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Sunday, July 29, 2001
With the state attorney general and the county controller poking around, the board of the Light of Life Mission acted prudently in placing its administrator on leave and ordering a thorough, independent look at the place.
Too bad it took a news investigation to bring the matter to a head.
A recent Post-Gazette/KDKA-TV report showed that the North Side-based mission to the homeless and needy was the scene of sloppy financial management, inadequate fiscal controls, a loosely run thrift store, inflated service claims and a costly fund-raising contract.
Two former upper-level managers gave on-the-record accounts of problems at the mission, which were backed up by other employees. Among the claims was that the operation faces a $500,000 deficit by the end of September and the possibility that it will not meet its August payroll.
At an emergency meeting Monday, the board placed Executive Director Duane Gartland, who has worked at the mission for 30 years, on paid administrative leave. Board President Tunch Ilkin said Christian management consultant Olan Hendrix and an auditor with the mission's accounting firm, Maher Duessel, will investigate the problems that surfaced in the PG/KD report.
Because of the mission's reliance on private donations and public contracts, it would serve the charity well to make those findings public.
While it's understandable that the board would value experience and continuity, it's curious that it named Mr. Gartland's brother Dean as the mission's interim executive director. Besides Duane Gartland, six other family members work at the charity, including Dean as associate executive director and another brother, Dennis, as manager of the thrift shop. For appearances' sake, any agency that is about to undergo tough scrutiny should be run, at least for an interim period, by someone not associated with the old regime.
The board has taken an important first step toward getting to the bottom of allegations facing Light of Life Mission. But whether it successfully completes the task by restoring public confidence will depend on what happens now.