The Barren River Area Development District continues to be in the news, and for reasons that continue to perplex us.

We have already written of our opposition to BRADD’s decision to fight the Kentucky Department of Aging and Independent Living over allocating nearly $83,000 from 2009-14 for employee bonuses out of DAIL money. DAIL wants the money paid into the Kentucky treasury. however BRADD is spending money on legal counsel to fight the claim – asserting that federal law permits its action.

As this newspaper reported recently, if that $82,976.14 had been allocated for DAIL programs in the 10-county region, it could have provided more than 11,000 home-delivered meals, almost 2,000 hours of home management services or about 2,000 hours of personal care services.

Situations such as this show that just because something is permitted in the public sector, doesn’t mean it’s OK. Common sense should dictate passing on that option.

The $82,976.14 in question was authorized in across-the-board bonuses to BRADD employees from 2009-14. It is considered a disallowed expense by DAIL. Bowling Green attorney David Broderick has told the BRADD executive council, which was scheduled to meet late Wednesday morning in Bowling Green, that the legal bill could approach $20,000 or more if the fight over the money goes all the way to Franklin Circuit Court.

Allen County Judge-Executive Johnny Hobdy’s plea to the rest of the BRADD executive council at its last meeting – that maybe paying the money was a better idea than spending additional money to fight the claim – fell on deaf ears.

BRADD Chairman Greg Wilson, Metcalfe County’s judge-executive, said in response to Hobdy: “Right’s right and wrong’s wrong. The state isn’t always right.”

Really? Quite frankly, BRADD has become an embarrassment to the 10-county region with such decisions and ill-advised pronouncements such as Wilson’s.

For example, BRADD Executive Director Rodney Kirtley was asked point-blank at a recent meeting of the South Central Kentucky Workforce Development Board whether BRADD faces any state censure for its spending of federal workforce funds. That’s not an ideal question to be asked of BRADD, especially in light of the Bluegrass Area Development District’s current plight – it is being asked by the state to repay nearly $900,000 in disallowed spending.

Kirtley said during the workforce board meeting that comparing the BGADD situation and BRADD’s financial picture and decisions is like “comparing apples and oranges.” Kirtley added that BRADD will most certainly prevail in its legal challenge against DAIL.

We repeat: More than 11,000 home-delivered meals, almost 2,000 hours of home management services or about 2,000 hours of personal care services to “elders and individuals with disabilities,” according to DAIL’s own website. Using that money for bonuses was morally and ethically wrong.

We believe such arrogance deserves a solution for the region. We suggest BRADD bid neither on the fiscal agent contract for the new workforce board nor any successive offered contracts for delivering workforce services in the region.

We believe the region needs a fresh start in what entity delivers the workforce mission in the future. BRADD should shrink from an area development agency that controls and spends about $8 million in state of Kentucky and federal government money to one that controls and spends about $5 million – minus federal and state workforce money. There are still plenty of worthy missions for BRADD to pursue. For one, it can drop its DAIL claim and get busy providing services to the most needy individuals in our region.

One last word of caution: Should BRADD continue to careen on this current course of poor decision-making and even worse performance, Gov. Matt Bevin has the power to take over BRADD, just like any other area development district, and fix it.