Butkovitz calls on Philly to collect $2.5M owed for extra police work
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
The unpaid bills include $256K owed by Rep. Dwight Evans' non-profit and $275K owed by the Phillies.
State Rep. Dwight Evans
City Controller Alan Butkovitz released a report today calling on Philadelphia to increase efforts to collect approximately $2.5 million owed by 389 entities for services provided by the city's Police Department. The top three balances are owed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ($341,000), the Phillies ($275,000) and the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation ($256,000).
The controller's report is just the latest in a long line of bad news for the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corp. (OARC) and its founder, State Rep. Dwight Evans. OARC has been the target of lawsuits and state investigations in recent years related to the alleged misuse of millions in state funds. Last year, OARC settled a two-year investigation with the state by agreeing to return $1.2 million, and withdraw requests for grants worth an additional $1.8 million. The agreement assigned no wrongdoing to OARC.
For decades, Evans, as the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, directed millions of dollars to the nonprofit in the form of state grants. Evans, who lost his leadership post in an intra-party squabble in 2010, described the probe as "political profiling" to Newsworks last year.
The $256,000 bill resulted from police overtime during the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival in 2010. The annual festival was canceled in 2012, following reports questioning the number of attendees claimed by the OARC. OARC spent $1 million in state funds on the concert in 2010.
The Phillies' debt stems from police overtime during their 2008 World Series run. At $275,000, it is just over what the Phillies spent on Ryan Howard per game in 2013: $250,000.
