By William Gjebre
BrowardBulldog.org
Hallandale Beach city commissioners have shot down a request from a legislative committee that it seek a new opinion from the Florida Attorney General on how community redevelopment funds can be spent and abide by the ruling.
By Fred Schulte, Center for Public Integrity
Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Wshington Photo: Jasmine Norwood/Center for Public Integrity
Citing massive budget and staff cuts, federal officials are set to scale back or drop a host of investigations into Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse — even though cracking down on government waste and cutting health care costs have been top priorities for the Obama administration.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is set to lose a total of 400 staffers that are deployed nationwide as a primary defense against health care fraud and abuse. Though agency officials have yet to decide which investigations will be shelved as staff dwindles, the existing staff is already stretched so thin that the agency has failed to act on 1,200 complaints over the past year alleging wrongdoing — and expects that number to rise.
By William Gjebre
BrowardBulldog.org
Hallandale Beach city commissioners on Wednesday will consider asking the Florida Attorney General for a ruling on how community redevelopment funds can be spent, a decision that could have a far-reaching impact.
By William Gjebre
BrowardBulldog.org
Hallandale Beach has diverted nearly a third of its Community Redevelopment Agency’s $11.6 million annual budget to pay for various city programs, including some apparently outside state guidelines for CRA expenditures.
