The D.C. Council last week eased the way for the recipients of millions in earmarks to receive their grants, whether or not those groups have satisfied conditions meant to ensure the money will be well-spent.
In their last two meetings before the summer recess, council members voted to water down the stipulations they had placed on all fiscal 2009 earmarks — more than $56 million worth for roughly 170 community organizations.
The most substantial amendment: Rather than restricting the disbursement of noncompetitive grants to groups that provide specific financial and planning documents by an Aug. 15 deadline, the council instead will allow recipients to partner with a “fiscal agent” who does meet the government’s conditions and can act as a pass-through for the earmarked dollars.
“I think this will help these newer organizations, these smaller organizations to get these grants, which in turn empower them to do the services that they’re committed to without sacrificing the important objectives of creating standards and restrictions on the earmarks,” said Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham.
At-large Councilwoman Carol Schwartz, the body’s only Republican, was alone in her opposition.
“At least this year, we did show some desire to make sure that certain organizations meet certain requirements, and now we’re undoing some of those requirements,” Schwartz said. “It really is cutting a check for a group.”
Council Chairman Vincent Gray, who drafted the earmark-related amendments, said he was trying to be more flexible with nonprofits while still providing oversight. The council agreed, for example, that a current financial statement from a certified accountant will satisfy the requirement for a full-fledged audit, which can cost up to $20,000 and take four months.
“We have been working hard to place some guardrails around how we do this yet continue what has been I think a very successful practice, and that is getting resources to organizations that otherwise wouldn’t have these opportunities,” said Gray, who is developing a long-term policy for handling earmarks.
Chuck Bean, executive director of the D.C.-based Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington, said the District is right to expect a return on its investment. The fiscal agent plan, he said, is a “best of both worlds” alternative that provides the balance between scrutiny and “allowing those groups to do their good work.”
