KITV 4 News interviewed eight current and former Liquor Commission employees, as well as another 10 people familiar with its operations. Here are their suggestions, in no particular order:

Perform a Management Audit The City Council voted unanimously in October to urge the City Auditor to conduct an audit of the Honolulu Liquor Commission. City Auditor Les Tanaka said the earliest his staff could begin the audit would be next March. It would be the first time the Commission underwent a management or performance audit since 1989.

Have Police Take Over Enforcement Several experts have recommended that the Honolulu Police Department take over enforcement function of the Liquor Commission. One reason: a limited number of inspectors now can quickly become familiar to bar owners, inviting bribes and special treatment. Police investigators can be rotated in and out of liquor inspection duty, helping to avoid the corruption that has plagued the Commission. Police Chief Lee Donohue has been reluctant to take over enforcement, citing staffing and operation concerns.

Attach Liquor Commission to a State Agency Put the Commission under the auspices of the state Health Department, or another entity that already handles licensing and enforcement. That approach could bring new approaches, expertise and oversight to the job.

Oust Current Administrator and Commission Chairman Some people suggest the Commission should fire Administrator Wally Weatherwax, and the top Commissioners, including Chairman John Spierling, should step down. The mayor appoints and the city council confirms volunteer commissioners, but no one can "fire" them. But the council or the mayor could ask them to resign.

Limit Liquor Commissioners to One Term Honolulu allows its five volunteer commissioners to remain in office for two five-year terms. But Hawaii County allows only one five-year term, with a 90-day extension. After that, Big Island commissioners cannot be reappointed unless they wait two years. That would bring fresh perspectives and oversight on a regular basis.

Fill Investigator and Auditor Vacancies Increase enforcement and oversight by filling all of the vacant positions at the Liquor Commission. The Commission refuses to disclose how many jobs are vacant.

Increase Investigators' Pay Investigators' starting pay is about $2,400 a month. Raising their salaries could prevent the pressure for bribery and corruption. When eight investigators were indicted in May of 2002, then-City Councilman John Henry Felix said: "We're dealing with inspectors who are underpaid, underqualified and undertrained. When you pay clerical wages, you get what you pay for."

Establish a Time Limit on Pending Cases To ensure that liquor violations don't "disappear" because of bribery or influence-peddling, create a time limit. For example, any case must be adjudicated within three months.

Create a Searchable Public Database of Violations and Fines Members of the public could search for liquor law violations and fines on-line from the privacy of their own homes or businesses.

Require Bar/Restaurant Managers to Sign-off On Inspection Reports Double-check that liquor investigators are actually doing their jobs, and not just turning in bogus paper work. Then supervisors could take the reports, and check with the establishment's managers to assure investigators actually visited their site. That would make it "a lot harder to extort people and submit bogus reports claiming inspections while they were actually out practicing at the golfing range," said a former commission employee, noting the golf scam actually happened.