Something is happening at Rocky Mountain Human Services, but details are not entirely clear now.
That is troubling.
The organization’s founder and CEO has been placed on paid leave. There is an undisclosed budget deficit, and expenses will be reduced by 10 percent across the board beginning next month.
This is all concerning because RMHS — formerly Denver Options — is contracted by the state to provide crucial services to the area’s most vulnerable citizens and is funded almost entirely with public money.
What is happening at RMHS should be immediately disclosed. Why is the CEO on paid leave? Was there malfaesance? What is the shortfall?
This is your money, folks.
The organization’s annual revenue of nearly $48 million includes about $13 million from Denver property taxes, nearly $6 million from the state’s general fund, and almost $19 million from Medicaid.
Yet, RMHS officials have been mostly tight-lipped about the personnel changes and the financial problems because they don’t have to say anything.
It is understandable for private businesses to shield their financial information, but quasi-governmental organizations that handle public money should not be afforded such secrecy.
State officials haven’t been able to find out what is happening. Lawmakers who approve the funding stream have no idea, and neither do City Council members who oversee the property tax distribution.
What is confirmed:
• CEO Stephen Block was temporarily relieved of his daily duties, though he still earns his salary. , his annual compensation was $437,729.
• The organization confirmed a budgetary deficit but said the amount of the shortfall was “not yet clear.”
• The agency is in “full complaince with all reporting requirements” with Denver’s mill levy.
Thursday said a “comprehensive, independent review of our financial and organizational structure” has been initiated. A spokeswoman, answering e-mailed questions, denied any allegations of Medicaid fraud.
She wouldn’t say whether other executives have been let go.
RMHS is one of 20 “community centered boards” created by statute to deliver long-term services and support systems for persons with developmental disabilities.
Those organizations, though almost entirely supported by public money, are immune from requests for information under the Colorado Open Records Act and are not required to provide a checkbook-like accounting of how its money is being spent.
And they can pay their executives far more than their counterparts in the public sector.
State laws require only annual financial disclosures and a yearly independent audit.
Picture a school district or government office with a sudden financial hardship and leadership change but no requirement to tell the public what’s happening.
The state can revoke its contracts with community-centered boards if problems are discovered. But how will that be determined with such obfuscation?
The law should be changed to require more transparency from quasi-governmental agencies.
In the end, city and state officials, staff members, parents and recipients of their services would be much better served.
E-mail Jeremy Meyer at jpmeyer@denverpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: jpmeyerdpost
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