Augusta authority admits "inflating" stimulus job creation number

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Updated: 7:12 PM Nov 18, 2009 Augusta authority admits "inflating" stimulus job creation number Augusta is one of several cities being spotlighted for having agencies that reported bogus stimulus jobs. Posted: 6:52 PM Nov 18, 2009 Reporter: Chris Thomas Email Address: chris.thomas@wrdw.com	"I should not have done it," said Chris Whitley of the CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority. Whitley reported that stimulus funds had created 317 new jobs, when in fact only one new person was hired...after the reporting period. (November 18, 2009 / WRDW-TV)

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News 12 at 6 o'clock, November 18, 2009

AUGUSTA---Augusta is one of several cities being spotlighted for having agencies that reported bogus stimulus jobs.

Augusta's Head Start program got more than $700,000 in stimulus funds.

News 12 was there as old windows came out and new windows went in at some of Augusta's Head Start schools.

"Oh," grunted Chris Whitely about the application process. "It has just wore me out."

Chris Whitley is fiscal officer for the Central Savannah River Area Economic Opportunity Authority. The authority oversees the Head Start program. Chris spoke with News 12 about the formula he used to justify the number of jobs created.

"And in my case it would be .03 people," said Chris.

So Chris tuned to Washington for answers.

"He was just as dumbfounded as I was," said Chris of the person who answered his call. "Then he came back and said, 'Put 317 jobs down. That will be the jobs retained.'"

"But how many jobs did you create?" we asked Gloria Lewis, director of the CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority.

"We actually hired one new person," Gloria said. "We reported 317 because that was the directive that we got."

"I'm not going to blame anybody," said Chris. "I will say I eventually put the 317 down. I will say I should have put zero."

According to a letter from the Department of Health and Human Services, the grant money was never meant to create jobs. The money would provide a COLA, or one-time pay raise for--get this--all 317 employees. It would also provide quality improvement funding for work like replacing school windows. So what happened?

"It was inflating jobs created that should not have been done," said Chris. "I guess now in hindsight after all this I would [have] put a big fat 0 in there and just moved on."

The office suggests they will have an opportunity to revise the numbers. Chris say it will never happen again.

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