* After Baltimore received a $1 million private donation to build a visitors center at Cylburn Arboretum, the Department of Recreation and Parks channeled the money through the foundation and sidestepped public bidding, hand-picking a Baltimore architectural firm for the $247,500 contract.
* When the state provided millions of tax dollars for a court audiovisual system, Baltimore Circuit Court officials parked the money in the foundation instead of a city court account. That enabled the deposit to accrue more than $86,000 interest for the court until state auditors uncovered the arrangement and put a stop to it, citing improper use of state funds.
Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a nonprofit watchdog group in Chicago, reviewed details of the Baltimore City Foundation's practices at The Sun's request. The foundation has a legitimate role in enabling the use of private money for public programs, he said, but the board must ensure that it has adequate controls.
"It is ripe for abuse unless it's done aboveboard," Borochoff said. Such organizations should not allow governments to operate in secrecy or avoid public disclosure or competitive bidding rules, he added.
Of the Baltimore City Foundation, he said, "It sounds like a separate bank account that city agencies can use and control. It is a way to get the money off the agencies' books."
Ivey, whose career in city government began in the 1960s and continued into the administration of Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, describes the nearly 30-year-old foundation as a conduit for money raised by the city from private and public sources. The foundation holds money in several dozen accounts, each designated for a specific purpose.
Before a city agency can set up a foundation account, it must obtain the board's approval. But afterward, agencies raise and spend the money at their discretion, The Sun found. City departments inform Ivey when they want to spend money from the accounts, then a city finance clerk reviews the request for compliance with program goals. Ivey or the foundation's treasurer can sign the checks.
Ivey insists that it is the city agencies' responsibility, rather than his or the board's, to ensure that the foundation money is spent in keeping with its nonprofit status. When he receives a request from City Hall to sign a check, it is not his job to challenge it, he said.
