HONOLULU -- Councilmember Rod Tam is being forced to pay back $11,700 in city funds he spent on meals that the city Ethics Commission said were not legitimate city business.

Tam, who is planning to run for Honolulu mayor, is also being fined $2,000 for the ethics violation.

Read the Ethics Commission report.

An ethics commission investigation found he was reimbursed more than $22,000 from the council's annual contingency allowance from 2006 to 2009.

But the commission found he violated ethical standards by:
>> paying less for meals than what he charged the city.
>> claiming that meals were directly related to his city duties when some of them were with his personal business associates or with family members.

There was an $88 receipt for a meal at Kabuki Japanese Restaurant near City Hall, where he claimed to meet with two state employees about the impact of the economy on public education. The credit card receipt showed that the receipt was actually for a Valentine's Day meal with Tam's wife.

"There are some where he requested and was reimbursed for more than he actually paid for a meal," said council Chairman Todd Apo. "Again, it's not a matter of having those meals or how many you have. You can have as many as you want. You just need to make sure it's done properly."

Councilmembers are given an $18,000 annual contingency allowance to spend for things like postage, photocopies, cell phones, food and drink for official council duties.

Former Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz changed the contingency allowance procedure several years ago, no longer requiring the council chairman to approve expenses. Instead, each councilmember is given the annual allowance and their expenses are posted on line for the public to review.

Apo said for the time being, he will will pre-screen and must approve all of Tam's expenses up front.

The commission also discovered that Tam failed to disclose significant financial information, as required by law, for nine years about businesses and non-profits of which he was a director or officer.

Apo said Tam has been removed as chairman of the powerful Zoning Committee and will lose all other committee assignments because of his ethical breach.

"He came in voluntarily saying that he understands that he ought to give up the Zoning Committee chairmanship at this point," Apo said.

Tam had no immediate comment but said he planned to issue a statement on Friday. He agreed to pay back $11,700 and the $2,000 fine, but did not admit to any wrongdoing.

Thursday night, Councilmember Charles Djou called on Tam to resign.

“Rod Tam’s behavior, as chronicled by the Ethics Commission, is simply unacceptable. Tam has violated the public’s trust and he should resign from the City Council immediately," Djou said. “Integrity is the basic foundation of our democracy. Rod Tam has repeatedly violated our ethics code and does not deserve to serve in public office.”

In 2008, fellow councilmembers rebuked Tam for using an ethnic slur during a council meeting. The council expressed its "profound disappointment" in Tam for using the offensive term "wetbacks" when referring to undocumented workers from Mexico.

KITV 4 News raised questions about Tam's large meal expenses back in 2004 and 2007. In 2007, when KITV asked him why one third of his city expense budget paid for 127 meals at places like Zippy's, Up-Town Cafe and Liliha Seafood, he said, "Food helps bring people together. It's the local style."

In 2004, the City Ethics Commission admonished Tam for breaking ethics laws, because he helped to "expedite" building permits before the city's Planning and Permitting Department. It's against city law for city councilmembers to represent clients in front of city departments and agencies.

Tam, a former state senator, must leave the city council at the end of the year because of term limits. If he follows through on his plans to run for Honolulu mayor this year, he must step down from his council post by the campaign filing deadline in mid July.