|
By Brad Vasoli
When Upper Darby resident John DeMasi sought information in late May on a federal probe of township misspending, the township demurred. This month, when he turned to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the agency let him see the documents.
The contrasting responses from the state and federal governments underscore issues Upper Darby has contended with in light of the HUD revelations. Among those issues is transparency — or lack thereof.
The information the township withheld from DeMasi included the May 14 HUD report that Broad + Liberty obtained via its own federal Freedom of Information Act request. That letter detailed Upper Darby’s misspending of $40,000 in federal funds. On July 8, this outlet reported on the improper expenditures of money from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.
Why It Matters. CDBG funds typically go toward such activities as public-facility improvements and housing assistance. Last year, the use of the grants for holiday toy giveaways caught the attention of Councilwoman Laura Wentz, a former Democrat who is now an independent. She felt that providing holiday gifts, food and other items to poor families was a worthy cause but she raised objections over how the township and Men of Action Brothers of Faith (MOABOF), a nonprofit then run by Brown, administered the giveaways.
Wentz questioned the municipality spending about $6,000 on toys for the 2021 holiday event, complaining that the purchases were improperly documented. She also took issue with a Target receipt for a $153 hoverboard, a much larger expenditure than most of the other toys, most of which cost between $10 and $20 each. The councilwoman also said she found it irregular that the township bought the items and sought reimbursement on behalf of a nonprofit rather than CBDG reimbursing the organization.
In her opinion, township officials exploited the holiday charity efforts for “political purposes.”
Quotable. “It does appear that the new mayor was getting all these benefits and all the Township Council members that signed on were using this giveaway in their political propaganda saying, ‘Look at what we’re doing; we’re all supporting this,’” DeMasi said. “So, yeah, that’s absolutely political.”
Continue Reading
|
