Maureen Welch stood at the door of a public meeting at the headquarters of Rocky Mountain Human Services on Thursday, listening to the organization’s interim director explain how things were going to improve.
had released a damaging audit of with the city had misspent hundreds of thousands of dollars of public money on administrators and for services for people outside of Denver.
The organization that provides services to Denver’s developmentally and intellectually disabled community used tax money to buy Costco memberships for employees, lunches for employee meetings and an employee party at a Lone Tree restaurant.
It was also disclosed that former CEO Stephen Block’s annual salary and benefits totaled an eye-popping $478,974.
Welch spoke up, despite the groans from her son, who wanted to go home.
“It is sickening,” she said. “People are on waiting lists. Our most vulnerable citizens are being denied services because of parties. Where is the pain? Where are the consequences? Will you pay back the taxpayers for Stephen Block’s salary and the misspent money?”
The audit said Block’s pay was more than two times higher than the next highest-paid executive of similar nonprofits in the state.
In May 2014, wrote a column questioning Block’s salary. He defended his pay to me, saying none of it came from public money. He said he is qualified, an expert and later called my piece a hatchet job.
RMHS alerted me that the organization was suddenly slashing services.
The nonprofit was in a financial crisis — later revealed to be a $4 million hole.
Block, at the time, blamed the problems on “incompetence” in the organization’s financial department and fired the chief financial officer.
Employees were laid off, programs were cut and services slashed.
In July the board of directors suddenly fired Block for cause, saying in a letter he had failed to perform his duties in “an efficient, effective and conscientious manner.”
Block, who founded the organization in 1991, would not get a severance or bonus and was ordered to return the company car.
On Thursday — the day Denver Auditor Tim O’Brien released his damning report on RMHS, calling the organization’s spending “shameful” —
In the suit, Block demands his back wages and maintains he was wrongfully terminated.
The gall of this man — to file suit against his old company on the day his shocking mismanagement is revealed to all.
Auditor O’Brien called the misappropriation “unconscionable” and said Block had a “reckless disregard for public dollars.”
Investigators with the Denver district attorney’s economic crime unit are reviewing the audit for any identifiable crimes.
Meanwhile, parents on Thursday listened to interim director Shari Repinski explain how the budget is now under control and problems identified in the audit have been addressed.
One parent, however, said she felt defeated. Anne Patton and others worked hard in 2003 to get Denver voters to pass the sales tax increase to help people with disabilities.
Despite critics who predicted mismanagement, 68 percent of voters approved the measure.
“It is so disappointing,” Patton said after the meeting was over. “What has happened is just what everyone feared would happen. And the lack of accountability is shocking.”
E-mail Jeremy Meyer at jpmeyer@denverpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: jpmeyerdpost
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