South Carolina Lutheran agency cutting staff; will bigwigs in Baltimore see pay cuts?

Ho hum! One more story about a federal resettlement subcontractor having to fire staff because this entire UN/US Refugee Admissions Program was so ill-conceived in the first place and because these supposed ‘religious’ charities became fat and happy on taxpayer dollars rather than raising private money for their “good works.”

lirs-building
The Lutheran Center (LIRS headquarters) is a six-story structure constructed in 1999 on property owned by Baltimore’s historic Christ Lutheran Church. The building is located near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in the historic Federal Hill neighborhood, a charming area rich with history and an eclectic array of eateries and shopping venues. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2014/07/08/lutherans-may-be-operating-centers-for-unaccompanied-minors-in-your-state/

Here is the news from Charleston, South Carolina’s Post and Courier.
BTW, did you see the news about a town hall somewhere being opened with prayer and the Libs in the audience started shouting: “separation of church and state!”   Well, where are they with the resettlement contractors? Where is the ACLU and its lawsuits claiming there should be a separation of church and state?
I digress, here is the news from South Carolina:

Refugee resettlement agency Lutheran Services Carolinas expects to layoff and reassign staff in the wake of President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order dramatically reducing the number of refugees who can enter the United States.

Federal courts have halted Trump’s order suspending the U.S. refugee admissions program. But the courts did not touch a provision of the order that slashed the cap on refugees from 110,000 to 50,000 this fiscal year. As of January 31, just under 40,000 refugees have been admitted to the U.S., including 28 in Charleston. [For the umpteenth time, there was no slashing in half! That 110,000 (ceiling!) was Obama’s last wish, nothing more! Average has been around 65,000 since 9/11.—ed]

Agencies such as Lutheran Services Carolinas, which resettles refugees in Charleston, Columbia and Raleigh, rely on federal money tied to each refugee they help resettle.

Yes! As I have been saying, it’s a kind of ponzi scheme built on ever-increasing numbers of refugees (paying clients!) being admitted to the US.
Post and Courier continues…..

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LIRS CEO Hartke

Lutheran Services Carolinas is an affiliate of Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of nine national organizations*** working on behalf of the federal government to help resettle refugees. Linda Hartke, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, estimates between 70 and 80 positions so far have been cut at partner agencies across the country.

“We and all of the resettlement networks are looking at reductions of staff,” Hartke said. “There’s not funding to pay for staff if refugees aren’t arriving. There’s some work that needs to be continued, but if the arrivals are dropping by more than 50 percent, it’s not good stewardship of resources to try to maintain staff infrastructure.”

***Update*** Hartke to receive Maryland business award, here.

Now, let’s have a little look at LIRS financial situation….

Why does no mainstream media ever bother doing this?
First, see one of their pages at USA Spending.  From 2008-2016 they received $358,862,898 of your money from the US Treasury.

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I’ve screenshot only 5 of 164 “transactions” here at USA Spending: https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/AdvancedSearch.aspx?k=Lutheran%20Immigration%20and%20Refugee%20Service

This (below) is a page from the most recent Form 990 that I could find.  Do you see that the federally-funded portion of their total revenue that year ($59,862,898) included $55,341,275 in federal grants and that loan servicing fee ($1,817,755) is likely the travel loan collection fee they receive from collecting money from refugees for their airfare (that was all your money too).
Thus 95% of their income comes from you—the American taxpayer!
Look at that paltry little bit of money they raised privately!
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http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/132/574/2014-132574854-0bc6c937-9.pdf

Will any of the bigwigs in Baltimore see a pay cut or is Ms. Hartke preserving their resources at the top?
Is that good stewardship?  I find it uncomfortable to report people’s salaries, and if this was a real non-profit group or a private business instead of a quasi-government agency, it would be none of our business what they pay their staff.
However, it isn’t a real non-profit group and since we pay the vast majority of their salaries, you should know what you pay them.
For comparison, go here to see what members of Congress make ($174,000 on average).  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan makes less ($223,500) than Ms. Hartke!   (You are paying for both of them!)
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http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/132/574/2014-132574854-0bc6c937-9.pdf

So how many of you are crying for the contractors now?
For our complete archive on LIRS, click here.
***These are the nine federal refugee contractors:

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