Coalition abused the public’s trust

It’s a crime what passed for business as usual at the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. For too long this renegade operation arrogantly misspent millions of dollars of public money, even as shelters across the state struggled to provide safe haven to abused women and children.

And it’s a crime that elected leaders took so long to do something about this freespending outfit, the funnel through which all state money flows to local domestic violence shelters.

Where was the oversight? Where was the accountability?

Certainly not from the organization’s board of directors, which in 2018 awarded the coalition’s former CEO, Tiffany Carr, an annual salary of $761,560. It gets worse. Over the past three years, Carr’s compensation totaled more than $7.5 million from state and federal funds, the Miami Herald reported, including nearly $5 million for “paid time off.”

Carr’s sweetheart deal entitled her to take 210 paid days off one year. When ever did she work? Carr clearly was good at working her board.

A June 2019 memo obtained by the Herald shows Carr’s last contract included “an additional 360 pto [paid time off ] days to [be] deposited into her account prior to June 30th.”

Plus, she could work from North Carolina any time she wanted.

Plus, she would get a $200,000 bonus for “exemplary performance.”

Plus, she would get a 10% increase in her car allowance, a 10% increase in her salary and an “executive retreat at the place of her choosing.”

Making that much money, you’d think Carr could have paid for her own “executive retreat,” which sounds a lot like a “luxury vacation.”

Carr received these oversized contracts even as shelters across Florida struggled to raise money to help abused women and children. Last year, Orlando-area shelters ran out of space for people trying to escape their abusers.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered his inspector general to conduct a review, and suggests possible criminal wrongdoing. With bipartisan unanimity, the House Committee on Public Integrity and Ethics this week voted to compel testimony from 14 coalition officials. At long last, lawmakers are piercing the fortress of secrecy at this private non-profit group that spends more than $50 million annually.

For more than a year, the coalition stonewalled the Department of Children and Families’ efforts to audit its books, the Herald reports. And it took the coalition an astounding 20 months to submit records sought by the House. Even then, the records were incomplete.

Carr, who retired in November, has been ordered to provide extensive records to the House by 3 p.m. on Feb. 20.

The actions taken by the governor and legislators are long overdue — and hastened by persistent Herald reporters who broke the news about Carr’s compensation in July 2018.

You’ve got to wonder how many other sole-source providers are spending the public’s money like water.

The Legislature appears certain to pass a law stripping the coalition of its power. Lawmakers should also:

■ Stop special deals. The beginnings of this scandal can be traced to former Gov. Jeb Bush and the 2003 Legislature, which made the coalition the exclusive solesource contractor for all domestic violence money. But every year since then, lawmakers have designated other private groups as “pass-throughs” for public money. This lack of accountability must end.

■ Prohibit conflicts. The coalition’s board of directors includes people who run shelters and so were beholden to Carr for their funding — an obvious conflict of interest that should be made illegal. Every board appointee responsible for public money should be subject to state financial disclosure laws. Lawmakers also should reform how such boards are appointed and ensure their names are posted online.

■ Protect ‘sunshine.’ Tougher consequences are needed for recipients of public money who ignore lawful requests for public records — from government, lawmakers or the media.

■ Expand oversight. If the Legislature won’t banish sole-source deals, then it should create a select legislative committee to oversee such arrangements on a permanent basis. It also should examine hiring practices that limit candidates to a small pool of insiders.

Eight years ago, former Gov. Rick Scott raised a red flag about the coalition’s control over all domestic violence money. He lodged an objection, saying: “I do not believe it is appropriate to designate in statute a specific private entity as the recipient of state funds.”

But nothing changed, except Carr’s salary, which was about $300,000 that year.