Includes 120 page report on grants to nongovernmental organizations since 2017
Ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently has been and remains a priority of North Carolina House Democrats. House Democratic Leader Robert Reives has been a champion of this cause, particularly as the General Assembly allocates billions of dollars into unaccountable voucher programs. Last year, then-Treasurer Dale Folwell said about vouchers: “Anything that is getting a taxpayer dollar needs to be held to the same level of transparency, and same level of accountability” as our public schools.
Leader Reives echoed his sentiments: “This should not be a partisan issue. I agree with Treasurer Folwell: Entities receiving taxpayer money deserve scrutiny. North Carolinians deserve to know what their tax dollars are funding.”
Also well-documented is the consistent use of the state budget process to inject millions of dollars in no-bid contracts and direct local spending into districts across the state. Regarding WRAL’s reporting at the time, Leader Reives said: “We need to introduce new measures that ensure proper oversight of these contracts, such as approval from the Council of State and, after approval, deliberate oversight from the General Assembly and independent agencies like the Office of the State Auditor.”
The budget process can be rife for abuse, as the News & Observer and The Assembly demonstrated with the inclusion of $55 million in taxpayer money for the U.S. Performance Center and the North Carolina Sports Legacy Foundation. As The Assembly reported in another article, “In the last four years, state lawmakers gave $2.3 billion of taxpayer money to hundreds of organizations without a competitive process or public hearings.”
“North Carolinians expect transparency and accountability in their state government, but in the budget process, there is little to be found,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said. “While it is important for the General Assembly to exercise its oversight of state agencies, there equally should be an expectation that the billions of dollars allocated by this body annually are scrutinized and held to account.”
For the sake of transparency, attached is a list of grants to nongovernmental organizations by the NCGA since 2017. Many of these grants may be worthwhile, but many also may not be the best use of taxpayer money. North Carolinians deserve to know where their money is spent, particularly given the meager opportunities provided for the public to contribute to the budget process.