apdst
03-20-2008, 03:47 AM
Democratic governer Kathy Blanco is purdy stupid, but she wasn't stupid enough to run for a second term. This is for all the folks that are utterly appaled about the New Orleans hurricane relief effort. (http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-37/1205951645112920.xml&storylist=louisiana)
Auditor: Road Home contractor may be getting paid twice for work
3/19/2008, 6:36 p.m. CDT
By MELINDA DESLATTE
The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The private contractor running the Road Home hurricane recovery program may be getting paid twice for certain tasks, which could be raising the state's costs for the contract, Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot said Wednesday.
Theriot's office is reviewing the contract with ICF International Inc., the Fairfax, Va., company hired by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco's administration to run the program that doles out grants to people with home damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
The state's contract can pay ICF as much as $912 million, a figured boosted in the waning weeks of the Blanco administration. The company already has received nearly $593 million for its work, about $368 million of that has gone to subcontractors.
The company has been heavily criticized for a plodding pace of grant awards, for an unnecessary level of bureaucracy and as slowing recovery efforts in communities across south Louisiana.
Theriot questioned whether payments to ICF were inflated by errors that caused the company to have to perform certain tasks repeatedly. He said the company also may be paid for each home appraisal and evaluation, even if multiple appraisals and evaluations were done of the same property.
And Theriot told the Legislature's joint budget committee that he was concerned the contract with ICF allows the company to charge the state to go back and clean up files, correct errors and either recoup overpayments or add money to grants.
Rep. Jean-Paul Morrell said that amounts to paying the company a second time to do what should have been done in the first place.
"That has got to be the most asinine thing I've ever heard in my life," said Morrell, D-New Orleans.
No one from ICF attended the budget committee meeting, and ICF spokeswoman Gentry Brann did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday. Company officials have blamed many of the Road Home's difficulties on constantly changing rules by the state and the need to closely evaluate applications to guard against fraud.
Theriot's office and the state inspector general are looking into concerns about a last-minute contract adjustment made by the Blanco administration that raised the amount ICF could be paid by $156 million — to the current $912 million cap. That contract change was made Dec. 7, about a month before Blanco left office.
Blanco administration officials said the contract increase was tied to the number of grants awarded, which is larger than originally estimated.
Theriot is reviewing the breakdown of costs for the contract adjustment, and Louisiana's inspector general is looking into who boosted the contract and whether the process complied with legal requirements.
"Obviously it's cause for concern, and we've agreed to look at it and will do so," said Inspector General Stephen Street, an appointee of Gov. Bobby Jindal.
The Road Home provides buyout or repair grants of up to $150,000 to homeowners with severe damage from Katrina or Rita. More than 103,000 homeowners have received grants so far, but as many as 164,000 people are expected to be eligible. The program is funded with $11.5 billion, mainly federal recovery money.
Legislators complained Wednesday that the program still was moving too slowly, that Road Home numbers were skewed to make it appear more people had finished disputing their grant awards, and that the costs of the contract seemed inflated.
Louisiana Recovery Authority chief Paul Rainwater said his agency was consolidating recovery oversight from several areas of state government and was working to make improvements to the Road Home.
"We are committed to fixing this program, and we are committed to making sure there is transparency in these contracts and accountability," he said.
Auditor: Road Home contractor may be getting paid twice for work
3/19/2008, 6:36 p.m. CDT
By MELINDA DESLATTE
The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The private contractor running the Road Home hurricane recovery program may be getting paid twice for certain tasks, which could be raising the state's costs for the contract, Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot said Wednesday.
Theriot's office is reviewing the contract with ICF International Inc., the Fairfax, Va., company hired by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco's administration to run the program that doles out grants to people with home damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
The state's contract can pay ICF as much as $912 million, a figured boosted in the waning weeks of the Blanco administration. The company already has received nearly $593 million for its work, about $368 million of that has gone to subcontractors.
The company has been heavily criticized for a plodding pace of grant awards, for an unnecessary level of bureaucracy and as slowing recovery efforts in communities across south Louisiana.
Theriot questioned whether payments to ICF were inflated by errors that caused the company to have to perform certain tasks repeatedly. He said the company also may be paid for each home appraisal and evaluation, even if multiple appraisals and evaluations were done of the same property.
And Theriot told the Legislature's joint budget committee that he was concerned the contract with ICF allows the company to charge the state to go back and clean up files, correct errors and either recoup overpayments or add money to grants.
Rep. Jean-Paul Morrell said that amounts to paying the company a second time to do what should have been done in the first place.
"That has got to be the most asinine thing I've ever heard in my life," said Morrell, D-New Orleans.
No one from ICF attended the budget committee meeting, and ICF spokeswoman Gentry Brann did not immediately return calls for comment Wednesday. Company officials have blamed many of the Road Home's difficulties on constantly changing rules by the state and the need to closely evaluate applications to guard against fraud.
Theriot's office and the state inspector general are looking into concerns about a last-minute contract adjustment made by the Blanco administration that raised the amount ICF could be paid by $156 million — to the current $912 million cap. That contract change was made Dec. 7, about a month before Blanco left office.
Blanco administration officials said the contract increase was tied to the number of grants awarded, which is larger than originally estimated.
Theriot is reviewing the breakdown of costs for the contract adjustment, and Louisiana's inspector general is looking into who boosted the contract and whether the process complied with legal requirements.
"Obviously it's cause for concern, and we've agreed to look at it and will do so," said Inspector General Stephen Street, an appointee of Gov. Bobby Jindal.
The Road Home provides buyout or repair grants of up to $150,000 to homeowners with severe damage from Katrina or Rita. More than 103,000 homeowners have received grants so far, but as many as 164,000 people are expected to be eligible. The program is funded with $11.5 billion, mainly federal recovery money.
Legislators complained Wednesday that the program still was moving too slowly, that Road Home numbers were skewed to make it appear more people had finished disputing their grant awards, and that the costs of the contract seemed inflated.
Louisiana Recovery Authority chief Paul Rainwater said his agency was consolidating recovery oversight from several areas of state government and was working to make improvements to the Road Home.
"We are committed to fixing this program, and we are committed to making sure there is transparency in these contracts and accountability," he said.