Bennett and POM

In addition to being the Lehigh Valley's Democratic nominee to Congress, Sam Bennett is also the executive director at Properties of Merit (POM). As explained on the group's web page, the idea behind that publicly and privately funded nonprofit is that "well-maintained streets and buildings collectively have dramatic positive impact on the quality of life of communities."

Last July, Bennett got into a bit of hot water over her $110,000 salary at a service organization whose total budget was only $351,000. The Morning Call's Josh Drobnyk said this.

"How Properties of Merit came to Executive Director Bennett's $110,000 salary goes against Internal Revenue Service guidelines and raises questions about the organization's -- and Bennett's -- decision-making.

"The organization picked three people -- Bennett among them -- to determine a fair wage. It ignored budget size when researching salaries at similar organizations. And it counted future volunteers as employees, comparing itself to organizations with 100 or more staffers."

Bennett eventually agreed to slash her $110,000 salary in half while an independent consultant reviewed whether her pay was set too high.

On March 3, consultant Steve Langer released a report exonerating POM, claiming the compensation committee had followed IRS guidelines and had acted in good faith. But fellow blogger Pam Varkony questions whether Langer really was all that independent. Why? Because he is one of the persons who helped set Bennett's salary at $110,000. An op-ed published by POM board prez Jim Molchany last July, twice mentions that Langer's services were used to set that salary.

With this background in mind, Bennett was asked a few questions about POM and her salary.

Question: Exactly how much were you paid last year as executive director for nonprofit Properties of Merit? You had agreed to a fifty per cent pay cut while an independent third party reviewed the propriety of paying you $110,000 to manage a nonprofit whose budget is only $351,000. So was your 2007 salary only $55,000 or was it actually a higher figure?

"My salary was $88,000. The paycut did not take place until July or August. There was nothing wrong with my original salary. But I need to demonstrate that I'm responsive to people's concerns. The allegations were completely unfounded. The political reporter of The Morning Call writes an investigative piece based on lies, half-truths and innuendo. But I had to be perceived as being responsive. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard."

Question: When your $110,000 salary was determined at POM, you were part of the committee. An "independent third party" has determined your salary was properly set. But according to a report from Pam Varkony, independent consultant Steve Langer just happens to be one of the people involved in the original decision. How can you claim he is really an independent third party?

"That consultant is internationally regarded as an expert in nonprofit compensation. He did months of research and released a report. He was not involved in the compensation committee. The Morning Call never even ran a story. They protect their favorite son."

Question: OK, but what about Pam Varkony's blog that this independent consultant had a role in setting your original salary?

"POM posted the consultant’s report on its website, mypom.org, and this report was prepared by Steve Langer, a non-profit compensation expert from Colorado. I’m confused as to how Pam Varkony drew the conclusion that this individual served on a committee for POM. Pennsylvania has one of the lowest levels of women in elected office in the country. This is an important issue that Pam and her 'Power of Women' would do well to address. I’d be disappointed if Pam was using this as an opportunity to level a partisan fueled attack on POM in order to support her fellow Republican Congressman Dent – and attacking one of the few women running for Federal office in PA in 2008. After all, Pam attacked Hillary Clinton with a distasteful smear against all women, saying (in her infinite wisdom) that it just might be true that girls are bad at math.”

Question: Has Bennett's husband, Martin Estrada, or his business ever received any payments from POM?

"No! I'm a little shocked by that question. Martin donates his time to POM. He does work for a software firm called EMC and we have purchased their software. But he makes no money from that. It would be like he was working at Alpo and we bought Alpo dog food."

Blogger's Note: I have asked The Morning Call why it has failed to report Bennett's exoneration, even if it is questionable. The paper's original, front page story, hurled some serious accusations. Amazingly, the paper declined comment.