HIV Panel to Post Agendas in 2015, Minutes Require FOIL 

(Public domain photo.)

The New York State Department of Health's AIDS Advisory Council is a ludicrous mess from top to bottom. I complained yesterday about the lack of agendas on the web in advance of their November 20 meeting and that no minutes are posted on their site.

However, my chief concern was the removal of corrupt AIDS bureaucrat Gail Barouh for her misspending $179,000 in government funds as documented by a New York State Comptroller's audit. All of this was outlined in an email to the council.

My friends back East reminded me that the chair of the council is Marjorie Hill, pictured, a former executive director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis who was fired in September 2013 for numerous failures. For a refresher check out this Gay City News article about what led the GMHC board to can her.

This council isn't fully transparent and contains two members who've abused their powers as executive directors of HIV services agencies, showing just how bad things are in the Empire State in terms of AIDS accountability.

It pleases me to know my concerns have been heard and will be included in the council's minutes, but those are small potatoes compared to the large problems of corrupt bureaucrats Hill and Barouh and their ilk who run too many AIDS Inc groups and advisory panels.

This is the note Hill sent me this afternoon:

Your email was shared with me as Chair of the NYS AIDS Advisory Council. Thank you for your comments. 

Beginning in 2015, the Council’s meeting agendas will be posted on the NYS Department of Health website as an attachment to the meeting notice. I have attached the agenda for the November 20, 2014 meeting to this email. 

Meeting minutes from previous meetings are available for public inspection upon written request to the NYS Department of Health Records Access Office in accordance with Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). 

Please note that the Council does not have the authority to appoint or remove members. Members of the Council are appointed as indicated by Public Health Law Article 27-E, Section 2778. 

I have [included] the link to the statutory authority which explains this process. Your comments will be included in the public record for the November 20, 2014 meeting.

Corrupt AIDS Executive Must Be Removed from State Panel

A tipster alerted me to the fact that the corrupt and wildly excessively-compensated Gail Barouh, pictured, whom I blogged about last week, is a member of an important oversight and advisory panel for the Empire State. With her sitting on the panel, it's impossible to believe it can provide a decent amount of necessary oversight.

The following letter was sent today to various elected officials, friends who are poz and negative, reporters across the state and healthcare watchdogs. It's my hope that others will also call for the removal of Barouh from this panel and quickly too.

Tomica Collado-Robinson

New York State Department of Health

AIDS Advisory Council

Secretary of the Council

Dear Ms. Collada-Robinson,

There are several crucial HIV-related matters I wish to bring to your attention and request that they be immediately addressed, in order to adequately allow the general public to fully engage with the department in crafting beneficial policies.

First, I see that the AIDS Advisory Council will be meeting on November 20 and must protest the lack of a published agenda on the AAC's web site.

 

Why is there no agenda available? An agenda is necessary to assist the public and HIV activists and persons living with AIDS decide if they should attend Thursday's meeting from 10:30 am to 1 pm. 

Furthermore, I cannot locate minutes from any previous AAC meetings. Where on the department's site are minutes available for public inspection?

Second, I wish to know what steps, if any, will be taken at the November 20 meeting to potentially remove AAC member Ms. Gail Barouh, the executive director of the Long Island Association for AIDS Care. 

As you know, on September 30, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued a damning audit of LIAAC and found that Ms. Barouh was responsible for questionable spending totaling $179,000 from state government HIV contracts. 

Third, since the AAC takes many positions on state government spending impacting health services for HIV poz persons and those at-risk of contracting the virus, and provides oversight of that spending, it is unethical to retain Ms. Barouh on the AAC in any capacity.

Since I am unable to attend the November 20 meeting, I request that you enter this letter into the public record and provide a copy to the person taking minutes.

Please confirm by 12 noon on November 19 that you have received this letter and will present a copy at the AAC meeting and make sure the minutes include my concerns.

Regards,

Michael Petrelis

AIDS Org's $179,000 Questionable Spending, Audit Finds

You may recall that in 2011, I blogged about the $526,000 salary of Gail Barouh, pictured, who's the executive of three nonprofits: the Long Island Association for AIDS Care, BiasHelp and Long Island Network of Community Services. She's built a comfy empire for herself with lots of perks.

She's back on my accountability radar because New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli has conducted an audit of a contract Albany had with LIAAC, and he found $179,000 was spent for questionable purposes.

While I applaud DiNapoli for providing such oversight of an AIDS service organization, I also am displeased his office hasn't publicized this audit. It was issued on September 30 and Long Island Newsday wrote about it yesterday, more than a month after its release.

Taxpayers and the press should be better informed about this and all audits carried out the New York comptroller, if only to show his office is tough on nonprofits and he's committed to all aspects of watchdogging.

Here are highlight of the findings:

The objective of our examination was to determine whether the Long Island Association for AIDS Care, Inc. (LIAAC) charged and the Department of Health AIDS Institute (Institute) reimbursed for appropriate expenses under the terms of contract C023121. We examined select expenses during the period July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.

As a Community Service Provider (CSP) since 1986, LIAAC provides services and support for Long Island residents infected and affected by HIV/AIDS or at risk for infection. The contract, valued at $12 million, was for a five year period spanning July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2013. Subsequently, the Department executed a new CSP contract with LIAAC valued at $11.43 million for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2018. [...]

We found LIAAC charged and the Institute reimbursed LIAAC $178,466 for inappropriate or questionable expenses during our examination period. This includes reimbursements to LIAAC for expenses that benefited LINCS; expenses that benefited LIAAC’s CEO and the CEO’s life partner; and other expenses which were inappropriate under the terms and conditions of the contract. 

This includes: 

$52,972 for rental expenses paid to LINCS in excess of market rates. [...]

$26,674 in administrative fees paid to LINCS for which LINCS provided no apparent service. [...]

$31,190 for subcontracts that were not competitively procured, including one with the CEO’s life partner. This conflict of interest, which was not disclosed to the Institute, has existed since 1988. 

$10,722 for executive level employees’ fuel expenses that LIAAC could not support were business-related. 

$43,398 for expenses that were otherwise inappropriate in accordance with contract stipulations.