Showing posts with label Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. Show all posts

Urban League is on the defensive

(from Seattle PI)

Even before the civil-rights organization was caught up in the Seattle Public Schools' financial scandal, the city had reduced its financial support drastically, killing one big contract and slashing another.

By Jim Brunner

Seattle Times political reporter

It's already been a rough year for the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

Even before the venerable civil-rights organization was caught up in the Seattle Public Schools' financial scandal, the city had reduced its financial support drastically, killing one big contract and slashing another.

In January, the city yanked a $500,000-a-year contract for the Urban League's youth-violence prevention work and awarded it to other organizations. The city criticized the Urban League for submitting vague, inaccurate invoices — accusations similar to those raised by auditors in the schools scandal.

The city also cut long-standing financial support of the Urban League's center to help minority small-business owners to get construction contracts, deciding to seek other bidders for the first time in years.

In the midst of all this, longtime President James Kelly stepped down in January, citing health and personal concerns.

The Urban League has been largely silent since the school-district state audit made headlines last week.

Tony Benjamin, the Urban League's acting chief executive, said he's been through a "baptism by fire" and would answer questions at a news conference Wednesday morning. The group has tapped political consultant Cathy Allen for advice.

"We'll address all of that tomorrow," Benjamin said. "Hopefully, it will clear the air."

State audit

Questions about the Urban League's handling of public contracts surfaced in the state audit, which questioned $1.8 million in expenses in Seattle Public Schools' small-business contracting program.

The Urban League was the largest single recipient of that money, receiving nearly $600,000 in contracts that were labeled "questionable uses of public funds" by auditors.

One of the Urban League's big contracts from the city of Seattle was awarded in 2009 as part of then-Mayor Greg Nickels' initiative to tamp down violence after a rash of shootings in Central and South Seattle.

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The no-bid contract paid the Urban League about $900,000 for its work over two years.

As part of the program, the Urban League hired outreach staff to seek out troubled youths and try to reconnect them with schools, jobs and counseling.

But this year, under Mayor Mike McGinn, the city decided to put the contract out for competitive bidding. The Urban League submitted a bid, but the work was awarded to the YMCA and Therapeutic Health Services in January, records show.

"Deficient"

A city evaluation finished last month criticized the Urban League's performance on the contract — rating its performance "below requirements" or "deficient" in 16 of 28 categories.

The harshest grades were for sloppy invoices and budget problems — issues similar to those raised by state auditors with the Urban League's work with the school district.

The organization met the city's contract requirements in 10 categories and was rated "superior" in two — including praise for trying innovative approaches to the violence problem.

Mariko Lockhart, head of the city's Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, described the Urban League's record on the project as mixed.

"They had strong staff. I just think the oversight of it was probably not tight," said Lockhart, describing the organization's invoices and other records as "a mess" — especially after the departure of program coordinator Jamila Taylor.

Taylor, who quit the Urban League last fall, now works on the youth-violence-prevention effort with Therapeutic Health Services.

She said she could not explain the Urban League's difficulties but said the youth-violence effort has paid dividends by reaching at-risk kids.

"We were able to do some very important things to help kids stay out of some trouble," Taylor said.

Even before losing its city contract, there was some indication the Urban League was having financial difficulties. "It was always a rush to make sure we turned around their bill as fast as possible so they could meet their payroll," Lockhart said.

When the city late last year declined to pay the Urban League bonuses of several thousand dollars on the youth-violence effort, the organization complained and threatened to go to the City Council or mayor, Lockhart said.

Second blow

A second blow came when the city drastically cut the Urban League's other major contract that supported its Contractor Development & Competitiveness Center.

The CDCC was created in 2002 to help small minority-owned businesses win construction contracts. The city spent about $480,000 a year between 2003 and 2010 on the CDCC, according to McGinn's office.

That was reduced to $100,000 this year, and city departments were encouraged to seek other competitors to do similar work, Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith said.

Requiring more competitive bidding for contracts "is the direction we're going" with all city services, Smith said.

"It's difficult for the public to buy that you're not going to work your contracts in that way," he said.

CDCC program

The state audit accused the Urban League of overcharging the school district to fund its CDCC program.

Auditors said the school district was overcharged by the Urban League for services that did not benefit the district — including up to $15,000 a month for "general overhead and administration."

The Urban League didn't document how the charges benefitted the school district, but it stated repeatedly that the money was needed "to keep the doors open," auditors said.

The State Auditor's Office now is examining the CDCC as part of its regular audit of the city of Seattle, spokeswoman Mindy Chambers said Wednesday.

10:48 AM | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

Urban League, politicos got school money under investigation

(from SeattlePI)

The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and several prominent political figures were among the vendors who received "questionable" payments from a Seattle Public Schools program that is the focus of a criminal investigation.

A probe by the state Auditor's Office into the program revealed $1.5 million for services with a "questionable public purpose" and $280,000 for services that were never provided. The audit has since led to an investigation by Seattle police and the King County Prosecutor's office under a secretive "inquiry judge" process in which witnesses and records can be subpoenaed, according to source in the prosecutor's office.

The investigation is focused on the district's now defunct Regional Small Business Development Program, which was created to encourage small locally-owned minority businesses to bid on school district projects. Small businesses with gross revenue under $1 million qualified for the program.

The program's manager, Silas Potter, resigned June 7 as the investigation was starting. Potter reported to Fred Stephens, the former director of facilities and construction, who resigned from the school district in July and has since been appointed as deputy assistant secretary for administration U.S. Department of Commerce.

The audit faulted Stephens for not adequately supervising the program and not establishing a system of internal controls to guard against waste or misuse. District program staff told auditors the "District did not receive much benefit from work provided by several vendors and that Potter "wanted support from prominent members of the community," according to the audit report.

Despite Potter's resignation, he created his own private company with the same name as the school district's program. He was briefly retained as a consultant for another two weeks. He hired a vendor to write grants for the private company and allegedly defrauded the City of Bellevue, which paid $39, 873 because city officials thought they were participating in district's small business program.

The audit began after district officials received a $35,000 check from Tacoma Public Schools that had been deposited into Potter's company's account. Potter gave the district a $35,000 cashiers check after the district filed a police report, according to the audit.

Names of people and organizations that were hired under the program to provide outreach, instruction, consulting services, marketing and lobbying were not listed in the report. But they were provided to seattlepi.com by the state Auditor's office. Among the names of those were hired as contractors under the program were the Urban League, a former state legislator, a former head of the state Democratic Party and a former Port of Seattle administrator.

In some cases, those hired as contractors were not aware that Potter wasn't authorized to contract with them, according to the report.

"We're not passing judgment on vendors," said Mindy Chambers, a spokeswoman for the state Auditor's Office. "These are places where the district didn't have systems in place to look at what people are being billed for. Whether people were correctly charging for their time or overcharging, will be up to the district to sort out."

Among some of the names and organizations:

  • The Urban League, a nonprofit that provides housing, employment and educational services to minorities and other disadvantaged people , was paid $25,000 for a software subscription fee for a database designed to match small business owners with general contractors. District employees said they never used the database and the vendor reported it was not functional, according to the auditor's report.
  • A consulting firm started by Elaine Ko, former director of social responsibility with the Port of Seattle, received $17,800 to meet with state legislators and conduct community outreach that turned out to be related to Potter's private company.
  • Potter also approved contracts to lobby state legislators when he had no authority to do so. Vendors who were hired included Ko, Charles Rolland, former head of the state Democratic Party and former member of Community and Parents for Public Schools of Seattle; Velma Veloria, former state legislator; and Eddie Rye, who, according to King County's website , is a business leader and community activist who prompted King County to change its logo from the crown to the image of Martin Luther King Jr. They were unaware that Potter had no authority to approve the contracts, according to the report.

    Rolland, Rye, Tony Orange, former executive director of the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs and former head of the Central Area Motivation Program, and Ginny Noble with the Contractors Resource Center, were paid as consultants to attend weekly meetings at the district administrative offices. According to the audit report, the meetings lasted 1.5 hours but the consultants billed the district two to three hours for the meetings.

    Orange also billed $58,000 for outreach and recruitment work in 2009 and 2010 for the district's "Direct Hire and Apprenticeship" program that the Auditor's Office viewed as excessive given only 150 people were recruited, according to the report.

  • The district also paid Rolland at least $6,000 to create and maintain a database for the program that was "not functional" when the district received it. Rolland billed 120 hours to develop the database but it contained only a "list of student names and other identifying information," according to the audit report.

    Among the contracts deemed as losses to the school district:

  • The district paid $163,000 to Grace of Mercy, a nonprofit. The school district paid for classes on dates when no classes were taught. "Class sign-in sheets and class evaluations provided by the District show this vendor attended classes as a student on dates the vendor billed for teaching. The program manager approved the invoices, certifying that services were rendered."
  • Another $78,000 was paid to Banner Cross, which is described as a nonprofit mentoring organization on its website, for instructional services between November 2006 and April 2007, and for "development", including lesson preparation, team meetings, and communications assistance between May 2007 and August 2007, according to the report.

    But, district records "show the classroom reservations scheduled for that time period were canceled in January 2007," according to the audit report. Also, there were no class sign-in sheets for May through August 2007.

    Banner Cross is registered to Dr. Leon "Skip" Rowland, according to the state Auditor's Office. Rowland also is under contract with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce to serve as executive director of the Urban Enterprise Center, which handles outreach to small, culturally-diverse businesses.

    In a statement, Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson said the school district had since shut down the program and installed tighter financial oversight.

    "I am very angry that any school district employee would consider using this or any other program fraudulently and for their own personal gain. Such a use would be an abuse of taxpayer funds and an appalling violation of our community's trust," she said.

    The school district's general council and school board president Steve Sundquist responded to the audit with a list of bullet points about how the district is trying to fix the problem. Among other steps, the board commissioned an investigation into how funds were mismanaged, appointed an ethics manager to oversee complaints and launched an anonymous hotline that lets district employees and others report fraud and misconduct.

    The statement continued: "We agree that district management failed on several fronts, including lack of employee oversight, failure of internal controls, failure of the internal audit function, and lack of an adequate means for employees to raise their concerns."

    The school board is expected Friday to receive a report from Seattle attorney Patricia Eakes, whom the district hired to review issues raised in the audit, Sundquist told seattlepi.com.

    The report will be discussed Tuesday during a meeting in executive session and then dealt with publicly during next Wednesday's school board meeting, Sundquist said.

    "We're all extremely outraged by it. The whole thing is unacceptable," he said. "We feel a strong commitment to the community to get to the bottom of it. We'll do whatever we need to do to restore public confidence."

    The district is adding a member of the public to its audit committee, and legal counsel has been hired to recover losses from those at fault.

    The criminal investigation into Seattle Public School finances should have no effect on a Seattle levy that would augment education funding, City Councilman Tim Burgess said Wednesday.

    Burgess, the Council lead on the Families and Education levy, said there should be no link between the schools scandal and the separate ballot measure.

    Earlier this month Mayor Mike McGinn announced the proposed $231 million, seven-year levy. If the City Council OKs the measure and it's approved by voters in November, the average household would pay about $134 a year in property taxes. This measure would replace one approved in 2004, a $117 million levy that cost the average household about $65 a year. Funding would be focused on the 23 Title 1 schools in Seattle. Those are schools that meet a federal requirement for additional funding because a high percentage of students come from poorer families. The levy would invest in programs for students from pre-school to high school, including continuing to provide pre-school space, at-home early learning skills, support for at-risk students, summer learning programs and expand school-based health centers.

    "I think, from my perspective, it's full speed ahead on our process of evaluating the levy and taking a (Council) vote later in March," Burgess told seattlepi.com.

    Burgess stressed that any monies spent from the levy would be awarded by and administered by the City, not the school district.

    "Levy funds are spent only after performance-based contracts are awarded. And all levy funds are tied to very specific and measurable outcomes. And we take funds away when our outcomes are not being achieved."

    Burgess added that he was pleased that the School Board has taken quick steps to address the questionable use of funds. "They moved very quickly last year to launch their internal investigation. They notified civil authorities in the King County Prosecutor's office. I just strongly affirm those moves."

    • 10:45 AM | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

    What does Urban League Head Honcho Want with the S.L.U.T.?

    Critics say expansion will lead to gentrification. James Kelly envisions economic development.

    By Aimee Curl

    Published on May 27, 2008 at 10:16pm

    James Kelly, head of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, which advocates on behalf of African-Americans and other people of color, wants to rename the S.L.U.T.

    "Just call it the Love Train!" he says, grinning broadly. The moniker certainly fits for Kelly, who's quickly becoming the public face of a $600 million effort to expand the South Lake Union Streetcar, which opened last year and currently travels from the southern tip of the lake to Westlake Center.

    Kelly is co-chair of the Streetcar Alliance, a who's-who of transportation and business associations organized to support and help inform the city's plan to extend the streetcar along four proposed routes. (One from South Lake Union to the University District; one up First Hill, then north along Broadway; one through downtown, then east at South Jackson Street to 23rd Avenue South; and another along Westlake Avenue to Fremont and Ballard.) Kelly is gearing up to emcee a series of public forums on the idea this summer, which are being organized by the Streetcar Alliance. He also sat side-by-side with city staff during a recent meeting to brief the City Council on the plan. "Keep an open mind," he told council members. "Don't nitpick this apart."

    A few days later Kelly was on the Seattle Channel debating the pros and cons of the streetcar with council members and with longtime monorail activist Peter Sherwin, who is arguing for more electric buses instead. "Buses just don't do it," Kelly said. "We have a chance to address connecting communities as well as to reduce greenhouse gases."

    Of course, electric buses don't emit greenhouse gases. And Kelly's other arguments in favor of the expensive streetcar can sometimes be equally hard to follow. "Seattle has so many diverse neighborhoods that have not historically been well-connected," Kelly says during an interview at the Urban League's Central District offices. "Why would someone who lives in Ballard be interested in going to the ID? We're talking about a train ride that takes people to a destination spot. We're trying to create a vehicle that allows people to be connected. This is one way of doing that without people having to transfer three or four bus lines to get from one part of the city to the other." (For the record, you can get to within a few blocks of the ID from Ballard on the #15 or #18 bus.)

    Only one of the proposed streetcar lines would reach the communities traditionally served by the Urban League. And streetcar expansion means fewer resources for bus routes: King County, which runs the buses, has agreed to pick up 75 percent of the existing streetcar's operating costs beginning in 2009, but will pay for it by reducing hours of bus service in Seattle.) The city has also said the county would likely terminate any bus routes made redundant by future streetcar lines. These are among the reasons that Kelly's high-profile support just doesn't add up, says John Fox, a housing advocate and head of the Seattle Displacement Coalition.

    "Why is the Urban League involved when there's a plate of issues that directly affect minority communities and the CD where they could be weighing in? But here they are weighing in on something that is tangential at best, but it could also be perceived as gentrification that could drive rents up on affordable housing units and drive small businesses out," Fox says. "[The streetcar] is not a cost-efficient form of transportation. It's a toy, an instrument to drive up property values."

    Fox says the movement of African-Americans out of the central area and southeast Seattle "is precipitous because of rising property values, redevelopment, and gentrification. There's a whole host of issues [the Urban League] needs to be working on. But quite frankly they just haven't been there for us....And you wonder why the Urban League is there for the streetcar."

    Kelly counters that the streetcar won't lead to gentrification, but to economic development.

    "It's an opportunity to have more people, particularly people of color and of more income levels, being able to come back into an area that hasn't had any development in a while," he says, referring to the route that would run up Jackson Street.

    Plus, the Urban League has a history of being involved in civic issues, Kelly says, calling the need for "transportation choices" among the more pressing dilemmas the city faces today. He rejects the notion that the organization has lost focus, noting that the Urban League assisted Hurricane Katrina evacuees in 2005 and that it is one of few groups currently working with the city on a program to stave off home foreclosures.

    George Griffin, a public-affairs consultant, says the streetcar may well be out of the purview of what the Urban League would have advocated for in the past. But he says that's a good thing. "There needs to be a belief that people of color care about everything that's going on in the community. The profile of the Urban League is so much larger than it has ever been. What they're demonstrating is that we can plan and be involved in things all over town, no matter what the project may be...and James is a great role model for that kind of stuff."

    Griffin says Kelly and the Urban League learned some valuable lessons about bringing people together from the Coleman School redevelopment, an often contentious seven-year project that created the Northwest African American Museum and 36 low-income apartme

    Fox, for his part, is more skeptical about the Coleman School project's tie to the Urban League's streetcar efforts. Because the city gave the Urban League more than $3 million for the $19 million project, he wonders if there wasn't some sort of quid pro quo with the mayor's office. "The city put in a huge chunk to keep it going over the years. Why is Kelly the public face [of the streetcar]? I believe it's a good way of remaining in the good graces of the mayor," Fox says.

    While he says he has no specific information related to the Urban League, former council member Peter Steinbrueck says it wouldn't be the first time for that type of back-scratching. "Many people supported the South Lake Union Streetcar when there wasn't any direct reason," he says. "There tends to be a quid pro quo when it comes budget time and grants are made. Gifts are given to certain nonprofit organizations. I've seen that happen for years."

    "No. No. No," responds Kelly. "I don't play politics like that."

    But Steinbrueck (long rumored to be considering a run for mayor himself—see The Cutting Room, p. 8) has another theory for Kelly's involvement. "I would think he has aspirations to run for political office at some point," he says. "It helps, being involved in issues beyond what is directly part of the Urban League."

    Kelly rejects this notion too. "My brother-in-law's in office," he says referring to City Council member Bruce Harrell. "That's enough."

    Calls to other leaders in the black community couldn't find any who were troubled by Kelly's active backing of the streetcar (though all want to make sure that South Seattle routes get served). James Bible, for one, the president of the Seattle chapter of the NAACP, says he isn't second-guessing Kelly's judgment. "We haven't asserted any position yet," Bible says. "I'm sure the Urban League has reviewed the information at a different level given that they have asserted a position."

    Kelly says if he's guilty of anything, it might be ego. "I like challenges," he says. "If I can make Coleman School happen, I can do this. In the words of Rodney King, 'Can't we all get along?'"

    acurl@seattleweekly.com




    From the Seattle Weekly

    11:06 PM | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

    Does City Money Buy Urban League Support for the Chief?

    Does City Money Buy Urban League Support for the Chief?

    posted by Josh Feit on June 26 at 11:11 AM

    This weekend, I wondered out loud on Slog why James Kelly of Seattle’s Urban League had a double standard when it came to SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowske. That is: Kelly wanted to reserve judgment on Kerlikowske until the investigation into Kerlikowske was complete. That’s rich, given that the investigation into Kerlikowske involves questions about why Kerlikowske exonerated a pair of suspect officers before that investigation was complete.

    Well, there may be an explanation why the Urban League is getting Kerlkiowske’s back: The city is a big financial supporter of the Urban League.

    Urban League President Kelly has not returned my call yet.

    From the Stranger Slog

    11:15 PM | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

    Urban League Seattle Defends Police Chief

    By BERNARD CHOI and CHRIS DANIELS / KING 5 News

    SEATTLE - Two powerful civil rights groups are taking sides in the controversy surrounding Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and his handling of an internal investigation.

    The Seattle chapter of the NAACP on Friday called on the Kerlikowske to step down, while the Urban League is supporting the Chief.

    James Bible, president of the NAACP, said the police chief took unusual steps in trying to influence what should have been an independent review of a controversial drug bust.

    Last January, two Seattle police officers arrested a drug suspect in Belltown; that arrest was caught on tape. The suspect said he was roughed up and the cops planted drugs on him. The officers were reprimanded because their written report didn't match the video taken of the arrest, and the prosecution dropped charges against the man.

    Then, the citizen oversight board released a draft report this week accusing the chief of interfering with the internal investigation into the two police officers and taking "extraordinary" measures to get a witness statement.

    The NAACP says the chief should not have intervened to affect the probe. The local NAACP chapter has raised questions about one of the two Seattle police officers in years past. Last month, the local branch of the NAACP called for the chief's resignation.

    "If we have a chief that will seek to hide information for his own personal gain or interest, then that chief needs to step away that chief needs to find another town," Bible said Friday.

    The NAACP said Mayor Greg Nickels also needs to be held accountable for the outcome of the investigation.

    The Urban League is standing by Kerlikowske.

    "I will be damned to allow any draft report, any incomplete investigation, to ruin the five year relationship we have tried to establish on behalf of African-Americans and the police department," said James Kelly of the Urban League.


    From King 5 News

    11:18 PM | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

    Urban League's Kelly Charged in school gun case

    By Alex Fryer

    Seattle Times staff reporter

    The City Attorney's Office filed a weapons charge yesterday against the president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, alleging that he brought a firearm onto school grounds.

    In a written statement to police, James Kelly admitted carrying a handgun when he attended an evening community meeting at Rainier Beach High School on May 29.

    Under state law, it is a misdemeanor to possess a firearm on school premises. If convicted, Kelly faces a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Kelly would also lose his concealed-weapons permit for three years.

    Reached yesterday, Kelly, 47, said he had not seen the charges and would not comment about the case. "I trust the process. I believe in the system," he said.

    Herman McKinney, an Urban League board member, said the charges took him by surprise. He said the board never discussed the incident, but he thought members would take it up later this month now that the City Attorney's Office has become involved.

    "I do know that it was not a good idea to bring a weapon on school grounds,'' McKinney said. "But I would hate to see anything disrupt the leadership quality that he (Kelly) has."

    In earlier interviews, Kelly said he and his family had received threats in recent months from people opposed to the Urban League's plans to develop a former Central Area school into apartments, offices and an African-American heritage museum.

    On the night of the alleged violation, Kelly told police he had a run-in with Kwame Garrett, 25, son of Omari Tahir-Garrett.

    Tahir-Garrett claims to be the true leader of the heritage-museum effort at Colman School, and he opposes the Urban League's plans.

    The Colman School project has been mired in controversy for years.

    Omari Tahir-Garrett was one of the activists who occupied Colman in 1985 to force the city to build a cultural center there. Now, Tahir-Garrett claims to be the true leader of the African-American museum, and he rejects Kelly's ideas for condominiums and a scaled-down museum on the site.

    On July 8, Tahir-Garrett will stand trial for allegedly hitting Mayor Paul Schell with a megaphone during a community festival last summer. His first trial ended with a hung jury.

    In his statement to police, Kelly wrote that the younger Garrett confronted him about the Urban League's proposals, and blocked him from leaving a hallway outside the school's performing-arts center. "I decided I needed to do something or I was going to be attacked," he wrote.

    He said he placed his hand on a gun under his coat but did not pull it out or point it. Observers broke up the altercation, and Kelly left the building. He later called Assistant Police Chief Harry Bailey, who suggested that he get a "no-contact" order against Garrett and others.

    Garrett and his father called a news conference June 4 at Colman School to discuss the Rainier Beach incident, and they lashed out at Kelly and the Urban League as "vampires'' unfairly taking over their project.

    "I was completely shocked that someone who is supposed to be a civic leader would do something of that nature," Garrett said.

    From the Seattle Times

    11:12 PM | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

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