Director puts youth center at risk, commissioner says. But is it purely politics?

Could the Palmetto Youth Center be caught in the middle of a political power play?

Some believe that is the case, saying the center’s executive director, Reggie Bellamy, is planning to run against the man calling for his resignation, Manatee County Commissioner Charles Smith.

Smith vehemently denies those rumors and Bellamy still isn’t talking, although he did say Friday that he is preparing a statement in response to Smith’s demands to resign.

Smith said he has not heard anything about a possible Bellamy run for office, but welcomes the opportunity to face him in the November election.

“He’d get two votes,” Smith said.

At an impromptu press conference Monday at the county administration building, Smith called for the resignation of Bellamy. Smith contends the executive director didn’t do enough to ensure the county would continue the center’s key programs — more specifically Teen Hype, an evening program that gives teens a safe place to have fun with a variety of projects.

Bellamy earns $43,726 as a student support specialist at Buffalo Creek Middle School and is the head coach of the boys basketball team at Palmetto High School. His executive director position pays $21,693, according to the Youth Center’s 2016 IRS 999 form.

Smith said he has been receiving complaints for a year, including from two board members he declined to identify. But there have been no public complaints to date from the board of directors.

Lillie Covington, who served as the youth center’s board chair for the past year until recently, said, “As far as I’m concerned, we are behind Reggie. He’s doing a wonderful job.”

When asked what she thought about Smith’s complaints, Covington said, “I have no comment on that.”

But Ed Dick, a former long-time board member, member emeritus and a financial supporter of the center, had a lot to say.

“I still go to all the board meetings and Reggie is the best executive director that we’ve ever, ever, ever had hands down,” Dick said. “Out of a group of sorry executive directors we’ve had in the past, Reggie is good. He’s always laid out things fiscally, so we know what we are doing.”

Dick did not say Smith was one of those “sorry” past directors, but pointed out that Smith was a former director, and he was only in the role a short time.

“I can assure you Reggie is the most-effective director we’ve ever had,” Dick said. “If anyone should resign, it should be Charles Smith.”

Current board chair Kim Riker could not be reached for comment for this report.

Taking it to commission

Smith has asked that the Palmetto Youth Center be on the county commission’s agenda on Feb. 13, when he wants to bring the matter to a head. Smith went as far as to say Bellamy’s acceptance of a paycheck as a full-time employee amounts to “criminal behavior.”

“That’s where this is heading,” Smith said. “I’m trying to save this young man, but you can’t stand by wrongness. He’s never showed up to any meetings on issues important to the center’s funding. It’s not about Reggie, it’s about the children. He needs to resign sooner than later or this is going to get more intense. He’s working full time in the school system and is supposed to be full time at the center. You can’t take taxpayer money in an unlawful way.”

Smith claims two donors to the center have considered withdrawing support.

“Those are the facts,” Smith said. “This is not about politics. I’m not a politician. I take this very seriously, which is why I want the center in this public meeting. I can’t talk to my fellow commissioners unless it’s at a meeting, and the public needs to come and have their say. The board of county commissioners can’t condone a nonprofit doing what he’s doing. We can’t justify funding a nonprofit when the executive director is not working.”

Long-established presence

The Palmetto Youth Center was established in 1957 to provide a positive environment for at-risk youth, a mission it still serves today with various programs, including Teen Hype, before- and after-school programs, summer camps and athletic programs.

According to the agency’s 2016 IRS 999 form, the youth center is not in financial trouble. In 2016, the center took in $656,206 in revenue, mostly from government donations and fundraisers. Only a little more than $41,000 was raised through program services. In total, the center reported $543,136 in expenses. More than $202,000 covers the salaries of 18 employees, more than $42,000 in payroll taxes and $35,560 in insurance benefits.

Another $42,000 was spent for utilities, $28,000 for repairs and maintenance, and almost $20,000 for supplies.

While the youth center is not in financial trouble, the margin between revenue and expenses is fairly thin. Smith said that’s why Bellamy should be present at funding requests and do more to take advantage of funding opportunities. Smith said that’s why the youth center lost its football program, which he mentioned at Monday’s press conference. Until Bellamy responds, that claim has not yet been verified and the program remains listed on the center’s website.

Smith told the Bradenton Herald he supported Bellamy up until July, when Bellamy received notification from Manatee County Children’s Services that the Teen Hype program scored too low to qualify for the funding request. The Children’s Services advisory board scored the program at 75.10. Each year, nonprofits seeking county funding must apply and those applications are scored by the agency’s advisory board.

Susan Ford, lead human services analyst for Manatee County Neighborhood Services, said the Teen Hype application essentially scored a failing grade, but other factors were considered.

“The simplest way to explain it is it’s like a test score and that score is a failing grade,” she said. “However, that’s not necessarily based on the program, but on the entire application.”

Deputy County Administrator Cheri Coryea explained the score is based on ratings provided by each member of the advisory board. The highest and lowest scores are removed and the remaining scores are averaged. Coryea said the threshold is typically around 80, and the Palmetto Youth Center was one of 10 programs that fell below that threshold when the applications were scored over the summer leading into the commission’s September’s budget cycle for consideration of funding.

“However, a program could still be funded below 80 points if they still impact an important goal to a neighborhood community,” Coryea said. “Also, if there was not a clear result for the investment of money, a program can lose some points. This program and another called Replay Outreach, which is a program of male mentors to young male offenders, were felt to address a population and a neighborhood that were important. So the BCC recommended another year of funding.”

According to an email chain, Smith didn’t start looking for the July letter informing Bellamy that funding was not being recommended until December, but said he believes Bellamy knew funding was in jeopardy. As to why Smith waited until December to look for the letter, he said, “I was challenging staff accuracy. I didn’t believe they sent him that letter.”

At Monday’s press conference, Smith took credit for ensuring the Teen Hype program was funded, noting, “I, as a commissioner, fought and convinced the board of county commissioners to overturn the recommendation” not to fund Teen Hype.

Minutes of the county’s budget hearings in September show Smith in support of the funding, but it was Commissioner Carol Whitmore who led the charge to get the funding. The minutes also report that it was Whitmore’s motion that led to the approval, though Smith remembers it differently.

Whitmore declined to comment on the situation, and Smith clarified his point by saying, “I articulated the need that they be funded.”

Smith’s main complaint is that the youth center is suffering because Bellamy is being pulled in too many directions.

“The bottom line is that the youth center needs help,” Smith said. “These issues started last year and the proof is in the pudding. I could stand by Reggie if he was working for his money, but I cannot stand by anyone receiving $114,000 in funding and not showing up to work. In the real world, that’s theft.”

Smith said he will be calling for an internal audit of the center’s finances.

“That’s where it’s heading,” he said. “Again, I’m trying to save this young man, but nowhere in America can you not show up for work and get paid.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Director puts youth center at risk, commissioner says. But is it purely politics?."