Swanzey: “That is a concern”
KINGSTON – A police officer posted outside Kingston Common Council’s monthly Finance and Audit Committee meeting at City Hall on Thursday evening, underscored the volatility of certain irregular grant applications currently under investigation.
Mayoral candidate Steven Noble, who manages grants for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, is being spotlighted over allegations of “double-dipping,” in the administration of multiple ongoing funding initiatives.
Two botched projects were scrutinized by the committee on Thursday: the Kinderland playground at Forsyth Park, which was built without proper contracts or timesheets; and a new fishing pier slated for the Rondout waterfront marina, currently unfinished in Vermont due to violations with disabled access.
Those two problems are just the tip of the iceberg, officials claim.
The matter was raised by city Economic Development chief Gregg Swanzey, who reviews municipal grants as part of a citywide compliance policy involving a centralized computer database. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds are at risk, he indicated.
On Thursday Swanzey delivered to the finance committee a written summary of discrepancies, which his department found with Noble’s recordkeeping.
Noble was not present for Thursday’s meeting, nor was his uncle, city council President and Finance Committee member James Noble.
The committee approved more than $36,600 in payments to Herzog’s hardware for materials used prematurely in the Kinderland project.
Alderwoman Nina Dawson asked pointed questions about the fishing pier.
“There was reimbursement for work that was [allegedly] completed, but the fishing pier is still not here,” Dawson noted. “How is it done, if it’s in Vermont? Am I crazy?”
Swanzey explained, “We have the funds in hand, based on certified assertions in documentation that you see, which may not reflect the actual fact. That is a concern.”
Some of the matching fund claims also don’t add up.
According to Swanzey’s charts, Noble claimed 151 percent of his work time during 2014 for in-kind matching grant obligations – above and beyond his regular duties. Those numbers go back several years, with 113 percent in 2013; and 105 percent in 2012. This year, 2015, the claim is already 101 percent. The figures are based on a 1,750 hour full-time work year.
Last month the meeting was disrupted when Alderman Matthew Dunn objected, claiming the whole issue was politically timed to coincide with September’s primary. Finance Committee Chairwoman Mary Ann Mills threatened to have Dunn removed.
The committee will review Swanzey’s summary, and revisit the question at next month’s meeting – after the Democratic primary between Steven Noble and incumbent Mayor Shayne Gallo is decided.
