Republican Mayoral Candidate's Fiscal Record In Question

In a Michiana Point Of View submission published July 20, 2007 in the South Bend Tribune, Republican Mayoral candidate Juan Manigault suggests that we should evaluate candidates for office based upon their past record(s). He should be careful what he wishes for.

On June 7, 2002 The South Bend Tribune published an article by Keith Benman entitled “Nonprofit Pays Out $228,088 to Correct Faulty Bookkeeping”. Which non-profit was that? -- The Northern Indiana Workforce Investment Board. Who was (and is) it’s President? – Juan Manigault.

According to the Tribune “The Workforce Investment Board paid most of that money to accountants from BKD LLP, of Indianapolis who are reconstructing the agency’s books going back to July of 1999.”

It continues “The reconstruction was ordered last year by Indiana Workforce Development, which had found WIB staff costs paid for with federal grants had never been sufficiently accounted for. Staff costs made up about one quarter of WIB’s $13 million budget last year. If staff costs cannot be accounted for after the books are reconstructed, the money may have to (be) paid back. Municipal and county governments in the four county (St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko and Marshall) area would have to come up with any money owed, forcing local taxpayers to possibly foot the bill.”

Mr. Manigault’s observation at the time was curiously Bush-like: “I think we will be pleasantly surprised when this is all done, and one of the surprises may be the way we did things was not incorrect.”

Obviously if there was any truth to what Mr. Manigault said, the Board wouldn’t have needed to spend nearly a quarter million dollars of unbudgeted taxpayer money. Perhaps that’s just walking around money to Mr. Manigault, but to many of us a few chunks of cash like that start to add up to real money. Remember, the potential was it could turn out to be even more expensive for us.

So what was the outcome? I don’t know.

Oddly, the South Bend Tribune never did a follow-up story, despite the fact there were many unanswered questions and the potential costs involved. (I verified this recently with one of their editors).

It seems to me that Mr. Manigault and The South Bend Tribune have some questions to answer. I encourage my fellow citizens to start asking the questions.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.