Telegraph's examination of documents yields some answers, more questions

By Travis Fain - tfain@macon.com

The Telegraph's scrutiny of city documents related to a federal grant that's under fire from the U.S. Attorney's Office paint a clearer picture of the program, but key questions remain about its operations.

Among them: Exactly how much money was spent on the Safe Schools Initiative, particularly by the city itself? And who certified spending to federal overseers, putting them in the Department of Justice's sights for "false claims" that the U.S. Attorney's Office alleges resulted in $350,000 in misspent money?

What does seem clear from a review of church grant proposals and reimbursement requests is that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent as they were supposed to be - on programs for young people. Among the more than 2,000 documents that The Telegraph reviewed are dozens of pages of sign-in sheets for camps and after-school programs, as well as grocery store receipts for items such as hot dogs, Fruit Roll-ups and soft drinks.

Even so, the few pastors who have answered requests for an interview said honest mistakes may have been made as they implemented the program for the first time. Several former city administrators agreed, and some of them said they were uncomfortable with the city's management - even while they were involved in the program.

Since The Telegraph printed a list of announced participants in the Safe Schools Initiative Tuesday - a list provided by the city when the program was unveiled in December 2002 - five of those churches have contacted the newspaper to say they received no money. In most cases, the church sent a representative to an initial meeting or meetings but opted out of the program.

The Telegraph has found no evidence to the contrary in a search of grant records, and none of the churches appears on a more up-to-date summary from the city that lists actual dollar amounts awarded.

The churches that said they weren't involved are: Bibb Mount Zion Baptist Church and its nonprofit Next Level Community Development Center; Heritage and Bass United United Methodist Church (formerly Hillcrest/Bass UMC); Cross Keys United Methodist Church; Harvest Cathedral; and Mount Vernon Baptist Church.

Here are some of the key questions and The Telegraph's attempts to find answers:

How much money was spent, and where did it all go?

A spending summary, as provided by the city in 2004, appears below. However, some totals don't match amounts provided when the grant initially was announced. For example, the city initially said it would keep $170,000 from the $1 million grant to fund oversight, most of which was handled by the police department. But the summary lists $80,642.64 spent on "project personnel" to "implement and manage the program."

Former Macon Police Chief Rodney Monroe, now the police chief in Richmond, Va., has refused to answer specific questions about the grant, although he did provide The Telegraph with a one-page statement. Several people involved with the grant questioned its handling, but they said they didn't have the direct knowledge needed to answer key questions from The Telegraph.

Camille Jefferson, project director from May 2003 through spring 2004, and Norman Carter, Jefferson's predecessor, both confirmed that some church reimbursement requests were denied during their tenures, showing that there was some oversight.

How did the money flow?

Carter, project director in late 2002 and early 2003, said the city took reimbursement requests from participating groups, then requested a drawdown on the grant from the federal government.

But Carter said he was surprised when he learned that the city wrote checks out of its general fund to reimburse participants. The Telegraph obtained copies of some of those checks through the Open Records Act.

Former Mayor Jack Ellis said he didn't know how the money flowed, but he acknowledged it's possible that the city wrote checks to the groups, then kept the grant money when it arrived from the federal government.

Who certified expenditures to the federal government?

Ellis said he assumes he signed off on the spending, though he also said it could have been someone in the police department or former Finance Director Kelly Clark. Ellis said he typically signed off on federal grant spending and that he trusted his managers to make sure everything was in order.

"I have no reason to believe I would not have signed," Ellis said.

The certifications themselves haven't turned up in The Telegraph's checks of records, and they may have been seized several years ago as part of the investigation into city finances.

To contact writer Travis Fain, call 744-4213.