The Chronicle‘s Bradley Olson reports that City Council is about to renew an $11 million contract with the Houston Arts Alliance, a local arts organization that has had its trouble delivering projects on time, not to mention providing a public accounting of its operations. The sidebar to the story includes findings from a recent audit of the organization:
A city review of the Houston Arts Alliance’s $11 million contract found:
*Questionable uses of grant funds
*Numerous instances of missing or incomplete information received from grantees
*Poor tracking of how tourists were exposed to HAA-sponsored art or events
*Failure to turn in annual financial reports or make quarterly payments to grantees on time
*A lack of sufficient written policies at HAA governing nearly all aspects of its operations
Source: City of Houston 2009 Contract Compliance Review
Councilmember Michael Sullivan expresses concern about the organization’s operations in the story. City Controller Annise Parker indicated that the group had addressed her concerns from earlier in the year. No other elected officials are quoted.
Olson’s full story is here.
UPDATE (07/01/09): The Chron e-edition reports that Council voted to approve the funding yesterday. Councilmember Mike Sullivan was the only dissenting vote.
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