Pennsylvania Official To Audit $10 Million State Grant Given To DNC Host Committee
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (CBS) -- The Pennsylvania Auditor General is following up on Gov. Tom Wolf's gripe about how the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee doled out bonuses, after the successful Democratic National Convention last summer.
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale's office will audit the $10 million state grant given to the Host Committee to organize the event, saying the "public has a right to know that those funds were spent appropriately."
Gov. Wolf Says DNC Host Committee Surplus Should Have Gone to Taxpayers
Wolf previously complained $4 million in excess cash, raised for the DNC, should have gone back to the Pennsylvanians, rather than to staff bonuses and grants. The bonuses ranged from $500 for interns to more than $300,000 for the executive director.
As part of the review, DePasquale said he will verify if the host committee kept state funds segregated from monies raised from private individuals, organizations or businesses.
The Host Committee raised more than anticipated -- $86-million, according to former Gov. Ed Rendell, who served as chairman of the Host Committee.
A Committee spokeswoman tells KYW Newsradio that the state money was not mixed with any private dollars. She emphasizes "to be 100 percent clear, no state dollars went to any staff compensation, at all."
The Host Committee says it is reading and willing to help the auditor general's office with whatever documentation that it needs.
