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AG: Officials Not Entitled To YMCA Memberships

 November 4, 2010 ⋅  Post a comment

Results of an eight month Attorney General’s investigation of Caldwell urban renewal will not result in criminal charges, but it reveal serious flaws in existing laws.

The investigation was requested by former prosecutor John Bujak–before he became subject of criminal and civil investigations himself.  Bujak handed it off after Caldwell GUARDIAN editor Paul Alldredge discovered what can only be termed “irregulatiries” in the  Caldwell East Urban Renewal Agency’s check register. See ORIGINAL POST.

Three areas were subject of the investigation:
–Payment of inflated prices for land by the CEURA well beyond appraised value
–Payment of $150,000 to the YMCA on behalf of select emnployers to help fund sagging enrollment
–Personal memberships for CEURA board members in the YMCA

The AG said urban renewal law does not forbid paying more than appraised value for property and “relocation costs” are expressly permitted. Those costs were paid even when there was no relocation involved in some cases.

Most glaring was a family membership in the YMCA for Caldwell Mayor Garret Nancolas as well as other members of the urban rnewal board–paid with urban renewal funds.  The AG, in a letter to prosecutor Bryan Taylor, said while the memberships appeared on the face to be criminal, because use of public money for a private purpose is a clear violation of the law.

The letter went on to say that upon further inspection “there is a reasonable argument to be made that the memberships were paid in order to facilitate CEURA’s inspection of the YMCA’s facilities.”

That conclusion is absurd!  It is simply beyond comprehension of any reasonable person to think the YMCA would NOT allow inspection of the private facilities which are funded by MILLIONS of public dollars without a family membership for the mayor paid by the citizens of Caldwell.  

The AG letter mildly chastised the board saying, “Regardless of the stated reason, CEURA’s board members should have been aware of the potential for their conduct to be illegal.  Similarly, government officials should be cognizant of appearances of such relationships, and reject any “perk” offered them, particularly those offered by entities subject to their regulation.”

The AG  didn’t challenge the facts of the alleged actions.  The office concluded there was just no  grounds for prosecution, noting CEURA  had a “broad grant of authority to protect its investment in the YMCA.”  Since they concluded there was no “private benefit” to a public officer, the expenditure of funds to benefit the private club  was within the law.

The letter concluded that legislative relief might be appropriate. Click on numbers below for the actual letter.
20101101110224856

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