MN Sen. Says He'll Resign From Community Action Board
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota senator said that he intends to resign from the Community Action Board after an audit revealed hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money was used for things like tropical vacations.
State Sen. Jeff Hayden also called on CEO Bill Davis to do the same.
"If these findings are shown to be true, Mr. Davis should resign and allow Community Action to move forward under new leadership," Hayden said.
According to the audit, the group used grant money on things with no business purpose, like airfare to the Bahamas for a friend of the CEO, golf, a celebrity cruise and a Coscto membership.
Lucinda Jesson, the commissioner of Minnesota's Department of Human Services, says the audit came about because her agency noticed some red flags.
The DHS says the biggest red flag they see is that the group proposed spending 60 percent of funds on administration costs. They say most community action groups around the state spend 15 percent on administration.
The audit also says that there's been an 85-96 percent drop in people who have actually obtained jobs with the Community Action's help.
Hayden said that his wife accepted an appointment to the board as his designee. He said that she attended a retreat at Arrowwood Resort with the board, but said neither he nor his wife "accepted compensation for any cruises, spas, vacations to the Bahamas, or any other inappropriate, non-board activities."
