Louisville Courier Journal Editorial: High Off The Hog.
High off the hog
Two board representatives of the Kentucky League of Cities will meet Wednesday with the General Assembly's Local Government Committee. One of those representatives is Michael Miller, mayor of Jackson. He said he hopes the invitation to appear turns into a healthy conversation.
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There is certainly much to talk about.
Thanks to the reporting of theLexington Herald-Leader, whose numerous stories have revealed breathtaking profligacy in spending and approach to spending by the non-profit agency, most especially for a poor and rural state, we know about the credit cards, the travel (including expenses paid for spouses), the meals and the BMW SUV driven by executive director Sylvia Lovely, We also know about the league money spent on business at her husband's law firm and a restaurant her husband co-owned.
And we know some of the corrections the league board has come up with to address the excesses the newspaper turned up. Among the remedies:
It accepted Mrs. Lovely's resignation Tuesday, effective at the end of the year.
There are new restrictions on credit cards, who may use them and for what they may be used.
Reimbursement for meals on trips for league business will be according to federal per-diem rates in line for the city involved.
Spousal travel expenses have ended except for special occasions, which must be approved in advance.
A new conflict-of-interest rule says board members and staff members must reveal any potential conflicts, or situations that could lend the appearance of conflict of interest. In a related development, the league no longer uses the law firm where Mrs. Lovely's husband is a partner. The Herald-Leader reported the agency had spent $2.3 million over the past 10 years to two firms where Bernard Lovely had been a partner.
Mayor Miller says he expects the committee to ask about the other changes the league board is working on. He said those changes include having a conversation about the “process on salaries” (Mrs. Lovely's $315,000 annual salary is about $200,000 more than Gov. Steve Beshear is paid each year); the cars the agency uses (the BMW is gone, and the league wants to use Toyotas, Fords and GM autos); and other developments that might come out of an audit being conducted by State Auditor Crit Luallen, which Mayor Miller estimates won't be ready for three to four months.
“The board,” he says, “is committed to make any and all changes deemed necessary.”
Once that verdict is in, let us hope the board acts with more faith and wisdom than the organization did earlier this summer, when its reaction to all the bad news was to say it would close its documents to public scrutiny. An attorney said the league, which represents 382 cities in Kentucky in lobbying and insurance, was not a public agency and was not required to comply with open-records laws. They dropped that foolhardy tactic within a week.
Lesson learned? We'll see.
Editor's comment: High off the HOG, alright, and the hog is HOGZILLA.
*SIGH*
Two board representatives of the Kentucky League of Cities will meet Wednesday with the General Assembly's Local Government Committee. One of those representatives is Michael Miller, mayor of Jackson. He said he hopes the invitation to appear turns into a healthy conversation.
Advertisement
There is certainly much to talk about.
Thanks to the reporting of theLexington Herald-Leader, whose numerous stories have revealed breathtaking profligacy in spending and approach to spending by the non-profit agency, most especially for a poor and rural state, we know about the credit cards, the travel (including expenses paid for spouses), the meals and the BMW SUV driven by executive director Sylvia Lovely, We also know about the league money spent on business at her husband's law firm and a restaurant her husband co-owned.
And we know some of the corrections the league board has come up with to address the excesses the newspaper turned up. Among the remedies:
It accepted Mrs. Lovely's resignation Tuesday, effective at the end of the year.
There are new restrictions on credit cards, who may use them and for what they may be used.
Reimbursement for meals on trips for league business will be according to federal per-diem rates in line for the city involved.
Spousal travel expenses have ended except for special occasions, which must be approved in advance.
A new conflict-of-interest rule says board members and staff members must reveal any potential conflicts, or situations that could lend the appearance of conflict of interest. In a related development, the league no longer uses the law firm where Mrs. Lovely's husband is a partner. The Herald-Leader reported the agency had spent $2.3 million over the past 10 years to two firms where Bernard Lovely had been a partner.
Mayor Miller says he expects the committee to ask about the other changes the league board is working on. He said those changes include having a conversation about the “process on salaries” (Mrs. Lovely's $315,000 annual salary is about $200,000 more than Gov. Steve Beshear is paid each year); the cars the agency uses (the BMW is gone, and the league wants to use Toyotas, Fords and GM autos); and other developments that might come out of an audit being conducted by State Auditor Crit Luallen, which Mayor Miller estimates won't be ready for three to four months.
“The board,” he says, “is committed to make any and all changes deemed necessary.”
Once that verdict is in, let us hope the board acts with more faith and wisdom than the organization did earlier this summer, when its reaction to all the bad news was to say it would close its documents to public scrutiny. An attorney said the league, which represents 382 cities in Kentucky in lobbying and insurance, was not a public agency and was not required to comply with open-records laws. They dropped that foolhardy tactic within a week.
Lesson learned? We'll see.
Editor's comment: High off the HOG, alright, and the hog is HOGZILLA.
*SIGH*
Labels: Keeping them honest, Kentucky politics
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 2:38 PM
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