CORZINE HAS BROKEN PROMISE TO SPEND FEDERAL STIMULUS WITH OVERSIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY

STATE AUDIT REPORT FOUND TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY RISKS IN STIMULUS SPENDING DESPITE OVERSIGHT BY TOP CORZINE OFFICIALS

    Assembly members Caroline Casagrande and Declan O’Scanlon questioned today what exactly Governor Corzine’s federal stimulus task force has been monitoring after a recent state audit report found transparency or accountability risks in a small sampling of towns, counties and housing authorities.

    “Governor Corzine rejected our calls for a bipartisan panel to ensure that federal stimulus dollars were spent openly and properly, but he chose his own hand-picked panel led by his chief of staff and the State Comptroller to safeguard the funds,” Casagrande, R-Monmouth and Mercer, said. “Fortunately, we still have diligent state auditors who identified risks that escaped the attention of Corzine’s task force. I hope this revelation has occurred before the risk became reality and we have another sorry scandal involving misuse of public dollars by New Jersey officials.”

    The Legislature’s Office of the State Auditor sampled how transparent and accountable 14 municipalities, seven counties and eight housing authorities were in spending four types of stimulus funds for which New Jersey has received $220.7 million from the federal government.

    Auditors found ineffective controls over financial statements, a risk that funds will be inaccurately reported or accounted and audit reports that were more than six months late.

    “If the historical risks identified in past audit reports are not addressed, one can expect similar transparency, accountability, and grant compliance issues to occur with these and other (stimulus) funds,” Assistant State Auditor Stephen M. Eells wrote in a memo. “We recommend that actions to ensure transparency, accountability, and compliance with specific programmatic goals be performed by state oversight groups prior to the disbursement of substantial grant funds.”

    Auditors identified risks in Atlantic City, Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, Irvington, Newark, Trenton, Union City, Essex County, and housing authorities in Atlantic City, Camden and Trenton.

    “We were promised accountability and transparency, but received clandestine business as usual and watchdogs asleep at their posts,” O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth and Mercer, said. “Last month’s widespread arrests of legislators, mayors and other local officials, shows what unscrupulous public officials will do when they think no one is watching. This audit confirms that Governor Corzine’s administration is not watching how billions of dollars are being spent. He must ratchet up his administration’s oversight before another illegal act of corruption is committed in New Jersey.”

    Casagrande and O’Scanlon said the Governor should also use the warning from state auditors to provide more details on the state’s stimulus web site so residents know exactly how this money is spent.

    “Transparency entails more than a pie chart, 1-800 number and a commercial video for the Governor,” Casagrande said.

    “People just want the numbers so they can decide whether New Jersey is properly spending its federal assistance,” O'Scanlon added. “Other states have come through and produced really outstanding levels of transparency and internal controls. Why can't the Corzine administration seem to get this done? If you don't have anything to hide, you shouldn't act like you have something to hide. That's not in the public's best interest, especially after the events of the past several weeks.”