The effects of abused state funding hit close to home recently when Auburn University President Jay Gogue received a memorandum from Gov. Bob Riley regarding pass-through pork requests.
The memorandum said all presidents of colleges and universities in Alabama must notify Riley by Nov. 16 and every three months for the rest of this fiscal year if elected officials try to use money from their institutions for special projects or "pork."
Gogue said he has seen no evidence of pass-through pork requests at Auburn, but the situation is being monitored for the Nov. 16 report.
"You want to make absolutely sure," Gogue said. "We have four account lines, and I'm sure it will be each of the parties who have responsibilities (to check) each of those lines."
Although Auburn seems to be in the clear, pass-through pork has affected other institutions, such as the University of Alabama.
Lawmakers hiding taxpayer money and not wanting anybody to know where it is actually being spent contributes to the lack of trust, said Todd Stacy, press secretary for the governor's office.
Stacy said Riley has tried many times to pass a ban on pass-through pork for all sectors of government, including four-year universities.
Each year, however, the Legislature has killed the measure.
"Since he came into office, Gov. Riley has fought to make government as accountable and transparent as possible," Stacy said.
In 2003, Riley signed an executive order banning pass-through pork in all state agencies.
"Before, pass-through pork was a very common practice," Stacy said. "He banned that practice in all executive-branch agencies. Lawmakers and officials cannot do it anymore."
In 2007, the state school board voted to ban the practice in the two-year college system.
Stacy said the two-year college system has been abused for years, and people are going to prison for it.
"When higher education fights for every dime of spending and wants to give that money away, it raises a red flag," Stacy said.
The University of Alabama is an example of an institution where pass-through pork requests were made.
Riley constructed his disclosure rule for all four-year institutions after he became aware of, and then thwarted, an attempt by Sen. Phil Poole, D-Tuscaloosa to pass $1.89 million in funds from the University of Alabama budget to the Department of Education.
"He wanted to contact university presidents to make sure they have not been asked to participate in a pass-through pork scheme," Stacy said. "It's Riley's top priority going into the legislative session."
Stacy said Riley is striving to move forward by rebuilding people's trust in public officials.
"We don't want Alabama to develop a reputation for corruption because it hurts our ability to recruit companies and create jobs," Stacy said. "All you have to do is pick up a newspaper or turn on the television to see how much of a problem corruption has become with the indictments and convictions of public officials."
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