Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, facing a $131 million revenue shortfall for fiscal 2009, told the Department of Health last fall to cut $2.9 million from its budget. As partial response to that mandate, agency officials decided to offload the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and pledged to save $541,529.
The total budget for the food program is nearly $1.4 million — about $766,000 from locally generated revenues and $631,000 from federal grants.
“[The U.S. Department of Agriculture] pays the full cost of food and provides allocations to the District to help cover administrative expenses,” says Holiday Johnson, a DOH spokeswoman.
While it’s not an expensive venture, distributing food to low-income residents and senior citizens isn’t exactly the DOH’s prime mission. Private organizations certainly could provide the service.
So, Dr. Carlos Cano, head of the Community Health Administration, which is responsible for the food program, invited groups to submit proposals. The Greater Washington Urban League was the only organization that responded, according to government sources familiar with the process.
Still, DOH’s actions should have been a win for everyone. Instead, questions are being raised — not the least of which is why 14 District workers were fired in the process.
The salaries for nine of those workers were covered by federal funds — not local revenues, according to District government sources. That means the firings probably won’t immediately affect the city’s 2009 budget deficit — the problem the mayor was attempting to solve.
Moreover, the stealth reduction in force may have violated city personnel rules and District laws regarding privatization of government services.
The DOH’s detour from success is sponsored by the usual suspects: incompetence and mismanagement.
“This decision makes good financial sense. It saves the District money as well as preserves a program that continues to feed residents in need,” insists Johnson, adding the total cost of the Urban League contract is $507,000.
That’s funny math.
Maudine Cooper, the Urban League’s executive director, told me the program budget approved by the city is $675, 000.
But Johnson says some of that money will come back to the District for “personnel, materials and labor costs.” The DOH will continueto store food in its warehouse for the Urban League. It also will handle pest control and security at that site. And, it will provide vehicles to the Urban League. These costs total about $168,000.
Any way you count the dollars, the DOH won’t meet its savings mark.
Meanwhile, the firing of those 14 employees has prompted a complaint to be filed this week with the Office of the Inspector General.
DOH officials are scrambling. Tuesday, they said employees will receive severance pay totaling slightly more than $238,000. Cooper says she is trying to hire some of the people who worked for the District.
“The details haven’t been worked out yet,” she added.
The price tag for the food supplement contract just went up. That’s budget-cutting D.C.-style.
