photo by Hannah Campbell
Urban League President and CEO Candy Johnson said Tuesday that the county’s surprise diversion of $450,000 in funding for the nonprofit was "baseless." Concerning future partnerships, she said that "working towards the future starts with righting the wrongs and from a level of trust."
Ms. Johnson said, “We’re not starting from a place of trust” at this time.
The County Commission had committed the American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Urban League in the summer of 2022, but voted in November to redirect the money to athletic fields at Howard and Brainerd high schools.
“We will have cuts,” Ms. Johnson said. She confirmed that an elementary after school program has already been halted, though she would not say which one.
“Those are the decisions that we are forced to make,” she said.
County Mayor Wamp has argued that Urban League’s accounting records are questionable, that the organization spent too much on “a glass wall,” window blinds and copy machines, and that it’s not spending the ARPA funds it has.
Ms. Johnson said all purchases had been individually vetted and reimbursed by the County Commission as part of its regular protocol, and the ARPA funds expire in December 2024.
She said the purchases align with ARPA guidelines, and they align with a county memorandum of understanding which allows capital improvements, expansions and equipment.
“We didn’t get a blank check,” she said.
Ms. Johnson said County Chief Financial Officer Lee Brouner said that the Urban League had done “nothing wrong” and that the accounting discrepancies were “no better or no worse” than 70 other projects audited at the same time.
Ms. Johnson said the Urban League will have to find money elsewhere for capital needs as it’s already outgrowing its new office building, a direct result of the growth of its programs, she said. The building was acquired 18 months ago and is the first owned by the League since its modern founding in 1982, its website says.
But Ms. Johnson said it’s easier to raise money for programs than for buildings and supplies.
“We were relying on these funds to help grow our organization long-term,” she said.
Former City Judge Walter Williams had offered during a County Commission meeting to help the Urban League sue the county.
“Nothing is off the table as far as what justice looks like,” Ms. Johnson said.
Ms. Johnson said that she’s not trying to compete with Howard High School or Brainerd High School for funds.
“The county has many ways to fund these projects,” she said, and that rerouting the money is “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Ms. Johnson said that County Mayor Wamp never responded to a November letter demanding the resolution be rescinded. The joint letter included Sankofa Fund for Civic Engagement, who lost $400,000 also diverted to the athletic fields. Ms. Johnson said he did not respond, either, to public comments made by Urban League supporters at a commission meeting, and that he has not “set foot” in the Urban League offices since his election in 2022.
“Why is it falling on deaf ears?” she asked.
“It has been disheartening to see an elected official launch an attack,” she said. Ms. Johnson said County Mayor Wamp had said he "ran for the people who are being left out,” when the two met shortly after his election.
“What we are seeing is a difference of message and a difference of actions,” she said.
She said County Mayor Wamp’s comments served to “publicly defame” the name of the Urban League.
“Our goal is to help those that have been left out of opportunities,” she said.
“This has been a distraction to our organization,” she added.
Ms. Johnson pointed out office furniture that had been bought on Facebook Marketplace and a sofa in the reception room that she had donated herself.
She invited the public to visit the office, which will host an open house celebrating Black History Month in February.
JOINT LETTER:
https://ulchatt.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/SANKOFA-ULGC-WRITTEN-STATEMENT-To-Commission-1.pdf