Jonetta Rose Barras, The Examiner
2007-11-22 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

“The now famous tax file room [where returns were on the floor] is emblematic of conditions throughout our government. We must take decisive steps NOW to rebuild our government from the ground up. Anything less would be merely playing in the margins,” then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams said in March 1999.

In 2001, KPMG auditors found major problems at the D.C. Public Schools in the areas of Medicaid and personnel. The University of the District of Columbia needed outside assistance to close its books. Some agencies were establishing bank accounts without notifying the Office of Finance and the Treasury.

Fast-forward to 2006: BDO Seidman auditors found that one agency failed to collect $40 million it could have received from the federal government; another requested $17 million from the feds for undocumented reimbursements; and yet another overspent its approved budget by $18 million.

There also were problems in DCPS similar to those in 2001: poor grants management, unapproved procurement and incorrect salary payments.

When Seidman released its report earlier this year, I called for Inspector General Charles Willoughby to conduct an audit of CFO Natwar Gandhi’s operation. I could find no reason why Gandhi hadn’t discovered and resolved the problems.

The CFO certainly had sufficient resources: In fiscal 2006, 1,448 people reported to Gandhi. His budget was $177 million, according to a CFO representative. Truth be told, the CFO has been a near empire since 1995, when Congress created it.

Gandhi asserted that he bore no responsibility for the problems identified by Seidman; those were for the mayor, council and agency managers to resolve. He described himself as “just a bean counter.”

That flawed interpretation of his role is at the crux of the crisis in the CFO’s operation.

It has caused the misdirection of the reform of the District’s financial management systems.

Gandhi wants an aerial ride through the government. He seems to believe others should deal with the tedious work of fixing internal controls, blunting the fiscal recklessness of executive branch managers, slamming the door on waste and ensuring the uninterrupted connection between city laws and expenditures.

The special investigative committee created this week by the D.C. Council won’t alter Gandhi’s faulty assessment of his span of influence and responsibilities. It won’t even prevent embezzlement in other agencies.

The committee will focus almost exclusively on the Office of Tax and Revenue, where a stunning criminal enterprise involving more than five employees operated for several years.

Fortunately, Ward 3’s Mary Cheh, at-large member David Catania and at-large member Carol Schwartz understand the broader issues raised by the tax office theft.

“There are a lot of ways to cheat the treasury that are in some ways more insidious,” Catania said.

Amen! A sole-source contract here, an unapproved credit card purchase there, and soon you’re talking way more than $31 million.

Jonetta Rose Barras is the political analyst for WAMU radio’s D.C. “Politics Hour with Kojo and Jonetta.”