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Washington Monthly, April, 2004 by Charles Peters
Conservatives may be wrong in always seeming to prefer tax cuts for themselves over help for the less fortunate, but they are often right in being skeptical about the efficiency of government programs to provide that help. In West Virginia, it was recently discovered that Bob Graham, the director of Senior Services for Wyoming County (pop. 25,000), was being paid $301,000 a year. His compensation is supposedly determined by two boards consisting of senior citizens, at least some of whom are dependent on services provided by the program.
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Where does the money come from? in 2002, reports the Charleston Gazette, the agencies that paid Graham's salary got $5.2 million from Medicaid and other government sources, with only $73,100 coming from non-governmental sources. Is there any state or federal oversight of these senior service programs?
According to the Gazette, "state bureau of senior service director Ann Stottlemyre said she doesn't know how Graham's organization works ... [Gov. Bob] Wise and Director of Human Services Paul Nussbaum distanced themselves from the problem, laying the blame for the salary flap at the feet of the board members."
Are federal authorities better informed? Not if Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) is typical: "I'm not sure how much federal funds go directly into that center. I'm surprised there isn't some kind of audit." And three of the six living board members (two are deceased) recently told the Charleston Daily Mail "that they had no idea what Graham makes a year. They could not explain their role as board members, the duties of the board or the financial structure of. the agency." Does anyone know what's going on? Does anyone know how many other programs like this there are around the country, receiving government money but without any accountability to anyone?
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