The revelations were part of a harsh state audit critical of Colorado’s HIV and AIDS Prevention Grant Program run by the department of health.
It found that the seven-member advisory committee that recommends grants to myriad AIDS groups throughout the state runs meetings that are disorganized and plagued with absenteeism and vacancies.
Members often make decisions about grant applications over email without giving proper public notice or keeping minutes, both of which violate of Colorado’s Sunshine Law. Auditors also found instances in which no minutes were kept during in-person meetings, meaning there’s no official record of what happened.
Most troubling was that a committee member who admitted to having some personal or professional relationship with organizations seeking funding was still allowed to make recommendations as to whether those organizations were approved.
“Conflict-of-interest forms for 22 grant applications were not on file for one Advisory Committee member,” the audit noted. “Additionally, in nine cases, an Advisory Committee member reviewed and scored a grant application despite the member’s having disclosed some type of personal or professional relationship, affiliation, or interest with the applicant.”
Carol Helwig, one of the committee members, called it “an egregious oversight.”
