JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry weighed in Thursday on recent upheaval at the Kids Hope Alliance.
Curry created the agency to invest money in children's programs.
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Top-level executives have left Kids Hope Alliance recently. Just last week, the mayor's office suspended CEO Joe Peppers, revealing Peppers is under investigation by the inspector general.
Curry wouldn't comment on Peppers because of the investigation. He said in the meantime, the agency is getting results.
"I expect Kids Hope Alliance, the organization is run by, they have a board and their own CEO now. I expect they have controls in place to make sure we're getting results," Curry said. "They're an independent agency, so I don't personally monitor them or tell them how to, but I expect they know when we are investing dollars in children's programs, that it's being used for that purpose and kids are actually being served for good outcomes."
The day before News4Jax learned Peppers was suspended, an email from Peppers was released. In it, he said he felt pressured by the mayor's top staff to award microgrants to specific programs, even if they didn't follow procedures.
The city's chief administrative officer said that was not true.