Damn these bills!

by Adam Lynch
April 2, 2008

The Jackson City Council learned in a Monday meeting that the city may have to pay back $278,000 in federal grant money.

Assistant Chief Administrative Officer and internal auditor Valerie Nevels reminded the council that federal grant money must be spent within a certain time period and only for purchases outlined in grant proposals. However, the city has so far not accounted for how it spent the money in some grants, and the federal government has come calling.

“Our last review of the city’s records revealed expenditures associated with (a local law enforcement block grant) of $211,448.40. We have not been able to obtain a copy of the response generated by the legal department and it seems no response was ever made,” Nevels told the council. “(The auditors’) investigation has been at a standstill since mid-November when our JPD contact for this grant and others was reassigned.”

Nevels also told the council that JPD has not informed city auditors of the new contact person in charge of the grant, after “numerous requests for information,” even though the federal government sent a notice of delinquent debt on March 13, for $205,949.38. Nevels said JPD also had not responded to multiple notices from the feds throughout 2007.

Nevels said the city may yet prove that it spent the grant appropriately, and may only have to pay back less than $10,000, but warned that the federal government may not be in a mood to haggle over the bill since it was already in the “collections stage.”

The city also received notice of delinquent debt on $60,650 in unused funds from a second law enforcement block grant, though the city likely has that money sitting in a reserve account.

However, Nevels said an external audit of the city also caused suspicion over the city’s expenditure of another $11,406. The U.S. Department of Justice checked on this money in January, according to Nevels, and the city agreed with the DOJ that it probably needed to refund that amount.

“We’re just letting you know that we may have to ask for the check,” Nevels warned the council.

Police Chief Malcolm McMillin said new people were working in the JPD grants department, and that he was working to clean up “the mess.”

“We’re not going to get it done overnight, but we’re gonna get there,” he said.

Note to Nevels: The new people over the JPD grants division are Dwight Pew and Renee Shakespeare, according to the chief. Perhaps they’ll call.