Friday, April 07, 2000
City supervisor put on paid leave
BY ROBERT ANGLEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A Cincinnati department supervisor has been put on paid administrative leave for failing to monitor a development group that allegedly misspent nearly $1 million in public funds.
A city official also says 29-year employee Susan Utt pro vided the director of that group details of the city's investigation into where the money was spent.
“I have many concerns about that,” said Neighborhood Services Director Cheryl Meadows. “It is a violation of trust. That was confidential
information that should not have been shared outside this department.”
When asked why she did it, Ms. Utt said she “felt the director needed to know,” Ms. Meadows said.
Ms. Utt, who makes about $69,000 as a supervising community development analyst, would not talk about the situation when contacted at home Thursday.
A lawyer for the firm representing Ms. Utt said she would like to respond but wants to wait until her own lawyer is in town.
“There are elements to what these people (city officials) are saying that she will take strong issue with,” said Chris Jenkins. “She wants to comment.”
Councilman Charlie Winburn said Thursday that Ms. Utt is being singled out because the city is embarrassed over its handling of the investigation, which began in 1994 and was released only last month.
Because of the delay, the city has lost any chance to file state misdemeanor charges and any federal charges that might arise in findings against Owning the Realty.
“This goes to show you that nobody is in control at City Hall,” Mr. Winburn said. “It's only after they get caught and it came out in the media that the city reacts. They should have done something years ago.”
A report by the Cincinnati Office of Municipal Investigations alleges that Owning the Realty Executive Director Marvin Smith and another employee used $972,000 in federal grant money slated for low-income housing on private business and other self-dealings.
Mr. Smith has denied any wrongdoing and says he can account for all of the grant money distributed from the city.
Ms. Meadows said the investigation findings were so serious that Ms. Utt will be on paid administrative leave until the case is decided. She said Ms. Utt has no known record of disciplines.
“She couldn't remember a lot of the details,” Ms. Meadows said, adding there is no explanation why contracts weren't monitored to the point that the housing projects remained unimproved even after the money was spent. “I can't sweep allegations of neglect or wrongdoing under the rug.”
She confirmed Thursday that another neighborhood services employee is also facing disciplinary action for “gross neglect of duty.”
Senior Community Development analyst Carlton Maddox — husband of Acting Economic Development Director Toni Selvey-Maddox — allegedly failed to complete contracts involving a distribution of $10,000 to neighborhood groups.
Although the problem was caught and the distribution was not delayed, Ms. Meadows said Mr. Maddox will face an administrative hearing. He was not put on leave.
Councilman Phil Heimlich, who for years has been critical of neighborhood services and its oversight of public money, said this is further proof that the department needs to be reorganized and turned over to a private development authority.
“As a prosecutor, I built cases with one piece of evidence after another,” he said. “I think I have proven this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
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