Steelworkers and Rich Fitzgerald Join Forces

At Steelworker headquarters this morning, union head Leo Gerard reiterated support for Rich Fitzgerald as the Democratic nominee for Allegheny County Executive, saying he would continue the work Dan Onorato has done to keep taxes down and support for working families high.

Fitzgerald’s opponent Mark Patrick Flaherty has proposed a public-private partnership between the county and companies drilling for natural gas on county land, which would use $4 billion of county assets to secure a higher yield than typical fees and royalties.

Fitzgerald calls the idea a “Republican” subsidy that could be lost if wells come up empty or the price of gas makes drilling unprofitable. As a drilling partner, Fitzgerald says the county would be liable in case of accident or death, and all of these risks would jeopardize the county’s bond rating.

He also questions whether the county could fulfill its role in protecting public health and the environment if it were a drilling partner.

The proper role of government vis-a-vis the natural gas resource, according to Fitzgerald, is to maximize the public benefit through an extraction tax and making sure the industry compensates for the cost of their operations. He says most companies know that would be fair. If done right, he says there will be many jobs created and no need to risk taxpayer funds.

Fitzgerald says the county added 24,000 private sector jobs last year, and the unemployment rate is 2-1/2% below the national average and has been for 38 straight months--the longest stretch since the 1930s.

Leo Gerard says Rich Fitzgerald was an easy choice for the Steelworkers’ endorsement because as president of County Council, he was current County Executive Dan Onorato’s right hand man. Gerard says he wishes Dan Onorato were governor. What's needed at the end of this worst recession since the Depression, according to Gerard, are jobs--not subsidies to an industry already rolling in money

Audit: Discrepancies with Service Providers

Allegheny County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty says 6 human service agencies that have contracts with the county are out of compliance and owe the county more than a half million dollars.
Flaherty says they regularly audit the contracts "to make sure that the dollars are spent the way they should be and that taxpayers are getting efficient use of their money for these programs"
Flaherty says the audits showed key compliance issues with Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Pressley Ridge, Womanspace East, Next Step Foundation, Community Human Services Corporation and Community Empowerment Association (CEA).

"The most significant disparity was found in Community Empowerment Association’s noncompliance with its contract revealing that the agency owes Allegheny County approximately $304,000 for unsupported service hours and operating expenditures."

CEA is an agency that works to empower the African-American community through jobs, economic development, housing, education and family support systems.

Flaherty says Next Step, which provides transitional housing, education and support to individuals recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, owes the county $64,900 due to an erroneous payment by the Department of Human Services.
According to the audit, Goodwill billed the county for salaries and benefits that exceeded the contract’s allowable amounts by $33,636; Pressley Ridge, a foster care provider, received $31,692 more than net eligible costs; Womanspace East owes the County $4,200 due to improper invoicing; and, Community Human Services (CHS)Corporation owes Allegheny County $23,000 billed for indirect, unsupported costs.

However, Adrienne Walnoha, Chief Executive Officer of CHS says her organization has been working with the County for two months to rectify this situation. "CHS did not inappropriately bill the County for any funds. We received an unqualified independent audit for the fiscal year in question and billed costs as outlined in our contracts."

Flaherty says he's recommending full reimbursement by these agencies

“The reviewed agencies should focus on strengthening their program management, documentation and accountability standards to preclude further disallowances from occurring. The Department of Human Services must closely monitor the terms of its contracts, units of service and other regulations to ensure compliance.”

Flaherty says it's hard to say whether these were just honest mistakes or if there were any intentional actions involved.