Free trips may have been in violation of board’s policies

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.

Two members of a public board accepted business trips paid for by a nonprofit organization that receives money from that same board, potentially violating the board's policies.

The situation has caused another member of the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board to call for an investigation.

The board was formed in 2000 to give federal Labor Department funds to organizations in Southern Nevada that help the unemployed get work and others improve their earning capacity.

Richard Blue, board manager, said he had received an e-mail Tuesday from a board member whose identity he would not reveal, asking him to "make a report of his ... investigation at the next board meeting" on Sept. 22. The e-mail also asked that the board's attorney, Yolanda Givens, "be prepared to discuss all possible ramifications" of the trips.

Louis Overstreet and Mujahid Ramadan -- two of 53 members of the board -- took trips in 2003 to Chicago, home base of the Human Resources Development Institute Inc.

HRDI is a 30-year-old human services organization that provides behavioral health, medical and social services in seven states, including Nevada. In Nevada the group provides job training and helps adults and displaced workers and is planning to work with inmates in the North Las Vegas Detention Center to prevent recidivism.

HRDI paid for the trips, according to interviews with the two board members and HRDI. In a faxed response to questions posed by the Sun, Margo Christian-Brooks, Nevada president of HDRI, said no public funds were used to pay for the trips.

HRDI has since been the subject of a few votes by the board, including a vote to start a program for jail inmates in North Las Vegas. HRDI will be a partner in the project with the city and will receive $350,000 of money overseen by the board.

The trips were first brought to the attention of the full board in the June 23 meeting when board member Barbara Robinson asked if it would be a conflict of interest for a board member to visit an organization that receives money from the board.

Givens said in response that "this particular fact scenario had not been covered with regard to your bylaws."

But the board's separate procurement policy says board members cannot "solicit or accept gratuities, favors or anything of monetary value from subcontractors (including suppliers or potential suppliers)."

Robert E. Brewer, chairman of the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board, said that if the trips violated board policy they could be grounds for removal of the board members. Under the bylaws, that would be up to a group of six elected officials on the board, he said. The elected officials on the board determine its membership.

The elected officials who serve on the board are: Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly, Henderson Councilman Jack K. Clark, North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson, Boulder City Councilman Mike Pacini, Nye County Commissioner Candice Trummell and Lincoln County Commissioner Tommie Rowe. A seat for a Clark County commissioner is open.

In an e-mail, Overstreet, who went to Chicago June 20, 2003, said, "I did not solicit anything, I was recommended to go."

"The site visit I made is not precluded or in conflict with ... our bylaws," he wrote.

Christian-Brooks' fax said the trip "did not set precedent."

"It is my understanding that board representatives have made site visits to other providers headquartered out of state in order to conduct due diligence," she wrote.

Blue said he was unaware of the trips made by his board members. "We don't know anything about this trip," he said.

Asked who recommended that he go, Overstreet referred to HRDI's written responses to questions from the Sun. HRDI said the SNWIB board manager and deputy board manager -- Blue and Ardell Galbreth, respectively -- made the recommendation.

Ramadan said the trip "wasn't done with any (bad) intent."

"Blame it on my heart, not on my head," he said of his trip taken late last year.

Christian-Brooks said the group could not say how much was spent on Ramadan's or Overstreet's trip, because the 2003 books were "closed" and were "not readily accessible."

Blue said he had been asked to accept a free trip to Chicago, but declined, "because of the perception of conflict of interest."

"It was a no-brainer," he said. "I told them it was improper and I would not be going."

Christian-Brooks said HRDI bought a ticket for Blue but he was "unable to make the trip." She said she could not "recall that he said anything other than he could not make the trip."

Ramadan said he visited the organization to learn more about a program it runs in Illinois for inmates, preparing them for getting jobs and living a productive life when they get out of prison.

HRDI will soon start a similar program at the North Las Vegas Detention Center, according to Dan Lake, assistant chief of the prison.

Christian-Brooks said the detention center's program coordinator, Patti Kitchen, made a visit to Chicago as well to see the program and that HRDI paid for the trip. Lake said he didn't think that broke city policy.

SNWIB gave $300,000 to the city of North Las Vegas for the program, and oversees another $200,000 that comes from the state for the program. HRDI will get $350,000 of the total amount.

The board approved the North Las Vegas program at its June 23 meeting. Neither Overstreet nor Ramadan abstained from that vote, according to interviews with both.

At the same meeting, Overstreet gave a report from the programs/performance standards committee he chairs.

The committee had considered whether to recommend extending the time HRDI had to conduct job training and placement services. HRDI had not spent all of the money in the time allowed in the contract and wanted more time.

Overstreet said his committee recommended against extending a contract with HRDI, but he was going against the recommendation, a move which caused the board to enter into a long discussion on how to handle the situation.

Eventually, the board lost its quorum and a vote could not be taken. Because HRDI did not get the contract extension approved, it now may have to pay back as much as $150,000 it did not spend.

Meanwhile, Blue said the whole issue of the trips is under investigation, though he added, "I don't like the word investigation."