"There can be a judgment that an ice skating rink in front of City Hall doesn't have maybe the same charity value as getting a kid a job for the summer, but nevertheless it is still a charitable work of providing an event to the city," Peterson said.
Other expenses, involving ticketed events, were paid for by the mayor's inauguration nonprofit, he said.
Yet, the foundation also granted a request to pay for a dozen tickets to the inaugural ball.
12 tickets to the ball
In November 2007, an official at Baltimore Rising, a youth mentoring program, requested $600 from its account with the foundation to buy 12 tickets to the inaugural gala for staffers.
Both Ivey and Michael E. Broache, chief of the city's Bureau of Accounting and Payroll Services, who also is the foundation's treasurer, signed the check for the tickets, with the memo line: "12 tickets to inaugural ball."
Lorrie R. Davis, the group's current executive director, was a special assistant to Baltimore Rising in late 2007 and received one of the tickets. She said she could not judge whether the use of the money for tickets was proper.
Salima S. Marriott, a deputy mayor who is chairman of the Baltimore Rising board of directors, said in an e-mail that the decision to use money deposited in the City Foundation "can't be justified."
Referring to Baltimore Rising, she said: "It is not within their mission, nor does it contribute to their mission."
On its tax filings, the Baltimore City Foundation lists its tax-exempt purpose as "local area community welfare," and the office of the Maryland secretary of state, which registers charities, lists the group's activities as providing "critical human resources for youth, the elderly, handicapped, and unemployed."
Shapiro, who specializes in tax law, characterized Baltimore Rising's use of foundation funds for inaugural tickets as a "personal expenditure" that crossed the line, a misuse of charitable and educational resources.
"This is just verboten," he said.
Ivey said he didn't recall the transaction but saw nothing wrong with it. Broache declined to be interviewed. After requesting a list of questions, which were provided to him Sept. 23, he did not answer them.
"My full time [job] as Bureau Chief takes precedence over Treasurer of [Baltimore City Foundation] and everyone knows that," he replied in an e-mail that day.
In a follow-up e-mail Oct. 15, Broache said the city Law Department had advised him not to answer questions.
