STATE AGENCY HALTS FUNDING.
AUDIT TEAM WILL EXAMINE URBAN LEAGUE PERFORMANCE
By Anthony J. Gottschlich, Springfield News-Sun
February 12, 2002
The Ohio Department of Development has frozen its funding to the Springfield Urban League and Community Center pending a departmental investigation into the Urban League's financial troubles, a department official said Monday.
The department's latest grant of $48,400 partially funds the Urban League's homeless shelter, the Craig House at 1417 S. Limestone St.
The department will send an audit team to the Urban League on Feb. 25 to determine how the League is using department funds, said Marlo Tannous, the department's chief legal counsel. The department also will investigate whether any contract provisions were violated, she said.
"If they've misspent the money, certainly we'll ask for it back," Tannous said. "If they have used the money as they have indicated, unless there's some other thing revealed in the audit, we would probably not seek a return of the money."
Any further action depends on what the audit reveals, she said.
Urban League officials, including Executive Director Donna Brino-Blackwell, referred questions to their attorney, James R. Greene III of Dayton.
"I'm a little surprised because the ODOD has not released the funds and they are not scheduled to be released until April, so there cannot be a freeze of something that hasn't occurred," Greene said.
"We welcome their audit," he said. "If ODOD finds something wrong, we'll fix it. If there's nothing wrong, we expect them to follow the law and not doing anything that's adverse to the client populace which we serve. Otherwise, I'll deal with them appropriately."
A Feb. 3 story in the Springfield News-Sun revealed the Urban League had not provided state-required workers' compensation insurance to its employees from Sept. 1, 1996, until Jan. 29 of this year. The lapse violated contract agreements between the Urban League and several of its funding sources. The Clark County Department of Job and Family Services terminated its contract with the Urban League because of the lapse.
The story also detailed audit report findings that included past tax debts to the state of Ohio and city of Springfield and other financial management concerns.
Last July, Brino-Blackwell signed a contract with ODOD affirming the Urban League had workers' compensation insurance and had no outstanding debts with the state of Ohio. The contract stated that any false statements made to secure the grant could be grounds for a falsification charge.
It's too soon to make that charge, Tannous said.
"We just need to do our homework and check all the facts," she said.
Tannous said the investigation could take a couple of weeks. While no funds are scheduled to be released for a while, she said, freezing funding was a precautionary measure in case the Urban League made an early request for reimbursement, as agencies may do.
The Craig House is funded by at least two other sources _ the city of Springfield and the United Way of Clark and Champaign Counties.
The Urban League, a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity at 521 S. Center St., runs a variety of programs designed to help the poor and disenfranchised reach economic and social self-sufficiency. Programs include housing and education, a food pantry and assistance to victims of crime.
"This agency is like any other agency _ they have their ups and downs," Greene said. "But one thing that is clear is that we do need to correct some things, and that is my mandate. The board has retained me to ensure we're in compliance with the law and in compliance with program requirements, and we will get to that point as quickly as possible if we're not there already."
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