Tag: Ohio Watchdog
Locating the Phantom Congressional Districts
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, What's New
A story written for Ohio Watchdog:
Locating the Phantom Congressional Districts
Posted by Lynn Walsh on December 2, 2009Last month, www.recovery.gov listed 28 congressional districts in Ohio as having received stimulus money. After much media scrutiny the most recent state/territory summary for Ohio lists the correct number of congressional districts in Ohio, 18, and a category named “unassigned congressional district.” While the phantom districts have “disappeared,” and are now lumped into a single category, www.recovery.gov lists the money as having been awarded and in some cases creating or retaining jobs.
Ohio Watchdog found a total of 29 stimulus projects located in phantom districts in Ohio. 27 of those projects were located by sorting through three downloadable databases on the federal website. Two other projects were found by viewing all recipients listed on www.recovery.gov. Both awards were listed as being located in the 90th congressional district in Ohio; Ohio Legal Rights Service received one and Center of Vocational Alternatives for Mental Health received the other. Specific information for those projects can be found by following the links above; the other 27 projects identified are listed below.
Phantom Districts
Seven of the 29 projects are listed as contracts and 22 are listed as grants. All of the award recipients are listed as being located in Ohio, but, seven of the projects list California as the “Prime recipient: Primary Place of Performance.” All seven of those are contracts awarded to Midwest Environmental Control, Inc. The company has an office in Toledo, Ohio, where according to www.recovery.gov the contract has been awarded for projects at Edwards Air Force Base and Vandenberg Air Force Base both located in California. A company spokeswoman would not answer questions relating to the contracts over the phone and asked that a letter with any questions be sent in the mail. Midwest Environmental Control “>This letter was sent on November 23, 2009; so far, no response has been received.
A top official at the Ohio Office of the Inspector General, who asked to not be named, said, “investigating money given directly to companies, cities, counties, or non-profits in Ohio from the federal government or a federal agency is beyond our jurisdiction.”
The top official explained that the Ohio Inspector General is only responsible for investigating, locating, and monitoring money coming from the federal government or federal agencies and given directly to the State of Ohio or a State of Ohio agency, “like the Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, or the Ohio Department of Health.”
According to the top official at the Ohio OIG, not all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money will pass through the the State of Ohio or a State of Ohio agency the office would have jurisdiction over. This seems to apply to most of the money awarded to organizations in the phantom congressional districts.
“The money went straight from the federal government or federal agency to cities/counties/agencies in Ohio. We don’t receive data or scrubbed data. We have access to the it on a website just like everyone else. We’re not responsible for scrubbing that data and making sure it is correct.”
The top official at the Ohio OIG compared their responsibility when it comes to ARRA funds as being the same as any other investigation. The office “cannot look into it without jurisdiction, this is the same with the ARRA money,” the official said.
If it was within the Ohio OIG’s jurisdiction the official said seeing money allocated to fake congressional districts “would probably raise a red a flag but more of just an inquiry. Not sure if it would rise to the level of fraud, waste, or abuse; we would have to have something further: theft or a deliberate attempt to mislead.” While the office cannot discuss pending investigations, the official did give examples of past investigations.
If the Ohio OIG is not responsible for looking into ARRA projects funded directly by the federal government to local entities, then who is? The top official explained that the responsibility falls onto the federal government or the federal agency responsible for distributing the grant, loan, or contract.
In the case of the $300,000 grant that according to www.recovery.gov was “agency reported” to them by the Social Security Administration, SSA; none of the parties involved are on the same page as to where the grant money came from.
After several calls to the Ohio Legal Rights Service Ohio Watchdog was informed that the organization did not receive any stimulus money. After a visit to the office, located in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Watchdog was told that further questions regarding this grant would have to be addressed to their legal department.
After leaving voice messages with their legal department a response was received from Tim Tobin, the Policy Director at Ohio Legal Rights Service, OLRS. Tobin said, “you had asked whether or not OLRS received any federal stimulus funds and we did not. There possibly could have been maybe some things we might have tried to compete for, or apply for, but we were not eligible for anything directly.” But, according to www.recovery.org, they did receive ARRA money and it was awarded by the SSA.
To figure out whether or not OLRS received stimulus money Ohio Watchdog called the Ohio OIG. Through a voicemail, the Ohio OIG confirmed that yes, OLRS did receive $300,000, but at that time the office was not exactly sure if it was stimulus or not. Ohio Watchdog was told the Ohio OIG was investigating the issue further.
After speaking with someone in the Ohio OIG office, the same official who asked to not be named explained how the ARRA money in Ohio is being accounted for and offered insight into the $300,000 grant awarded to OLRS.
The Ohio OIG official said, “Tim Tobin was confused by the question of ‘Did you receive stimulus funds?’ That is why he answered that OLRS did not.” The official went on to explain that the program OLRS received funds for was a five year program that was going to be phased out if more funding was not received. But, with the $300,000 grant OLRS received from the SSA the program was extended.
“They don’t know if ARRA money is funding the program or not. For five years it has been running on non-ARRA funds. As long as the program is running they didn’t ask any questions,” the Ohio OIG official said.
So, who does know the answer? “Since the SSA filed the report they’re responsible to tell us,” the Ohio OIG official said. After a call to the SSA, the agency requested the questions regarding this grant be put in an MX-3501N_20091202_161158 “>e-mail.
The MX-3501N_20091202_161228 “>response from Mark Hinkle from the SSA Press Office explains that the $300,000 grant awarded to OLRS was not funded under the Recovery Act. It “is a normal grant provided under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act,” Hinkle said. The project is being overseen by a “grants manager and a project manager.”
According to Hinkle, “Social Security has not awarded any grants using Recovery Act money. Money spent for contracts and paying the Economic Recovery One-time Payments of $250 is reported on the Agency’s Recovery web site.” The response from Hinkle resulted in another sent MX-3501N_20091202_161322 “>e-mail in which no response has been received.
According to the SSA they did not fund the OLRS project with stimulus money. The OLRS is not sure where the money came from they just know that they received funding for the program. The Ohio OIG does not have jurisdiction to monitor this particular grant. And www.recovery.gov lists the program and the $300,000 grant as being funded with ARRA money and reported to them by the SSA.
Calls to both OLRS and the Ohio OIG went unanswered today.
$300,000 Grant Not Recovery Grant Funded Social Security Administration Says
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, What's New
A story written for Ohio Watchdog:
$300,000 Grant Not Recovery Grant Funded Social Security Administration Says
Posted by Lynn Walsh on December 2, 2009The Social Security Administration, SSA, says that a $300,000 grant given to the Ohio Legal Rights Service, OLRS, was not funded by the Recovery Act. But, according to www.recovery.gov that same grant was “agency reported” to them by the SSA as having been funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, money.
Several individuals at the Ohio Legal Rights Service told Ohio Watchdog that the organization did not receive any stimulus money. After a visit to the office, located in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Watchdog was told that further questions regarding this grant would have to be addressed to their legal department.
After leaving voice messages with their legal department a response was received from Tim Tobin, the Policy Director at Ohio Legal Rights Service, OLRS. Tobin said, “you had asked whether or not OLRS received any federal stimulus funds and we did not. There possibly could have been maybe some things we might have tried to compete for, or apply for, but we were not eligible for anything directly.” But, according to www.recovery.org, they did receive ARRA money and it was awarded by the SSA.
To figure out whether or not OLRS received stimulus money Ohio Watchdog called the Ohio Office of the Inspector General, OIG. Through a voicemail, the Ohio OIG confirmed that yes, OLRS did receive $300,000, but at that time the office was not exactly sure if it was stimulus or not. Ohio Watchdog was told the Ohio OIG was investigating the issue further.
After speaking with someone in the Ohio OIG office, the same official who asked to not be named explained how the ARRA money in Ohio is being accounted for and offered insight into the $300,000 grant awarded to OLRS.
The Ohio OIG official said, “Tim Tobin was confused by the question of ‘Did you receive stimulus funds?’ That is why he answered that OLRS did not.” The official went on to explain that the program OLRS received funds for was a five year program that was going to be phased out if more funding was not received. But, with the $300,000 grant OLRS received from the SSA the program was extended.
“They don’t know if ARRA money is funding the program or not. For five years it has been running on non-ARRA funds. As long as the program is running they didn’t ask any questions,” the Ohio OIG official said.
So, who does know the answer? “Since the SSA filed the report they’re responsible to tell us,” the Ohio OIG official said. After a call to the SSA, the agency requested the questions regarding this grant be put in an MX-3501N_20091202_161158 “>e-mail.
The MX-3501N_20091202_161228 “>response from Mark Hinkle from the SSA Press Office explains that the $300,000 grant awarded to OLRS was not funded under the Recovery Act. It “is a normal grant provided under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act,” Hinkle said. The project is being overseen by a “grants manager and a project manager.”
According to Hinkle, “Social Security has not awarded any grants using Recovery Act money. Money spent for contracts and paying the Economic Recovery One-time Payments of $250 is reported on the Agency’s Recovery web site.” The response from Hinkle resulted in another sent MX-3501N_20091202_161322 “>e-mail in which no response has been received.
According to the SSA they did not fund the OLRS project with stimulus money. The OLRS is not sure where the money came from they just know that they received funding for the program. The Ohio OIG does not have jurisdiction to monitor this particular grant. And www.recovery.gov lists the program and the $300,000 grant as being funded with ARRA money and reported to them by the SSA.
Calls to both OLRS and the Ohio OIG went unanswered today.
Read more about who is accountable for ARRA money awarded to the State of Ohio here.
Social Security Administration Blames Federal Agency for $300,000 Grant Confusion
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, What's New
A story written for Ohio Watchdog:
Social Security Administration Blames Federal Agency for $300,000 Grant Confusion
Posted by Lynn Walsh on December 7, 2009The Social Security Administration, SSA, says “the information shown on www.recovery.gov under Agency Reporting incorrectly lists the Ticket to Work grants as ARRA funded, which they are not.”
The “Ticket to Work Grant” is a $300,000 grant awarded to the Ohio Legal Rights Service, OLRS, by the SSA. Ohio Watchdog followed this particular grant to monitor where the money awarded to phantom congressional districts was going.
The $300,000 grant awarded to OLRS was listed on www.recovery.gov as an American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, ARRA, grant reported to them by the SSA. But, the SSA said it was not funded with ARRA money in this MX-3501N_20091202_161228 “>e-mail response.
Ohio Watchdog asked for further clarification from the SSA since the federal website, www.recovery.gov, had the grant listed as being funded with ARRA money.
In an MX-3501N_20091207_141022 “>e-mail, Mark Lassiter, with the National Press Office of the SSA, said, “We have not awarded any grants from the ARRA stimulus funding to any organization and have never reported this funding as such.”
So, how did the information become listed as being funded with ARRA money? Lassiter says the information was incorrectly transferred by the General Services Adminstration, GSA to www.recovery.gov.
“We notified GSA of the error and they corrected the mistake on the USAspending.gov web site on November 30, but GSA has not yet corrected the Recovery.gov web site. We continue to work with GSA and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to get the error corrected on Recovery.gov,” Lassiter said.
The OLRS and the State of Ohio Office of Inspector General were not clear as to where the $300,000 grant came from either. According to a top official at the Ohio OIG ARRA money being transferred directly from a federal agency or department to a non-profit or other non-state agency in Ohio is not something the Ohio OIG can investigate because it is out of their jurisdiction.
Food, Family, and a Search Warrant
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, Video, What's New
A story written for the Buckeye Institute:
Food, Family, and A Search Warrant
Monday, April 20th, 2009 By Lynn WalshA family living in LaGrange, Ohio likes to know where the food that they eat comes from. That is why they eat all organic, all natural, and locally grown food. Little did they know that by helping their family and friends eat the food that they want they would find themselves facing possible misdemeanor charges. In December of 2008, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department went through with a search warrant delivered to them by the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of the Lorain County General Health District, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Officers with guns drawn entered and secured the property while the family was held in their living room for hours. No one in the home was allowed to answer a phone call or the door.
All of this because the Department of Agriculture thinks the Stowers’ food giving organization, “The Manna Storehouse,” needs to have a retail license in order to continue operation. “Manna StoreHouse” is described by members as an organization that made it easier for them to get the healthy food they wanted to feed their family. Watch the Stowers tell their story and look for more information on this case as it develops.
Police Enter Family’s Home with Guns Drawn, Stowers Part 2
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, Video, What's New
A story written for the Buckeye Institute:
Police Enter Family’s Home with Guns Drawn, Stowers Part 2
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 By Lynn WalshA family in Lorain County faces possible charges for a third degree misdemeanor for organizing a food co-op for their family and friends. Authorities in Ohio entered their home with guns drawn to “secure the surroundings,” and confiscate all of their food.
The Sheriff’s Department says this is the typical way their police force and most others across the state handles situations in a residential neighborhood.
Food Modernization Act of 2009
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, Video, What's New
A story written for the Buckeye Institute:
Food Modernization Act of 2009
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 By Lynn WalshThe Stowers case in Lorain, Ohio has raised concerns and worries for gardeners throughout the country. Why? One of the reasons involves “The Food Modernization Act of 2009.”:
Where is the Food?
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, Video, What's New
A story written for the Buckeye Institute:
Where is the Food?
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 By Lynn WalshLast December the Stowers family had all of their food taken from them. Almost six months later they still have not got it back. The Buckeye Institute’s Maurice Thompson finally has some answers.
Big Bucks for Extra Time
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.21, 2010, under Investigations, What's New
A story written for the Buckeye Institute:
Big Bucks for Extra Time
Monday, July 20th, 2009 By Lynn WalshExtra hours means lots of extra money for the City of Columbus. In 2008, total overtime pay for City Columbus employees was over $28 million.
Over 150 city employees made more than $25,000 in overtime alone last year. That overtime payment alone is more than 65% of the median household earned in Columbus. Those same employees represent 65% of the total overtime pay.
Who brought in the most? The top ten employees who made the most overtime in 2008 all worked for the Police or Sewerage and Drain Division. These same employees all made more than $106,000 total last year and all of the top ten overtime earners also took home “other” pay.
The City of Columbus paid these ten employees $80,407.83 more in overtime pay than in regular pay. Their overtime pay is on average more than 51% of their total pay in 2008.
Top Dogs of the City
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.20, 2010, under Investigations, What's New
An article written for the Buckeye Institute:
Top Dogs of the City
Monday, July 20th, 2009 By Lynn WalshSo, who are the biggest earners working for the City of Columbus? Employees protecting the public come out on top. Eight of the top ten salaries belong to people working in the Department of Public Safety.
Police Chief James Garfield Jackson holds the top spot earning more than $200,000 a year. Almost a quarter of that comes from “other” earnings. What constitutes “other” earnings? According to The City Auditor’s Office “YTD Other includes, but is not limited to: Terminal leave pay, Shift pay, Police Parade duty, etc. The list of “other” pay codes is too lengthy to be broken down into individual columns.”
Holding the number two spot is 2008’s City Health Commissioner, Teresa C. Long. Long makes just under $186,000 a year, $11,000 of which comes from “other” earnings. Fire Chief Ned Pettus, Jr. takes the number three spot earning almost $183,000 a year. Police Sergeant Michael Robison steals the number four spot thanks to over $10,500 in overtime pay and over $103,000 in “other” pay. Rounding out the top five is Fire Assistant Chief Warren R. Cox earning over $158,500.
Mayor Michael Coleman holds the sixth spot, earning $158,302 a year. Mayor Coleman does not receive any overtime pay and is the only top city earner of 2008 who does not receive “other” pay. The number seven, eight, and nine spots belong to Fire Battalion Chief Douglas J. Smith, Fire Assistant Chief Jerry L. Mason, and Fire Assistant Chief Gregory A. Paxton respectively. Coming in at number ten is Emergency Medical Service Coordinator David P. Keseg earning over $153,000 a year.
Protection at a High Cost
by Lynn Walsh on Mar.20, 2010, under Investigations, What's New
An article written for the Buckeye Institute:
Protection at a High Cost
Monday, July 20th, 2009 By Lynn WalshThe Division of Police is the biggest personnel cost for the City of Columbus. It represents over 31% of total personnel costs in 2008, totaling over $166 million.
The Division of Police employed over 2,300 people last year. More than 950 of those employees earned more than $75,000 in 2008; that is more than 40% of the people employed by the Division of Police. 97% of those earning more than $75,000 were police officers.
A number of Division of Police employees are making even more than that, 150 employees took in more than $100,000 in 2008. More than 90% of those employees were police officers.
79% of employees in the Division of Police earned more than the median household income in Columbus. The percentage of police officers making more than that is even higher, 93%.
Employees in the Columbus Division of Fire are seeing plenty of green as well. Over 800 employees in the fire division took home more than $75,000 last year. More than 120 of them earned more than $100,000.
More than 1,500 employees in the fire division took home “other” pay that was more than $1,000. 20% of the total money paid toward Columbus Division of Fire salaries went to overtime or “other” pay last year.
