David Brauer wrote: > As for NRP keeping its house in order, it's worth noting that > State Auditor Pat Awada - no lapdog of the city of Minneapolis > - praised NRP for asking for the audit of a subcontractor.
What else would she do? Criticize them for requesting an audit? > Praise also goes to the MCDA employee who noted SNHS' spending > irregularities. Both brought it to the proper state > authorities, who dealt with the situation professionally. It would be interesting to know the chronology of these events. Was this MCDA employee also an NRP employee? Did the MCDA employee discover the irregularities first, report them, and THEN the NRP requested the audit? If so, what else would we expect the them to do? Stonewall after the upper MCDA management was aware of the problems? Note: As far as I understand it, the MCDA and the NRP are separate agencies (although they have offices in the same building). > I suggest those who assert that NRP is doing something > illegal need to go to the proper authorities. I have never asserted that the NRP is doing anything criminal. I have said that I believe that they are operating outside of the mandate provided by statute. So please tell me who the authorities are that insure all state statutes are properly adhered to. I've been looking for them for four years and as far as I've been told they don't exist. I can, as a private citizen, sue the NRP. But, I would have to be willing to do so with no assurance that I would be able to recover my legal fees even if I were to win (and there are no damage awards). > I know a few court challenges to NRP have failed > (though critics *then* assert that the *courts* are wrong). I'm unaware of any such court cases, perhaps you could enlighten me. > There are also plenty of non-DFLers heading state > investigating agencies if you're worried about corruption. > If no complaint is made to the right place, then it's > fulmination without corroboration. In one case I thought there might have been malfeasance, so I contacted a number of law enforcement agencies and no one would investigate. The incidents were reviewed internally by the MCDA (I believe that the loan program had been administered by them) and, (surprise, surprise) they didn't report any irregularities. I'm still waiting for an external and independent investigation. Barb Lickness wrote: > To add to what David has said here, the state auditors > perform an audit or financial review compliance of > EVERY neighborhood group in Minneapolis that receives > NRP funds. Sub-contractors or Administering agencies > are contractually required to have audits and submit > those reports to the MCDA or NRP yearly. If you read > the press release clearly it states that NRP and MCDA > found the irregularities. There are different types of audits. As I understand it the audits required by NRP contracts are superficial. They only check to see that records are available, NOT that the records are legitimate and valid. The point is that a governmental agency handling hundreds of millions of dollars should not have to respond after the fact, it should have internal controls that are proactive and prevent abuse and mismanagement. The NRP seems to rely on the good faith of its contractors and as has been shown by the State Auditor's office this can be a foolhardy proposition and an immense waste of resources. This is not efficient and effective government! Michael Atherton Prospect Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
