June 12—MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom said Wednesday he believes the “Expert Panel Policy” recently released by the West Virginia First Foundation is unrealistic and a troubling early sign of unnecessary bureaucracy from the agency charged with distributing the state’s opiate scheme. dollars.
Bloom has led the West Virginia First Foundation’s process in the 13-county Region 4 as a representative of the region’s most populous county.
He explained that WVFF’s latest policy undoes some of the work already completed in Region 4 and imposes what he sees as an impossibly large task on a small group of unpaid experts.
At a meeting on May 9, Region 4 representatives strengthened the 16-member panel that would vet the funding applications locally before forwarding them to the 11-member WVFF for final consideration.
It looks like that panel won’t exist.
Instead, Jon Dower, director of WVFF Region 4, will be asked to select a panel of six volunteers, who, according to the policy, will be “experts and leaders in their respective fields,” with “several years of work experience or an advanced degree , “which are “representative not only of the key areas of expertise, but also of the characteristics, demographics and individualized needs of each region.”
These six individuals will be charged with conducting a needs assessment of the 13-province region every 12 months, vetting all projects and grant applications generated from the region, and engaging with the public of their region on a quarterly basis.
According to the policy, the needs assessments generated by these regional expert panels “will assist the board in formulating the annual budgeted amount of disbursements.”
Bloom asked how six unpaid individuals, likely with demanding professional careers, could be asked to conduct a timely needs assessment in thirteen counties and how exactly the foundation will ensure that the surveys are conducted with some degree of uniformity across the state .
“This process could take months or longer,” he said.
Furthermore, in a June 10 email to WVFF director Jonathan Board, he asked: How should Dower pick six people who are representative of the largest region in the state?
During a May 28 presentation to the Morgantown City Council, Dower said about 40% of the state’s population lives in Region 4.
“I don’t see how these individuals could represent the city of Morgantown and any small town in Doddridge County,” Bloom said. “As you know, we have selected a fantastic group of (16) individuals to represent our entire region and I wish there was a way for each region to choose its expert panel.”
Bloom said the board has agreed to submit its request for additional regional autonomy to the foundation as it further reviews the policy.
“We are very concerned about this because as the bureaucracy grows, we will have problems,” he said.
