From the Department of Wasting Grant Money Like Crazy comes news that State Auditor Crit Luallen has discovered that $5 million in agriculture grant money was spent with seriously lax oversight and with questionable results for farmers in Kentucky.
The funds were awarded by the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy to Allied Foods Marketers West, Inc of Louisville, which was supposed to assist farmers over the past three years. The company didn’t protect the state’s interest and didn’t bother to document or monitor the project’s expenditures.
From a press release:
“It is deeply troubling that these tobacco settlement funds, intended to help transition our agriculture economy, were spent with such a disregard for accountability,” Luallen said. “It is vital that the agriculture office implement these recommendations to protect the overall integrity of the office’s mission.”
Luallen said since requesting the examination, the current leadership of the agriculture office has been extremely cooperative and their response clearly indicates the intention to improve oversight.
The results of this examination will mean additional scrutiny of other agriculture grants, she said, adding that her office would monitor the implementation of the recommendations and sample several other agriculture grants during its upcoming annual audit work.
Click here (PDF Link) to download the complete 41-page auditor’s report.
WHEN are we going to require oversight of grant dollars in Kentucky, people?! WHEN? And you wonder why the Commonwealth of Kentucky is experiencing financial crises galore.
2 responses so far ↓
1 BILked // Aug 15, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Does Crit Luallens office EVER audit a state agency and not find corruption or out right thievery? Come to think of it former Auditors Ed Hatchett and Ben Chandler were in the paper a lot also.
When does it ever end?
I know … when we quit electing the same people into office election after election.
2 Mr. Peabody // Aug 15, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Audit shows few problems with adult ed programs
A state audit of more than $11.6 million in adult education programs found $10,540 in questionable costs. State Auditor Crit Luallen, in an audit of 31 adult education programs released Friday, said the $10,540 in questioned costs were mostly due to lack of documentation.
The Council on Postsecondary Education oversees the grants to local counties. Luallen’s office has done an audit of the adult education program — which includes an assortment of classes — each of the past four years.
Auditors examined 31 adult education programs in 29 counties. Auditors found some of problems with lack of oversight regarding student eligibility and failure to keep accurate records on staff development, according to a press release from Luallen’s office.
“The overall management and administration of the CPE grants by the local adult education programs seems to be in good standing based on our audits,” Luallen said.
– Beth Musgrave: Pol Watchers
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