest if a department head is accused of an ethical violation.

Lilly said having a full-time staff will allow the board to respond to questions from government officials and staff more quickly, instead of having to wait for the board to convene on each request.

Lilly said that in keeping with its attempt to promote ethical conduct, the board last year decided to allow its legal counsel to provide informal advice on ethics to county employees.

He said it sometimes took two to three months to receive the advice in the past, but now the employees can get it without waiting.

“The atmosphere that it promotes is confidence in Maui County employees that they can get prompt advice to avoid violations of ethical laws,” Lilly said. “And it helps reinforce to the public that we are carrying out our responsibilities to ensure county employees adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct.”