NEW ORLEANS — The project looked great on paper: Hire former convicts and homeless people to mow overgrown lots and remediate blight around New Orleans. Not only would participants get a paycheck, but they would also gain job skills, counseling and other services.
But almost as soon as the city paid $1 million for a one-year contract with a company called CEO Works, red flags began to appear.
According to an investigative report released Thursday by the city’s Inspector General, the city quickly realized it didn’t have enough work to complete the contract, had no way to track the work that was completed, and the contract itself was full of holes.
The result was a boondoggle.
Not only was the city forced to rescind the original $1 million grant, the report states, but even the new contract amount of $500,000 was an overpayment based on the number of lots that ultimately were cleaned up.
“The city was unable to account for services provided under the CEA (cooperative endeavor agreement) for $24,461.99 that the city paid CEO,” the report states.
In the end, the city was forced to claw back that amount from the company. And even with the reimbursement, the city was unable to verify if some of the paid-for services were provided because of a lack of record-keeping, the report states.
“The city should only transfer funds to an entity after services are provided,” the 10-page IG’s report states in its recommendations. “The city should also maintain complete and accurate records for cooperative endeavor agreements to ensure that services were provided in accordance with the CEA.”
The money for the grant came from the Wisner Trust, a 110-year-old charitable donation, for the city to fund community beautification, education and recreation projects.
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