On July 23, Gov. Paul LePage announced the allocation of more than $225,000 in contingency account funds to nonprofit organizations around the state. Locally, My Place Teen Center in Westbrook received $50,000 – the biggest gift, handed out by the governor in person – and the Windham Veterans Center received $10,000 for its parking lot paving project. In another local project, the Maine Leadership Institute of Scarborough will share $16,000 with Portland police to conduct a program in conjunction with the Navy SEALS designed to enhance self-esteem and personal resilience, as well as leadership qualities and physical fitness of youth.

The contingency account, created by the Legislature decades ago, allows the chief executive to donate up to $300,000 per fiscal year to whichever causes and organizations he determines needs the money. It is unique among the state budget’s line items in that the expenditures don’t need legislative approval. The governor must consult with the state budget officer or receive a written request for the money from different state agencies, depending on the kind of request. Not only can the governor spend $300,000 on random causes, he also can spend up to $1 million per year on programs having to do with job placement or training programs and up to $2 million to assist with the development of an early childhood care and education. He can also donate to all sorts of causes inside and outside of state government. This includes, according to the 1,400-word statute, institutions regulated by the departments of Health and Human Services and Education, construction projects, real estate purchases, community colleges and any state promotional efforts that could positively impact the state’s economy.

Looking at the list of donations since LePage took office in 2011, it seems the governor spreads the wealth far and wide to all sorts of charities. Veterans groups are common beneficiaries, whether it’s for buildings projects or parades. Senior-citizen groups receive money, as do programs that help victims of domestic violence, chemical dependency as well as suicide prevention and even the victims of the Lewiston fires in 2013.

But sometimes the money – which, let us not forget, is taxpayer money – goes to offbeat causes such as DownEast Magazine’s The Art of Giving Gala, which received $6,000 this year. That total was divvied up among organizations including the Colby College Museum of Art, North Haven Emergency Medical Services, the Maine College of Art Scholarship Fund, the Good Shepherd Food-Bank and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Yes, those are all excellent organizations that help to promote Maine to some degree, as the law requires, but we wonder if this doesn’t promote a privately owned publishing company, too.

The governor likes to pride himself on being the gatekeeper of the Maine taxpayer’s pocketbook. But every year that we see this list of donations published, we wonder how he chooses what groups get the money. Taxpayers could be on the hook for up to the statutory limit of $4.35 million after his term is up. That should be disturbing to penny-pinching tax hawks on both sides of the aisle.

Our other concern with this contingency fund is the political aspect of it. Is it a slush fund to pay back supporters, or create new supporters? The governor’s press secretary, Adrienne Bennett, flatly denies such an assertion, saying, “No, that’s not what it’s used for. Our governor doesn’t operate that way.” As proof, Bennett said LePage has used contingency funds in the past to donate to Learning Works in Portland, which is run by Ethan Strimling, a prominent Democrat and fierce LePage antagonist.

It’s true, the governor wouldn’t give this money directly to a town or county-level Republican Party group, since that would raise eyebrows from all corners, and presumably wouldn’t pass muster with the state budget officer who the law requires the governor to consult. However, money has a strong influence in politics, and we can’t help thinking that these dollars might somehow influence those who receive it, or those hoping to receive it. Some groups receive money more than one time. The whole decision process is not public, and that worries us.

We’re also not sure why Maine’s chief executive was given this power in the first place, since the Legislature holds the purse strings. It’d be fine if the Legislature stipulated that this money could only be used on actual emergencies, but it doesn’t. And the money obviously is not being used by LePage for emergencies. Contingency accounts are usually vital for government. On the local level, municipal and school leaders hold a percentage of the overall budget in a contingency fund just in case. In 2008, when the economy collapsed, it was reassuring to know the local government could keep functioning since it had surplus to provide a cushion. That’s what a contingency account is for.

The governor’s use of his contingency account is based on charity, not emergency, which we think is deviating from the spirit of the law. It’s a debate worth having.

-John Balentine, managing editor