The Council Mess Spreads

The Council Mess Spreads

Last week will not go down in the annals as a proud one for the City Council.

The lack of accountability when it comes to the handling of discretionary funds wandered into the criminal realm when two aides to Brooklyn Councilman Kendall Stewart were indicted for allegedly embezzling $145,000.

And Council Speaker Christine Quinn found herself facing a mutiny by her colleagues because they believed reforms she proposed a few days earlier surrendered key Council prerogatives and gave too much power to the Mayor's Office in an attempt to deal with the scandal.

Any notion that giving that power to the west wing of City Hall might prevent recurrences was dispelled, however, by disclosure of what two mayoral agencies did in dealing with the irregularities that led to the criminal charges.

The Department for the Aging back in 2004 rejected an application by Mr. Stewart's aides for funding for the Donna Reid Memorial Educational Fund after discovering that it had the same address as the home of the Councilman's Chief of Staff, Asquith Reid. Unfortunately, the agency never alerted Vendex, the city's contract watchdog created after the discovery of major corruption in the Parking Violations Bureau 22 years ago.

This meant there were no red flags up regarding the fund when another application was made to the Department of Youth and Community Development. No one there noticed the matching addresses, and funds were allocated.

Council Member Stewart issued a statement that was remarkable for its attempt on the one hand to disassociate himself from any corruption that might have occurred while pausing to praise Mr. Reid for serving him with "quiet professionalism." That characterization shouldn't be surprising; going about your job noisily attracts attention, which someone acting dishonestly tries not to do.

Adding to the casual comedy was another Brooklyn Councilman, Charles Barron, using the occasion to step up his call for Speaker Quinn to resign. Since he made no such demand of Mr. Stewart, it was glaringly obvious that Mr. Barron was merely indulging an old and foolish grudge because Ms. Quinn helped torpedo a bill last year that would have named a street after the late racial arsonist Sonny Carson.

Unfortunately for the Council Speaker, more-responsible members of that body are also displeased with how she has handled the discretionary funds mess, from her delay in disclosing what she knew as far back as last year to her issuance of reform proposals without consulting them.

Clearly the Council Members want to retain the ability to grant discretionary funds to worthwhile causes and groups in their districts. Just as clearly, the scandal has shown how ripe the current system is for abuses, whether through the creation of phantom organizations to conceal where the money will later be legitimately allocated (but without mayoral scrutiny) or outright thievery that takes advantage of the murky process.

Ms. Quinn has portrayed herself as a champion of greater transparency in city government, as well as greater democracy in the handling of Council business. The funny business with the funds has damaged her image, and her effort to fix it without consulting her colleagues has alienated more than a few of them.

Just as the 1986 scandal spurred reforms in the city contracting process and a more-aggressive Department of Investigation - which has played a key role in uncovering the latest improprieties - this one should bring meaningful changes that require Council Members to detail and justify their allocation of funds.