Birmingham Grant Investigated

Officials in Birmingham, Ala., are demanding the return of a $25,000 grant for a jazz concert and workshop that apparently never happened, and are conducting an investigation into the matter.

A city audit determined that concert promoter Michael McMillan and his nonprofit group, Teen Rock International, were not eligible to receive the 2003 grant.

The auditor’s report said McMillan failed to provide adequate information about his use of the money before receiving the grant and subsequently failed to sponsor the concert and workshop, according to The Birmingham News.

The auditor recommended that Councilman Bert Miller be investigated for his role in approving the grant. Miller told the city’s Arts and Cultural Commission that an executive committee had recommended that the Teen Rock grant be approved, but committee members denied they were ever consulted.

The city requested that Miller, McMillan and a Teen Rock employee pay back the $25,000, and Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid subsequently appointed an attorney to investigate. McMillan reportedly said he can prove that he did what he was supposed to do with the money.

Miller issued a statement denying that he had benefited from any grants from the commission, and welcomed the investigation, according to the News.