To whom it may Concern (i.e.  All Prince William County residents and Tax payers):

It has come to our attention that Supervisor Wally Covington, Brentsville District Supervisor, intends to give away $100,000 from his discretionary magisterial funds to the non-profit organization Rainbow Riding.   This resolution is to be voted on at the BOCS meeting on Tuesday, November 29.

Rainbow Riding is a worthwhile organization that provides therapy riding for children with physical and mental disabilities. People are often hesitant to say what they are thinking when questioning process.  Especially when children are involved as beneficiaries.  However, we cannot ignore irregularities when those irregularies  involve public money.

Allow us to be crystal clear:  This is not an issue regarding the credibility of Rainbow Riding or the services that they provide to a very specific population.  Instead, this is an issue about how county funds are spent and the degree of transparency involved in the determination of who will receive these funds.

During the past year, this blog has posted several articles regarding the permitting process or lack thereof for a huge riding arena constructed for the Rainbow Riding facility.  It became clear to citizens that Rainbow Riding was exempt from the regular processes that other residents are required to follow.  For example, the county informed us that this huge building, equipped with seats and bleachers, and bathroom facilities, was classified as a “barn.”  In the Rural Crescent, barns are not required to go through the permitting process.  Then, as now, we dispute the idea that a huge complex riding arena the size of this structure is a barn.  A riding arena is not a barn and a barn is not a riding arena.

From the very beginnings of negotiations with Toll Brothers, somehow Rainbow Riding became an integral part of that process.  How did a small 501C (3) organization become entrenched in negotiations regarding county land use?  The 45 acres that Rainbow Riding sits on is public that excludes the public at large.

Fast forward to the present.   Paying only a pittance for the public land this organization occupies; now the taxpayers will be required to put $100,000 more into a private organization.

Does anyone else find it troublesome that Supervisor Covington’s immediate family members are in leadership roles at Rainbow Riding?  Is there a fair process for the allocation of county funds to non-profits?  Or better yet, is there even a process?  How can citizens  be  assured that favoritism does not come in to play when taxpayer funds are being distributed to various organizations?   Should being an elected official entitle one to take care of family and friends’ favorite charities and organizations?  At what point do we question whether this isn’t nepotism?

 Note:  this article was originally published 11/24/11 in the evening. Thanksgiving night.   I moved it up several days as I felt it was an important story to have out there.  We do that with stories we want to keep active. 

 The time stamps stay behind the scenes and can be used for documentation should the need ever arise. 

 

 

82 Thoughts to “Wally Covington: giving away taxpayer money like it is his own”

  1. Pat.Herve

    not defending the issue – How is this different from what every other politician does?? Cantor was protecting the F-35 spare engine because his and Boehner’s district benefited. So, how is this any different (again, I am not defending the issue).

  2. I don’t think it is a bit different other than this is here in PWC and I think we have more leverage to scream foul. The item just crept on to this week’s agenda. If it weren’t for the watchful eye of MoM, we might have missed it.

    1. The first issue should be the discretionary funds. How much do the supervisors get in the first place? I don’t even know.

    2. What determines who gets the money and how much?

    3. there is no opportunity for the public to have any input.

    4. How can $100,000 be given to one organization? What gets shorted? How about family members involvment in the organization? Should that exclude favors?

    I would like to see a strong vetting process for donations using county funds. These supervisors make these donations like they are writing a check out of their own account. This is our money and we should have a say where it goes.

    I would also like to see large sums of ‘discretionary money’ be in a county pool if we must be daddy warbucks. Organizations should be able to apply for funds like a grant. There is just too much room for abuse and this situation, to me, is abuse.

    What would Jeanine Lawson have said about the use of county funds being spent this way? That should have been a deal breaker for voters.

    I like Wally as a person but I don’t like this situation at all, from start to finish.

    There are many worthwhile organizations that help folks in the greater Prince William area. All should have an equal shot.

  3. Elena

    Here is the problem I see. I have no issue with government helping non profits. However, my first and primary objection is the lack of process. At a bare minimum there should be application process where ANY County non profit can apply. The monies are then awarded based on an objective merit process.

    Second, the amount of discretionary money given to each supervisor is based on what formula and for what purpose?

  4. Lafayette

    Meanwhile, Sheriff Hill needs $10,000 for Project Life Saver. The BoS never was interested in investing in this from the get go. However, there are now 21 people on a waiting list for a bracelet. I don’t want to hear it’s not the government’s place to pay for everything. Thos in need of the bracelet are some of the MOST vunerable in the county. The Sheriff needs a tenth of what Wally’s wife’s organization and he’s not gotten it.

    I’m still trying to wrap by head around Wally’s reasoning, or lack thereof for this kind of donation.

    I believe the supers get $400K each. Really, Wally a quarter of your discretionary funds to the RRC. There’s no formula for the funds. This has always bugged me because the Gainesville district had almost twice the residents as the DUMPfries district. It’s not based on a damn thing. It’s Supervisor SWAG!!

    Disclaimer: You have to be bad if I’m advocating for Sheriff Glendell.

  5. Blue Moon

    “How can citizens are (sic) assured that favoritism does not come in to play when taxpayer funds are being distributed to various organizations? Should being an elected official entitle one to take care of family and friends’ favorite charities and organizations? At what point to we question whether this isn’t nepotism?”

    The answer to these questions, in order, are: They can’t; No but they do; No need to question it, it clearly is.

    That said here is the real problem: Elections have consequences. In PWC over the last several local elections cycles, those consequences have become more and more distasteful. When we have a political arena which is dominated by one party, where there is little if any real competition in the general elections and even less in nominating elections, this is what we get: Sitting supervisors who feel that they can get away with almost anything because, for the most part they do.

    What has become more and more outrageous in this arena is not what is illegal for these clowns to do but what is immoral, unethical, and distasteful but entirely legal so they go ahead and do it because they can. Once the taxpayer money goes to the 501c3, all transparency will disappear. Who knows how much of it will end up in Covington family pockets?

    Covington had a strong challenge for the nomination from Jeanine Lawson. Once he cleared that hurdle he was free, for all practical purposes, to do whatever he wants with relative impunity – (no pun intended).

  6. Mom

    Well, I’ll have to give Wally this, he has taken a page from the Fed’s handbook and played it perfectly. Publish the notice of something that will likely engender oppositions on the day before a holiday weekend so as to either slip it past your opponents or significantly reduce the time they have to gather their troops and ammunition. In this instance, he has accomplished both given that the expenditure will come to the floor on Tuesday.

    That being said, I wonder if any of our “fiscally conservative” BOCS members, you know, those who trumpet the sound fiscal policy of the county and its AAA Bond ratings, will vote in opposition. I can think of one who “may” do it on ethical grounds and one who may do it for political mileage. It’s probably safe to say that Wally has votes so its likely a moot point, but I do wonder how our current “Conservative” Gainesville Supervisor will vote, particularly as he’s on his way out the door and theoretically would suffer few if any consequences.

    As to the legality, since this is a non-profit and ostensibly neither Wally nor his wife garner any monetary benefit, it is exempt from the conflict of interest statutes. As to its ethics, that’s a completely different matter. Given that the BOCS is abhors disclosure of its personal interest in any matter, I doubt that Wally would have even disclosed his wife’s role. That may change as result of blog postings and potential newspaper articles that may force a change in his standard operating procedures.

    There are several other things worth noting with regard to the location of the Rainbow Riding Center and the recreational/park facilities available to the Brentsville and Gainesville District residents. First, Silver Lake is dramatically underfunded, to the point they can’t even afford trashcans and secondly, there has been a consistent call for some sort of Community Center in the western portion of the county, a call that has gone largely unheeded and when addressed, the excuse is always lack of funds.

    If Wally truly had the interests of the majority of his constituents in mind, I would suggest he would have targeted those magisterial funds to projects that would impact a vast majority of those constituents and not a special interest group, many of whom don’t even reside in the county. Perhaps Wally should consider a different project, I would suggest he give thought to using the funds for something like partially offsetting the renovation of Pace West into a community center. Oh but I can hear him now, that’s a budget issue with long-term implications that aren’t appropriate for the use of magisterial funds. My response would be to note that Supervisors Caddigan and May donated $89,000 apiece from their magisterial funds to the Montclair Library CIP Fund, a facility for the benefit of all residents and an apples to apples comparison I believe. (Yes Moon, I gave Maureen a backhanded compliment).

  7. Elena

    Mom,
    What a great idea, donate to a project that is open to all residents, I think that would be fabulous!

  8. Mom

    That’s what makes me overqualified to sit on the BOCS.

  9. Mom

    BTW Elena, I’m still waiting for a phone call.

  10. @Lafayette

    Is that $400,000 a year per supervisor? What all has to come out of that money?

    And then there is the matter of the senior day care center and the transportation.

    Mr. Howler brought up the point that RRC isn’t even in the Brentsville District. Perhaps I should start lobbying him for street lights for Sudley.

    You are right…thngs are bad if you are lobbying for Sheriff Glendell.

    I even resent certain libraries getting these huge chunks. I think the money should be divided up amongst all of them. I think it is great that excess money is going to libraries. Don’t get me wrong. But there are branches all over the county.

    I guess the time for this argument was before the election. The supervisors now have plenty of time before we rattle enough to affect change of any kind.

  11. Elena

    sorry mom ;(, I will call today. please send me the best phone number to reach you to my hotmail mail address.

  12. I want MoM’s phone number too. Whaaaaaaaaaaaa.

    Sorry for all the typos in the post, Blue Moon. If you only knew the duress under which that post was written, you would laugh. After all was said and done, Elena and I decided to hold the post until after thanksgiving so people wouldn’t think we were rat bastards until today.

  13. I am over here seething because there are still no trash cans at Silver Lake. Mom is right. It is very underfunded. Someone had the nerve to write on here a while back that there were no cans to keep bears out. Tell that to Yellowstone National Park.

    Once the general public discovers Silver Lake, it will be trashed if people have no where to put their refuse. Do they even put toilet paper out there in the bathrooms? I seriously doubt it. Anyone know?

    That park also needs to remove the forbidden zones so people can drive up to the picnic areas past the bathhouse.

  14. Cato the Elder

    Why would anyone think you’re rat bastards? This blog is at its finest when exposing shady dealings by our rascally supervisors.

    1. Why don’t you go down to Complex 1, take a poll and see how many of them think we are rat bastards. Most rascals don’t like exposure. [evil ratty laugh]

  15. Elena

    Thank you Cato 🙂

  16. Mom

    Speak for yourself Elena, I am a rat bastard and everyone will tell you so.

    1. @MoM,

      Being a rat bastard isn’t such a bad thing. I can think of lots of things worse to be.

  17. Censored bybvbl

    We went on a field trip to Silver Lake recently. One person in the group reported back that there were dirty diapers left in the restroom because there was no trash can there either. Way to look good PWC!!! Makes a great impression when you get out of your car and have to answer nature’s call.

  18. Now that is just trashy…on the part of PWC. That enrages me.

    Wally wants to dump $100,000 into an organization that serves how many people while there are no trash cans at Silver Lake? (the Jewel of the County?) I am outratged.

    I don’t mind taking chicken bones and dog crap back home with me (well…yea I really do) but I will. I don’t think I would feel the same way about dirty diapers.

    It is human nature to trash things up when there are no cans.

    Come on Supervisors. How many times have we talked about this on the blog?

    Am I going to have to ask Lady Alanna to put up a blog generated form letter to bombard them with? Why does everything have to get unpleasant just to take care of stuff that should be common sense?

    I think I am going to have to do a common sense thread that involves renaming of the east west corridors where names aren’t clear, putting trash cans at Silver Lake outside and in the bathroom, (in other words, being good stewards of that which you INSISTED on keeping on the county books), reading resolutions and motions before you vote on them so the public (and YOU) know what you are really voting one, and not giving huge amounts of money to organizations and charities without transparency and citizen input, especially when it is family member’s favorite organizations.

  19. Lafayette

    @Moon-howler
    They all get $400K each. It’s a base amount for all. Like I said it’s Supervisor SWAG(Something We All Get). Before redistricting this was a really disproportionate from district to district. With the money they pay for their staff, office, and it’s operations. The rest is free fun money for them to do what ever they damn well please.

    I agree with you on the libraries. Central Library had always been in the Brentsville district, until redistricting. Central Library is one of the oldest libraries in the county. I sure don’t recall Wally donating any funds to that library. But he sure fought to keep the Nokesville Library up and running. I’m sure Central could use a little extra cash, as there have been no major improvements of any sort to that outdated facility.

    It’s no surprise that this would be in the agenda made public before a holiday. This SOP for the BoS when they want to try to slide something by when they know people are focused on family and traveling. They also, use this tactic during the summer months, because they are hoping and know most aren’t watching them during the summer months with kids home from school and vacations. Smooth move BoS!!

    Mom, what else do they have to use their discretionary funds for, before they have their “mad money”?

  20. Thanks, Laf. And that is why I am going to keep rolling this stuff up to the top of the page…waiting for the holiday to be over.

    Anything having to do with this subject will still be here. Hopefully the press will pick up the story. I know that some of the reporters are aware.

  21. Cato the Elder

    Fiscal conservatives. Yeah, right.

  22. Lafayette

    You’re welcome, Moon! I’ve posted this crap on my FB wall. Boy, the comments are flowing!

    Cato-ditto! 🙂

  23. CC

    He should gve the money to PWC PA for trash cans at Silverlake!

    1. Actually all 8 of them should make certain that there is money to take up the slack on Silver Lake. They have never gotten it up to speed after making sure that no one else got it. The roads have always been crappy, although not so crappy as after 2 winters. There have never been bear resistant trash recepticals. And the funny business with the 45 acres bestowed on Rainbow Riding has always been at issue.

      They need to erect a privacy wall to protect the school from the lake and the lake from the school. They also need to plant a bunch of poplars or fir trees along the wall. They need to open up the picnic area past the bath house and they need to clean the busted up furniture out of the woods by the school.

      It was just done sloppy in the first place.

  24. Blue Moon

    No viable political competition = no real public service from elected officials, because there is no real fear of losing office. That simple.

    They use the “discretionary $$$” to buy votes or to line the pockets of those with “special consideration”, such as main squeeze’s pet pasttime project used, in part, to quell an otherwise troubled conscience. Anyone know if Wally’s special someone receives any compensation for her role with RRC? As a director? As an officer? How ’bout the kiddies? Are their horses boarded and fed there at taxpayer expense?

    Slimey politicians can find a thousand ways to funnel taxpayer money where they want it, even to themselves, indirectly. Covington’s reading on the slime scale even surpasses Jenkins, which is saying quite a bit.

  25. Elena

    This agenda item had more than one shocked eye viewing it I want to add. John Gray sent e-mails out the day the agenda was published. He has all the breakdowns of the descretionary money and how it is allotted, lots of taxpayer money.

  26. Ray Beverage

    Lafayette :Meanwhile, Sheriff Hill needs $10,000 for Project Life Saver. The BoS never was interested in investing in this from the get go. However, there are now 21 people on a waiting list for a bracelet. I don’t want to hear it’s not the government’s place to pay for everything. Thos in need of the bracelet are some of the MOST vunerable in the county. The Sheriff needs a tenth of what Wally’s wife’s organization and he’s not gotten it.
    I’m still trying to wrap by head around Wally’s reasoning, or lack thereof for this kind of donation.
    I believe the supers get $400K each. Really, Wally a quarter of your discretionary funds to the RRC. There’s no formula for the funds. This has always bugged me because the Gainesville district had almost twice the residents as the DUMPfries district. It’s not based on a damn thing. It’s Supervisor SWAG!!
    Disclaimer: You have to be bad if I’m advocating for Sheriff Glendell.

    Lafayette, (and all) Supervisors actually get their funding for the Districts & At-Large based on a formula. You can find the FY2012 amounts by each in the County Budget Documents. Now, tied into that, there was also the FY2011 Carryover Funds. Keep in mind these funds are not turned back at the end of the FY if they are not spent – the folks can just keep rolling them over until they are no longer the elected person from that district.

    For Brentsville, in FY11 Carryover there was $357,700 plus add in the FY12 of $199,483. Again, all of this is posted on PWC Budget Office website.

    1. @Ray, I think this information shrieks that we need a different way of doing business.

      Let me see if I understand you correctly. All supervisors get funds based on a formula so in all likelihood, no one will get the same amount.

      Unspent roll over amounts can be unlimited. What will happen to unspent money in the Stirrup office? Will it go to the new Gainesville supervisor or be returned to the people?

  27. Ray Beverage

    @Moon-howler

    Moon, thank you for referencing the Manassas Senior Day Program…that was much local politics on multiple levels, and being one who has all the pieces, it is something I am not forgetting very soon. Politics killed that program.

    And Transportation – well, that is another up and down the scale thing, but please do keep in mind, it is a worthy goal to provide it, but costs like a son of a gun whether it be government-provided as is now to the Senior Centers, or in the last couple of transporation voucher programs run by Aging & Disability. Looking in 2012 to figure a sustainability model.

    1. @Ray, it always seems to be the most vulnerable that get funding snatched out from under them. (sort of why people this age get robbed more than a linebacker for the Washignton Redskins. Low hanging fruit)

      Lots of things cost a fortune. Funding for kids is a little easier. You throw a picture of kids up and it tugs at everyone’s heart strings and they shell out. Throw up a picture of Grandma Davis and say she has no way to get to the senior center and everyone shrugs and walks off. There just isn’t the emotional pull there. So perhaps our efforts need to be there because it is so much more difficult to do fund raising.

      There are lots of needs in the county. Some often go unnoticed and unheralded. That’s perhaps another reason that tax payer money shouldn’t be controlled by a few and that there should be more oversight.

  28. Only in Wally-World would something be allowed to be posted on a Wednesday before the long holiday weekend for Tuesday consideration. Thank goodness for sharp eyes out there.

    Odd how the local press is ignoring the situation.

    This situation just isn’t something you want to stick to you. Tennessee Willliams and John Hughs used to write about things like this. Where is Chevy Chase when you need him?

    Wally was honored as the 2009 Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center “Hero.” I guess with $100,000 donation of taxpayer money he might be named God of the year or at least Super Hero. Only in Wally World.

  29. Lyle Beefelt

    I think the real problem you are aiming at is the policy of discretionary funds for BOCS members in the County Budget. You are definitely unfairly singling out Supervisor Covington and Rainbow Riding.

    The problem of taxpayer funding supervisors’ favorite charities is INHERENT in the idea of discretionary funds. Both democrat and republican boards have maintained the policy which allots the same amount to each supervisor annually. Nearly every supervisor (not sure about whether David Rutherford or Ruth Griggs availed themselves of the taxpayer-funded giveaway). Some have helped charities, others have boosted funding for programs above the County budget, the list goes on.

    I have never supported discretionary funds. I think most of the time charities should not get direct donations from the government. Occasionally, it may be necessary when a government essentially “hires” a charity to accomplish a public more efficiently than the government could. I feel the current discretionary funds system serves as incumbent protection more than anything else.

    If you want an ally to fight the discretionary funds battle, I’ll be glad to help. If you just have an axe to grind against Rainbox Riding, or if you think Wally’s the big sinner for doing the same as all the other supervisors, well….never mind.

    1. Thanks for your input, Lyle Beefelt. I believe both Elena and I have expressed that we feel Rainbow Riding is a good program and that we both like Wally Covington. What we like has nothing to do with what we think is the appropriate way to use taxpayer money,

      I don’t like the use of discretionary funds being used by the supervisors and the more I watch, the deeper my dislike goes. I have even thanked supervisors for contributions. I guarantee they weren’t for $100,000.

      I think we are being pretty fair actually. We have acknowledged that we like the individual and that we don’t like the behavior. I have taken down several name-calling posts. Would you just have us ignore $100k of taxpayer money going out the door? I bet if Mr. Obama were doing it, no one would turn a blind eye.

      I don’t like large public donations going to private organizations. Once the money is gone, there is no transparency or oversight. Secondly, when one group gets a huge donation, it is to the exclusion of others.

      Lastly, doesn’t the amount just blow you away? I wouldn’t even notice $500.00. That is standard and an amount organizations often receive. That is a far cry from $100,000. There are way too many needs in this county alone, starting with the ‘home’ of RRC, as illustrated above, for that kind of money to be going out the door.

      Somehow the sting of the senior day care center still lurks in the back of our minds. How much did they need to stay open? How about Sheriff Hills, bracelet program for the alzheimers patients? Let’s at least spread it around a little better if we have money to burn.

  30. Morris Davis

    This is the message I sent each member of the BOCS:

    I write to voice my objection to Mr. Covington’s plan to donate $100,000.00 collected in taxes from Prince William County taxpayers to the non-profit organization his wife heads. I commend the organization and the work it does and Mr. and Mrs. Covington’s support of their efforts, but there are many worthy charitable efforts in our area that would be thrilled to get a large dose of government funding. For an elected representative to use his or her office to provide financial favor to an organization headed by his or her spouse is the type of government insider dealing that has so many on both the left and the right upset with the current state of our federal, state, and local political processes. I urge the Board to disapprove this proposed expenditure of taxpayer funds.

  31. Lyle Beefelt

    Over the past 20 years, I’ve seen them large and small. This is probably the largest except for when Wally’s predecessor used like a year’s worth to pave part of Orlando Rd. That was a big deal to the folks on Orlando Rd. (which is still part dirt), but it only serves a tiny fraction of the PWC population.

    I don’t think ANY supervisor should have discretionary funds. In some ways, 200X $500 donations is even more of an incumbent protection racket than 1X $100,000 donation. I imagine Wally’s wife would vote for him anyway.

    I also don’t feel good about deciding who is worthy of taxpayer largess in the comment section of a blog, nor would I in a public hearing for that matter. That kind of underscores why government donations to charity is usually a bad idea. The only time they should do it is when they have identified a public purpose and then, after open discussion, the governing body decides the best way to do it is to fund a charity. Even then, it is fraught with risk for the government AND for the charity. If I was on the board of Rainbow Riding, I would be thinking about hidden strings or what happens after the wind changes and the funding dries up.

    I can definitely get on board to fight discretionary funds, but I am not buying the argument that Wally or RR should be singled out as especially egregious. They are all egregious. If you want to use this request, say it is the latest, biggest and sorest example of the wrong way to do a good thing and ask them again to change the policy. @Moon-howler

    1. @Lyle Beefelt

      If I had been a blog mistress back when the road was paved, I would have probably howled about that also. We have not yet had this blog as our own even 2 years. As you probably know, we have called out many elected officials over things we don’t think should have happened.

      I would like to see an amount of county funding put away for organizations and I would like for the organizations to be able to apply for small grants from the county. County residents could serve on the board and could come from all magisterial districts and all political persuassions. You could have more than you need so that people could be chosen randomly to serve on any given day approving grants.

      I don’t mind the idea of the county donating to the various groups but I think it needs a great deal of oversight and built in fairness provisions.

      I certainly hope the board of supervisors turns down this request. I have lived in the county for over 40 years and I have seen some pretty outrageous things happen. I used to just sit at home and grouse. Now I still sit at home and grouse and publically editorialize. I also give others a spot to do the same. Hopefully more citizens get to have input over how their government works and how their tax money is spent.

      I am not singling out Wally any more than I have singled out any of the supervisors when they have done something that I don’t feel is in the best interest of our county. How else do we express our displeasure? Perhaps you missed our diatrible on Avendale or what was done to Erick Finley over his asphalt plant? Did you think those were fair?

      I don’t think it is fair to give tax payer money to 1 private organization. If there is extra money, get a fire truck or pay for 2 new cops or new defibulators, or bracelets for Alzheimers patients or give it to the libraries.

      Are you aware that at least one high school doesn’t even have a librarian? I think they are just using library aids to shelve the books and equipment. That’s probably where I would like to discuss fair.

  32. Elena

    HI Lyle,
    I believe that we are all on the same general track. We may differ in some areas, but it sounds as though we can agree that disretionary funding is not a part of the “public process”. Instead of arguing about the amounts and who is and who is not worthy, the appearenace of favoritism and misuse could be easily solved.

    Like any grant process, there are steps that all applicants must fufill. That is clearly lacking in PWC. There are plenty of critical county services that may also qualify for funds, why are they excluded? The lack of transparency is simply unacceptable.

    I suggest to you that there are two seperate issues here:

    1)how was Rainbow Rainbow chosen for the county tax dollars
    2)why is the donation so large

    There are many worthy non profits in this county, rainbow riding is one of them, but Wally Covingon surely shows a conflict of interest when his spouse holds a leadership role in that organization.

    I don’t care what letter sits next to a Supervisors name when it comes to the appearence of impropriety. I would hope this an issue that citizens could work together in resolving regardless of what party affiliation people espouse or DON’T espouse for that matter.

  33. Elena

    Putting an “all call” out to John Gray to post the discretionary numbers on the blog 🙂

  34. Morris Davis

    According to the IRS Form 990s Rainbow filed in 2009 and 2010, they received contributions and grants that averaged $190,000.00 per year over that 2 year period. If that trend holds the Prince William County taxpayers will be providing a significant portion if not the major portion of the 2011 funding for the organization where Mrs. Covington serves as President.

  35. Ray Beverage

    Moon-howler :@Ray, I think this information shrieks that we need a different way of doing business.
    Let me see if I understand you correctly. All supervisors get funds based on a formula so in all likelihood, no one will get the same amount.
    Unspent roll over amounts can be unlimited. What will happen to unspent money in the Stirrup office? Will it go to the new Gainesville supervisor or be returned to the people?

    Moon, you got it correct – each of the Supervisors & the Chair get funding each Fiscal Year as part of the approved budget based on a formula. It factors in size of the district, items identified by the Supervisor to include his/her staff office expenses, specific projects, etc etc etc. and then the population of the district comes into play too. Real fun math that formula be!

    You asked about Supv. Stirrup’s office – well, he does not keep much of his around. A lot of his funds he put into street issues such as paving (like up on Bull Run Mountain), sidewalks, and other things which is in part the intent of of these discretionary funds to begin with. The County Budget docs showed he only had $85,944 in rollover.

    Now what happens come January 1 to the current balance he would have on December 31st remains with the District since a good chunck of that pays for District Office & Administration. The new Supervisor would only get a supplement to the current Gainesville FY 2012 approved budget if a request is submitted stating what it is for. At least that is how it all was explained to me once upon a time.

    1. I guess street lights weren’t part of the Stirrup program. Shrug.

      I think it is time for county finances to start being discussed like a house hold budget rather than in financialese. I don’t do real well undertanding financialese because I don’t know the vocabulary and how the legal ramifications affect any of this.

      How about each supervisor at the end of the month simply list his or her expenses and expenditures if it comes out of the discretionary budget. Put the information online so that any taxpayer can go look at it. No fancy finance talk. Just plain old household talk that all of us do every month. I think the supervisors owe us that much. It could be due online by the 15th of each month for the preceeding month. If there are other non-routine costs, those could be published also. All of this stuff is kept from the public. I would like more transparency. All this bull crap we keep hearing about cut out spending and save money and blah blah blah. Let’s put the money where the mouth is and just let the public see where it goes.

  36. Ray Beverage

    By the way Folks, the PWC FY2012 Approved Budget, under “Community Partners” starting at Page 34, shows RRC received $32,385 through the normal budget request process which occurs each Fiscal Year. Below is the link to that section of the Budget where you will find on the above page the start of the list of all Community Partners by County entity which is the responsible party.

    http://www.pwcgov.org/docLibrary/PDF/14549.pdf

    1. Why are they or any other non-profit getting money from the county? Help me understand this? Which other groups are getting money?

  37. Elena

    Great question Moon, what other non profits are part of the county budget.

    thanks for the link Ray, I will check it out today.

  38. Mom

    Lyle, nice to see you poke your head out of your hole. This has little to do with axe grinding or the singular issue of Rainbow Riding. The issue of discretionary funds being transfered to private groups has been a recurring one. I questioned Wally’s transfer of $10,000 to them last year as well as his transfer of $10,000 to the Hylton Center and Maureen’s transfer of $5,000. Last year I tracked all of their distributions, they gave an aggregate total of roughly $95,000 to 63 charitable/private organizations and 25 schools. The only additional anomaly was the transfer of $89 grand apiece from Caddigan and May to the Montclair Library CIP. Lets not mix apples and oranges here, if the Supervisors want to use their discretionary and TRIPS funds for infrastructure improvements such as libraries of paving projects, I’ve got no real beef. It is the transfer of funds to private organizations that drive me (and apparently others) crazy. That being said, this singular transfer is larger than the cumulative total of all of the supervisors in a calendar year and if you subtract Wally’s “charitable” contributions from that year, 142% higher than the total of all of the others combined, something that definitely merits “singling” Wally out.

    If you have a real problem with, as the chair of the PWC GOP, use your position and DO SOMETHING ABOUT. Unless of course you’re just a figurehead and lack the stones to actually take some heat from those purportedly Republican elected officials. Perhaps its time the leadership of the PWC GOP did some actually legwork and did some measure of vetting the candidates rather than just applying a rubber stamp.

  39. Excellent post! You know this is bad when you guys and BVBL agree. Here’s a nugget I just posted there and at TC:

    Covington got an award from the recipient! From his official county bio page:

    http://www.pwcgov.org/default.aspx?topic=040050002470000410

    “and was honored as the 2009 Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center “Hero.”

    1. Hi Loudoun Insider,

      Welcome. It looks like Wally is going from Hero to Zero on all the blogs. I agree. When this many disparate blogs agree on an issue, pigs should be flying and hell should be freezing over.
      We cover the political specturm so its liberals, moderates, conservatives, Republicans, Independents, and probably a Democrat or 2 all holding their noses and crying foul!!

  40. Mom

    Thanks Captain Obvious, it was pointed out twenty posts ago.

  41. Excuse me! Didn’t see it, glad you’re on top of it, Mom.

  42. This is like something you would expect out of the DC Council! One big GOBGN love fest. Disgusting.

  43. Loudoun, I am going to eat some crow here or at least brush the old crow bones off my plate and start anew.

    I am going to give a hat tip to Jamie over on Gainesville Truth Squad, with whom we have fought bitterly. The election is over now and I hope he is still speaking for Peter Candland because Jamie thinks this all stinks too and has done a very fine job covering it.

    When this many different bloggers can come to the same conclusions, something is rotten in the state of Prince William. I can sure set aside my differences over a higher cause.

    http://gvtruthsquad.blogspot.com/

  44. Ray Beverage

    Moon-howler :Why are they or any other non-profit getting money from the county? Help me understand this? Which other groups are getting money?

    Moon, grab a cup or glass of your choice because this may get long. There is a thing called “Inherent Government Function” – these are things a government must do either because of their Constitution, Charter, or a subsequent law. The core powers are taxing, emminet domain, and Police – which is Internal Sovereignty. Additionally, there are also such things as Public Safety, Education, Public Health, Human Services and on and on (as most folks know when looking at a government the various departments) which all contribute to managing a community (of whatever size) and enabling Quality of Life.

    Now, when looking at managing a community and enabling Quality of Life, there are limits to what a government can do or would be more expensive for them to do. A government entity cannot do fundraisers to support a specific program for instance. In the Federal Government, this gave rise to contracts/grants to Faith-Based & Community-Based Organizations. Local Governments refer to them as “Community Partners”. Primary goal of this partnership is to mainly assist those who are in Poverty/Low or Middle Income; with the secondary goal of providing grants to those who support Quality of Life (i.e. Special Olympics).

    Exception to the list you find in the budget documents though is the Interjurisdiction stuff. Birmingham Green is one such entity and that goes back to 1928 and bond issues. Those in this category on the list have to be looked at case-by-case as there are other documents as to why they are there.

    When looking down the list of the County, or for that matter the City of Manassas (Manassas Park cut local contributions when their budget woes started), you will see a variety of organizations. Let me take the County list and start with Area Agency on Aging. There is under the Federal Older Americans Act funding for home repair/modifications for adaptability (grab rails for instance). It is a small pool of funds the Feds pass through each State to the local Agency. Since a government cannot go in and perform the needed repair, the grant is made to Project Mend-A-House to do these repairs or mods.

    In the case of Legal Services of Northern Virginia, a government cannot have its lawyers assisting for issues. And since those on fixed incomes cannot afford a $300 or more an hour lawyer, the LSNV is provided a grant to assist with the basics (wills, power of attorney) and also advise for when there are larger issues. Exception is financial abuse or fraud where LSNV does jump in. Cool thing there is they have Thrid Year Law Students from GMU Law School come out and work under the guidance of one of the LSNV Lawyers.

    When you look down the list of such things as Homeless Shelters, Family Support, General Medicine – they are ones where either the government cannot do, or cost less for a nonprofit to do because the nonprofit can hold fundraisers or seek other grants to perform the contracted service.

    PWC started in FY2012 the requirement that all Community Partners who received funding support specific goals within the Strategic Plan. As it should be. Of course, what was found out is the Strategic Plan goals are either worded in a way that nobody could meet the objective (govenment or partner), or just did not fit well into the intent of what PWC wanted the entitiy to do. This is one focus when the overhaul starts in January – make goals that are realistic and not just stuck in because the intent was good.

    Community Partners have to submit a copy of their audit with the funding request. Also, a report is required from the partner on how the funds were spent against the goals. There is a little bit of “wiggle room” this year since the County realized some goals are just goofy. The audit is used to not only ensure compliance with the IRS, but in determining the amount of funding. Combined, the documents also ensure funds are spent to meet the intent purpose of the entity performing a service (such as to Aging & Disabled) since these funds are not issued with a direct program/service in mind like other grants. They are intended to be operational dollars.

    Over here in the City, last budget cycle the need for specific criteria was identified. Vice Mayor Harrover took up the task, and a draft procedure has been developed. It will be received by Council tonight, with the Council’s Finance Committee taking it up at this Wednesday’s meeting. I provided the City Attorney a copy of what PWC was doing in FY2012 as an informational item.

    So, if after reading and anyone has more questions, toss ’em up – I can answer hopefully in a way to reduce confusion or enlighten more without boggling your mind with too much legal mumble jumble 🙂

  45. Mom, be polite to our guests por favor. Stop lifting your leg on the company. :mrgreen:

  46. Elena

    Ray,
    I read through the summary budge, there are several organizations that recieve monies from the county. Which ones are a 501c3 and how many residents can they serve through their services?

  47. Elena

    Moon,
    I agree with Jamie’s post, very thoughtful and well done. Maybe some residents in that district might want to consider a recall effort. Jeanine would have been a fabulous supervisor!

  48. Thanks Ray.

    That was a lot of work on your part. Its a lot to digest if you aren’t used to that kind of job related-ese.

  49. Mom

    Finally, someone in the MSM has picked it up. Can’t wait for the free-for-all on Inside Nova given Wally’s quote.

    Covington criticized for Rainbow Center donation
    By Kipp Hanley

    Brentsville Supervisor W.S. “Wally” Covington III doesn’t believe his donation to his wife’s charity is a conflict of interest.

    Covington plans on contributing $100,000 from his supervisor office’s district funds to the Rainbow Therapeutic Equestrian Center during Tuesday’s Prince William Board of County Supervisors meeting.

    His wife Connie is the president of the Board of Directors for the center, which according to its website, provides “therapeutic equestrian activities to individuals with physical and mental challenges in Prince William County and surrounding Northern Virginia areas.”

    Covington said because his wife isn’t a paid staff member, the money isn’t a direct benefit to her. And he said he likes to use his discretionary funds on large capital projects, which is what the center is aiming to accomplish at its Silver Lake site. The center is in the process of raising money for an indoor arena for usage year-round.

    His decision to donate such a large sum has generated incredulity in some circles in the county.

    John Gray, who unsuccessfully ran for board chairman against incumbent Corey A. Stewart, stated in an email to the News & Messenger that it’s “absolutely outrageous a supervisor can direct taxpayer dollars of this magnitude to one specific charity like this, just because ‘they feel like it.’”

    While Gray said he has no problem with the charity, he stated “there ought to be a law, an ordinance against this kind of abusive spending.”

    Until Tuesday, Covington had given 10 donations totaling $15,500 from his discretionary funds in 2011– including $10,000 to the Greater Prince William Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth Council in September. Covington has a total of $357,700 carried over from previous years, $90,000 more than the next supervisor: Coles Supervisor Martin E. Nohe ($267,204).

    Like Covington, Nohe plans on using his large carryover budget to help him with capital projects.

    During the 2010 budget carryover process, Nohe was one of three supervisors that voted against funding a third staff position for each of the eight supervisors’ offices.

    Instead, he said he was saving up to complete a bicycle trail to Hoadly Road, a capital project that would likely need state or federal funding, as well.

    At $322,458, Covington has the smallest budget of any supervisors for the 2012 fiscal year. Potomac Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan has the largest at $350,341.

  50. Oh where to begin. Thanks for posting the N & M article, Mom.

    When all the area blogs form a Rat Bastard blockade on this subject, perhaps Wally needs to rethink how his efforts are being perceived in the community. HE might not see anything wrong with it but everyone else does. One person has defended him–Lyle Beefelt.

    I see a huge difference in Marty’s bike trail to Hoadly and donating to any private organization. The bike trail is 1. in Marty’s district 2. something everyone in the county can use. 3. Something that has been asked for and is used by many people.

    Public vs private is the major consideration. That should be horribly obvious and basic.

    I think it is just time to phase out discretionary funds. What would make this happen? What would it take to bring it to referrendum here in the county? That’s probably the only way it would happen. I can’t imagine the supervisors voting to do away with the slush funds.

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