Today I attended a meeting of the Institute for Nonprofit Capacity at Northern Kentucky University. The speaker was from the office of the Kentucky auditor, discussing findings and recommendations from recent audits of Lexington KY’s Bluegrass Airport and the Kentucky Association of Counties.
These guys were real beauts — charging $700 bottles of champagne and hundreds of unreceipted credit card bills, among others. The auditor estimates that KACo alone mishandled $3 million in charges. Many of the top executives of both organizations have resigned, been fired and/or indicted. The speaker presented us with a list of 28 recommendations for strengthening board oversight of agencies receiving taxpayer funds. Among them was the idea that there should be no penalties for whistleblowers.
What I found frightening was the notion that these abuses might never have come to light if not for anonymous tips submitted to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Fortunately the paper still has (or had) reporters who can dig. But what will happen when such people are long gone from local newsrooms?
cleve callison’s blog 
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