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More on the Cynthia Finch affair
Posted By katie allison granju
The Knoxville News Sentinel weighs in.
(WBIR’s story from the weekend is here)
There’s been no change in Finch’s employment status, according to county spokesman Dwight Van de Vate.
“The letter clearly indicates that while we had some areas where there is room for improvement, a great deal of good work has been and continues to be done by the Community Services Department,” he said.
The money to repay the grant will come from the department’s budget, he said.
“We are anxious to get the matter reconciled as soon as possible,” Van de Vate said.
The HUD letter to Ragsdale, however, mentioned further investigation.
“In addition, a total of $840,000 is being questioned and is subject to further investigation and review of required records and documentation by the (Office of Community Planning) and the Chief Counsel,” Mark Brezina, HUD field office director in Knoxville, wrote.
Van de Vate said that public disclosures of conflicts have been posted on the county’s Web site and published in the newspaper. The disclosures cite several conflicts of interest, either direct or indirect, and seek exemptions from HUD in most cases. He did not anticipate that the county would have to reimburse the federal government for any other grant money.
HUD conducted its monitoring review in early November, but the county doesn’t have the entire report yet.
Here’s a lot of good background on the issues, mostly from WBIR reporter Kay Watson.
Dec 24th, 2007
You have to hand it to KnoxViews and Kay Watson. This story was out there in plain site. KnoxViews scooped everyone. Nice catch.
Would the Sentinel have printed the story if WBIR hadn’t?