Republicans Say Audit Shows Funds for Sandy Hook First Reponders Co-Mingled in Union Charity Budget

HARTFORD – Republicans today expressed anger over an independent audit showing that some funds dedicated to help replenish lost wages for workers affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting tragedy ultimately were comingled in the coffers of a charity controlled by the AFL-CIO.

The state auditors said the lack of detailed information from the charity, United Labor Agency (ULA), prevented them from determining just how charitable contributions were spent. ULA had been designated by the Office of Victim Services (OVS) to administer the Sandy Hook Workers Assistance Program (SHWAP). The fund was set up by the legislature to help first responders and educators deal with the tragedy.

“Since the ULA comingled the $115,827 in SHWAP funds with cash from other sources rather than segregate it in a separate bank account, we cannot readily determine how ULA spent these funds, the auditors wrote in response to House Republican Leader Themis Klarides and State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky (R-108), of Newtown.

Bolinsky and Klarides raised concerns over the funds in a Sept. 19 letter to the state auditors asking them to look into the accounts. They were joined at a press conference on December 5 by State Rep. JP Sredzinski (R-112).

Bolinsky was the first to raise concerns about the fund. In the letter, he and Klarides asked for clarification on how the funds were distributed, inquired about the application process, and asked for a breakdown of the union, and non-union responders who received funding.

The auditors said, that after they looked into the ULA accounts that. “Based on these distributions, ULA should have had $103,713 on hand and available for future distributions. However, ULA did not have these funds available.”

Bolinsky said, “I had concerns about how these funds might be handled. They were intended for people who were deeply affected by the horrific tragedy seven years ago next week. I still think we need a fuller accounting of where this money went, what happened, and who it was spent on.”

Klarides said, “I understand the AFL-CIO has indicated it will replace the funds that were spent on services not intended by the legislation we passed in a bipartisan fashion to help those first responders and educators who were so horribly affected. That is not enough, we need to better understand what happened here.”

The program was set up in 2013 by the legislature to provide wage replacement for those workers who were unable to return to duty for a period of time. The legislation designated the OVS to administer the programs. In 2015, after OVS completed its mission, the state Chief Court Administrator recommended that ULA administer 75 percent of the funds and that the Newtown Police Union administer 25 percent.

In August of 2016, the police union declined its portion of the funds and the ULA was designated by the OVS to handle all of the remaining money. The lawmakers said that a lack of disclosure by the labor charity made it impossible to determine if the funds were being properly handled and prompted their request for the audit.

The audit paints a picture of the ULA’s deteriorating financial condition. The charity’s own balance sheet went from $188,000 in the black in 2014, to a negative balance of $76,000 on June 30, 2019.

The lawmakers said that alone should raise even more concerns about the fiscal stability of an agency handling state money.

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