L. Patrick Deering, former president of a Towson-based insurance consulting firm, said its oversight does not extend beyond approving the creation of accounts.
"It's their money," he said of city departments. "All we are is a fiduciary holding it for them until it is disbursed."
James Piper III, also a charter member of the foundation's board and former executive vice president of O'Conor, Piper & Flynn ERA, said it was a "technical question" that he could not answer.
Norris, the University of Maryland public policy professor, said that stringent accounting methods should be followed regardless of who is handling the money.
"One expects the accounting for that money will be just as rigorous as it is for city money," he said. "This is pretty loosey-goosey."
In other cities, nonprofits with links to city government say they monitor whether private donations are spent properly.
The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City oversees grant-writing and reporting, manages the funds, and works with donors, said Megan Sheekey, the group's president. Donations are vetted through legal counsel before acceptance, and funds are spent according to budgets developed in collaboration with city officials.
"We say to agencies, 'We are not a bank.' It is not like the parks department going out and raising money and putting it here. City agencies do not 'deposit' money at the fund," she said.
The annual financial report for the city of Baltimore lists the City Foundation among several groups for which the city claims no financial accountability "beyond making appointments."
Ivey initially referred financial questions, including details about the foundation's IRS tax form, to Baltimore-based King, King & Associates, the private firm that handles the foundation's annual audit. But after responding to three minor questions, the firm abruptly stopped answering. The foundation "rescinded our authorization to discuss any and all financial matters," Kara King-Bess, a certified public accountant with the firm, wrote in an e-mail to The Sun in late September.
A standard audit of a nonprofit group should include testing for "any act" that would jeopardize its nonprofit status, said Chuck Landes, vice president for assurance and accounting standards for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The Sun was unable to determine the extent of the audits by King, King & Associates.
