Ethics complaint against state official to get hearing

August 21, 2023

A hearing before the State Board of Ethics is set for September 7 on a complaint against Deb Mikula of the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). MACC is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). T. Hughes of East Lansing, the person who filed the complaint, tells me:

The complaint relates to unethical spending of public funds. MACC created the CANM nonprofit lobbying group in 2020, after Creative Many went bankrupt. MACC immediately funded it $70K/year. They appointed Mikula president for the first couple of years. Mikula also runs the MLA [Michigan Library Association]. CANM never existed until Mikula was on the MACC. CANM and MLA never received funding until Mikula was appointed to MACC.

According to MACC meeting minutes, Mikula has presented on behalf of both

Deb Mikula and Governor Whitmer

organizations, to MACC, annually. MACC meets just four times per year and only gives a handful of invitation-only grants per year. The invitation-only grants are called Services to the Field grants. Mikula regularly moves to approve, and approves, these invitation-only, NON-COMPETITIVE discretionary grants, to the tune of over $100K annually, for her organizations. The law and MACC procedure require that she recuse herself from voting on funding for groups she has an interest in. Even if she had recused herself, the choice to fund two of a MACC appointee's organizations calls into question MACC's Services to the Field grant process. MACC allows the Executive Director, Alison Watson, to simply decide who to fund.

Another example of MACC's questionable Services to the Field funding involves the Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN). MACC meeting minutes show Watson telling the MACC that MHPN will be moving into the MEDC building late 2019/early 2020. After the move, MHPN immediately received $10K in MACC discretionary funding at the height of the pandemic in 2020. MHPN now receives the invitation-only, non-competitive Services to the Field grant annually to the tune of ~$30-40K. Before moving into the MEDC building, where MACC is housed, MHPN never received arts funding.

In her response to the complaint, Mikula only acknowledges voting on competitive grant. She declines to address her grantee organization presentations or her motions to fund and/or votes to approve her own funding. It is inappropriate and unethical for Michigan public servants to use their government appointments to enrich themselves or their employers. It is inappropriate for an appointee to serve two grantees at the same time as the grantor.

The ethics complaint is not the first instance of nepotism/cronyism concerns regarding Mikula. She resigned from the Howell Parks & Recreation Board when her personal relationship with an authority employee was discovered.

The 17-page complaint is here. Hughes states that Mikula (as representative of MACC and simultaneous representative of her invitation-only funded organizations), has conflicts of interest, holds incompatible offices, uses improper procedure in making public grants, and is in contractual noncompliance related to discrimination.

Mikula's 133-page, August 14 response to the complaint is here.

Hughes' 7-page, August 15 reply to the above is here.

The Board of Ethics meeting is at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 7 in the lower level of Capitol Commons Center, 400 South Pine Street, Lansing. The meeting is open to the public.

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