FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORMER MORRISON COUNTY UNITED WAY DIRECTOR FILES COMPLAINT WITH THE MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
On August 22, 2008 Morrison County United Way’s executive committee called for the resignation of Executive Director Jody Scott Olson and offered over $4,000 dollars in severance pay providing she not discuss the non profit organization. In the 4 months Olson spent working in the Morrison County United Way office she found issues of conflict of interest, financial mismanagement, fraudulent reporting on state and federal documents and systemic mismanagement. Olson refused their severance offer and later ignored a Cease and Desist letter issued by the organization by granting interviews to the local news media which included an appearance on the radio talk show Up-Front with Rod Grams. No subsequent action has been taken by Morrison County United Way with regard to their defamation claim. Olson told Grams during her interview that regardless of how unflattering the truth may be defamation can only be claimed if the information is somehow incorrect.
Olson said, “We’ve seen too many scandals and its everyday people who suffer the greatest loss. This organization has been taking in well over a quarter of a million per year from economically struggling community. You have to ask yourself how much of that money is actually trickling in far enough to provide a community benefit and how much is being spent on golf tournaments and agency salaries. When you have a 30 thousand dollar revenue short fall and you are not providing any oversight for some of the funding received, why would you (Morrison County United Way Board) allow the former director full time wages to work-part time hours? Why would you preface my employment by telling me that the job isn’t really full-time? You not only have a mismanaged organization but an accountant who admitted to making the organization look good on paper and a local newspaper who sidesteps facts to cover the auditor and the organization.. It’s gravely concerning and I have to question how deep the selling out of the poor in this community actually goes.”
Olson said that during the Morrison County United Way’s August board meeting, that auditor Gary Paulson admitted to having only verbally acknowledged the material weakness to key committee members and deliberately withheld that information from the previous years audit, stating that he was acting out of concern for the reputation of his friend, former Morrison County United Way Director Ted Pfohl. He further admitted to having “softened” the language from that of his preliminary report for this years audit after running into Pfohl at a golf event and after executive committee members made it clear that they were unhappy with his preliminary report. Despite the auditor’s admission, the Morrison County United Way Board approved the audit report and subsequently filed it with the IRS and signed off on its submission to Minnesota Attorney General’s office.
Olson has since completed the compilation of 3 reports all of which have been submitted to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. In the interest of public trust and transparency all correspondences and documents have been posted for public viewing online at www.live-untied.com
Olson said that this is the second time she was hired to “clean up” a mismanaged office and that in both cases, once she was on staff that she was expected to participate rather than rectify. In 2002, Olson filed a similar complaint with the Attorney General’s office which lead to a legislative audit of the management of Environmental Trust Fund dollars securing the repayment of over $70,000 in grant dollars. http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/Fad/access/03-12.htm
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