TW Provides Update on City Scandals

[DowntownNow]

As reported by the TW today http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090222_11_A13_TulsaW994096&allcom=1

I have the following comments on this report.

Federal grant City Council probe

Focus: The council is considering launching its own investigation into the city's misuse of $1.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funds. Councilors have expressed frustration that the mayor's administration has not responded to their requests for information on HUD's review of the city's grant program.

HUD determined through an audit of the program that the city allowed the Tulsa Development Authority to inappropriately spend $1.5 million in grant funds for city employee salaries from October 2005 through September 2007. The city had to repay that amount to HUD but is being allowed to reapply for the funds to use for two north Tulsa revitalization projects.

Status: Pending.

Cost: Undetermined.

Actually, I believe the TDA scandal involved the City falsely reporting it's salaried employees time that was then paid by the TDA using the CDBG/HUD funds. The TDA has no staff and relies upon the City to supplement its staff. As a result, the City is required in it's pay accounting to document what times were spent on City versus TDA/CDBG projects. This was falsly reported and TDA has taken the brunt of the accusations when in fact it should have been the City staff and their supervisors.  TDA's Board of Commissioners bears the responsibility of carefully examining the salary statements the City provides and in this instance failed.

In all this, last I had heard, it was TDA that was being forced to pay the $1.5 million out of its general operations fund, not the City as the reporting suggests. Also remember that Taylor had her staff declare that the TDA was a separate business entity which the City had no control over back when ethics questions were raised, yet there is still too much co-mingling between the two to say they are separate. Can't be when the City is calling TDA's shots.  When the City Council demanded answers, it was City staff that were present to report, not TDA.  Amy Polanchek, Susan Neal and Dwain Midget were the ones present to answer.  The Council wants to know who authorized the payment and salary records to hold them accountable and so far the administration has been unwilling to offer any information on that subject, effectively shielding those that were responsible.

Fire Department mayoral investigation

Focus: In response to a state Health Department probe that revealed some emergency medical training records had been falsified by firefighters, the mayor had members of her management team determine who was responsible for allowing the activity to occur and what changes need to be made. The Medical Director's Office has since retested 138 firefighters on their emergency medical skills and all passed.

Status: Completed. The results led to the retirement of two top-level Fire Department officials and the reassignment of three firefighters who were in charge of emergency medical training duties.

Cost: None; it was done by the mayor's staff.

What qualifications did the Mayor's staff have to conduct the probe into the Fire Dept Training Scandal? I find it funny that in a blatant act of falsification of records where a clear and consistent environment that promoted this falsification existed (as stated by the Dept's own Chief LaCroix), that there were no firings...Two high level officials are forced into early retirement (probably with full benefits and pension) and the others are re-assigned to other high-profile management positions. What a joke if this is what the Mayor's staff concluded was just punishment for criminal wrongdoing - the falsification of public records. It essentially rewards the behavior of those that committed the act and sends a clear message that if you do something like this in the future, you will be protected.

[shadows]

The grand jury that was called to investigate Public Works recommended that there was evidence that an audit should be made by an outside auditor.   Instead the inside auditing department put together an audit.  The in-house audit was published in an orange binder in September 1994.  It is very detailed as the in-house auditing department ask for information and the legal department generally circumvented the inquires needed to do the audit.   A copy is available for examination by the citizens, in the library under the dust.  Seems the elected auditor recommends the elected office of the auditor be abandon  and the council appoint an auditor outside the influence of the long standing bureaucracy.  This would rival to walking up to a hornets nest and smiting it with a short stick.

This is the way the system has worked without Nixon’s dramatic screen writers  exclamation “Tear down that wall”.   Thus it would open up the records sealed by the bureaucracy.   The TW is making city government more transparent to the citizens as they struggle for their own survival.  

[Limabean]

If the TW is trying to make city government more transparent, why did it get so nasty about the ethics complaint filed against the city councilors? Wasn't that an effort by a citizen to make city government more transparent?

[AVERAGE JOE]

quote:Originally posted by Limabean

If the TW is trying to make city government more transparent, why did it get so nasty about the ethics complaint filed against the city councilors? Wasn't that an effort by a citizen to make city government more transparent?

Probably because the citizen admitted the complaint was a fabrication.

[rwarn17588]

quote:Originally posted by AVERAGE JOE

quote:Originally posted by Limabean

If the TW is trying to make city government more transparent, why did it get so nasty about the ethics complaint filed against the city councilors? Wasn't that an effort by a citizen to make city government more transparent?

Probably because the citizen admitted the complaint was a fabrication.

Nothing like crying wolf to make it harder anyone to take a REAL complaint seriously.

[DowntownNow]

Reported today in the TW

Council delays vote on probing misuse of funds
  By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 3/6/2009  2:26 AM
Last Modified: 3/6/2009  3:26 AM

Tulsa's City Council on Thursday delayed action for a second time on whether to invoke its right to investigate the city's misuse of $1.5 million in federal grant funds.

Councilor Bill Christiansen, before a meeting on the issue, said Mayor Kathy Taylor's administration recently turned over about 75 e-mails that he requested and that he wants time to go through them.

"My goal remains the same: finding out who was responsible and holding them accountable," he said.

Last August, the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determined that the Tulsa Development Authority misspent Community Development Block Grant funds from October 2005 and September 2007 for city employees' salaries.

The city was forced to repay HUD the money, which was supposed to be used for projects that benefited low- to moderate-income residents.

Christiansen said the situation has affected the entire community "because that's $1.5 million that's not out there doing some good."

Although city administrators have taken corrective action to ensure that grant money is no longer used to pay salaries, Christiansen said he wants to learn who authorized the action.

A council probe, which is allowed by the City Charter, would give councilors subpoena power to obtain documents and interview current and past employees.

The last council investigation was launched in 2004 into Great Plains Airlines.

The council spent $60,000 on the effort, but a final report was never submitted.

Sorry but I have to ask, why the constant delay?  Particularly on the part of the Mayor's administration to provide requested information.  Councilor Christiansen had asked several times for information.  The supply of emails does nothing.  If no on in the City administration knows who authorized this then they are all inept.  No one knows who is doing what?  I find that incredibly hard to believe since its well known that Mayor Tyalor likes to micro-manage and expects the same from her management staff. 

Back in April, TDA Chair Bracy and Vice Chair Shahadi had a meeting with Mayor Taylor, Mike Bunney and others to discuss the OGA report and changes that needed to be made to the TDA.  HUD basically said TDA could not operate as a separate department of the City, which it essientially had been doing in sharing staff, accounting, auditing and other services.  It was reported to other TDA board members following that meeting that the City would be drafting a services agreement for TDA to vote on. 

Why was the City drafting anything?  HUD was telling TDA it must be a separate legal entity as it was always intended to be under state legislation.  TDA voted to approve the City's services agreement, and IMO blindly.  Mike Bunney even went so far as to tell TDA that the City would still need them because of the flexibility the TDA offers. 

The whole reason HUD came down on TDA was because of its extremely close relationship with the City.  With regards to who was oversight of TDA on the City's part, Dwain Midget was quick to point out that no one within city staff had been assigned to oversee those areas found by HUD to be out of compliance, but 3 others in social services of TDA had been overseeing.  Seems like a Cover Your &$$ remark to me. 

Im waiting on Christiansen to make someone's head role.

[sgrizzle]

Wasn't this news 2 years ago, why is Christiansen even bringing it up now?

[DowntownNow]

No, the HUD audit covered October 2005 to September 2007, the OIG/HUD audit final report was issued in August 4, 2008.  Prior to that in late '07 a preliminary report had been sent to the City.  The Council did not find out about this until late 2008 as the City adminsitration had not informed them of the findings. 

Council firsts addressed this on Oct 14, 2008, just having received the report that had been dated Aug 4, 2008.
http://www.tulsacouncil.org/inc/search/meeting_detail.php?id=I4LA7A69222008100202

TDA Board and staff had been made aware of the report and preliminary findings as early as April 18, 2008 when Chair and Vice Chair had a meeting with Mayor Taylor and Mike Bunney.

[sgrizzle]

City Council was aware of a problem, maybe not this report, but that there was a problem in 2007:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=071008_1_A1_spanc18306&archive=yes

Changes were made to try and comply with HUD issues in Early 2008:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?articleid=20080309_1_A22_spanc01184&archive=yes

[DowntownNow]

They were aware HUD was conducting an audit of the CDBG funds based on a citizen complaint but not the findings report, you're right Grizzle.

City was working with TDA as early as April 2008 based on TDA meeting minutes. 

Seems this has been the timeline with regard to Council actions on the matter:

October 14, 2008  Council address recently revceived HUD/OIG Audit report during George Shahadi re-appointment discussion.

October 31, 2008  Council sends letter to Adminstration for information

December 9, 2008  Council reports no information from Adminstration

December 16, 2008  Carl Bracy, Dwain Midget, Susan Neal and Amy Polanchek are present to address Ccounil concerns on the issue - Council requested additional info including who was responsible for misuse of funds

January 6, 2009  No information, was moved forward to 1/13

January 13, 2009  Susan Neal presented essentially same information as she did on December 16, says TDA was going on a retreat to discuss and Council was welcome to attend.  No info on responsible parties.

February 11, 2009  Adminsitration provides Councilor Christiansen with some information day prior to meeting in which Council was going to look at investigating the misuse of funds under its own authority. 

February 12, 2009  Council pushes action til February 26 pending review of information

Febraury 26, 2009  Council pushes action to March 6

March 6, 2009  Council again pushes action

[DowntownNow]

Why is the Council continually pushing this item?  Why not just authorize the investigation and get to the bottom of it and get it settled once and for all?