If we could condense our reaction to recent revelations about Baton Rougeโs Council on Aging to a bumper sticker, it might read: โDonโt blame us. We voted no.โ
Last fall, when the COA asked voters for a new, 2.25-mill property tax to more than double its budget, we urged residents to turn a thumbs-down on the idea. While we support services for senior citizens, management problems at COA made us wary about how the agency would oversee such a massive increase in funding. Auditors had turned up red flags, including a whopping $200,000 loss on a bingo hall that was supposed to raise revenue. This didnโt look like sound fiscal stewardship to us, and the lack of a detailed plan for spending extra tax dollars was another warning sign.
But voters approved the millage, boosting COAโs coffers from $3.2 million to $7.8 million annually. Events since the tax vote have only deepened our concern that the agency is on the wrong track. After the election came word that a COA employee had asked candidates for money in exchange for endorsements. Checks were cut to the Support Our Seniors political action committee under the Council on Agingโs name, and the agency used its discounted postage rate in mailings to push the tax. In other words, a taxpayer-supporter agency used its resources to push for more tax money, something thatโs not supposed to happen.
Then came news that a client of the COA recently died at 95, naming the agencyโs executive director, Tasha Clark Amar, to oversee her estate for the next 20 years for $500 per month โ a potential paycheck of $120,000. It was an unconventional arrangement, and after family members of the deceased woman filed a legal challenge, attorneys for both Amar and the family asked a court to remove her from her role managing the estate. ย
A judge might decide whether the will stands, but regardless of any legal decision, the whole affair seems icky. Thereโs an ethical taboo against caregivers such as doctors or nurses getting involved in the estates of those they serve, and the staff of the Council on Aging often seem to have similar relationships with their clients.
Two members of the Metro Council have called on Amar to resign, and several state lawmakers have proposed measures to change the way the agency is governed. A discussion of the agency's problems at a recent Metro Council meeting ended with a walkout by the Democratic council members. ย
Most of COAโs prominent critics are white, and most of the leaders defending the agency are black, as is Amar. The family involved in the will dispute is black as well.
But this shouldnโt be another occasion for racial division.
The real issue is whether an agency thatโs getting a massive infusion of new tax dollars is worthy of the public trust.
We have our doubts.