Cook: Why the Secrecy Around Washington County’s LSA?

October 19, 2023

WASHINGTON – Continuing his quest for transparency regarding Washington County’s Local Share Account (LSA) program and $10 million in unaccounted-for funds, Rep. Bud Cook (R-Greene/Washington) addressed the Washington County commissioners at their regular meeting Thursday. 

“For six years, I have been seeking answers about LSA on behalf of the people I represent, and the people the commissioners were elected to serve,” Cook said. “Because I’m not one of the ‘politically connected,’ my questions are not only ignored but also fought back against by lawyers for the county at considerable expense to taxpayers.

“Why not just open the books and show us the $10 million in funds that are unaccounted for. Show us the process the board goes through to make selections about who gets funding and who doesn’t,” Cook said. “If there’s truly ‘nothing to see here,’ why are the commissioners refusing to answer our questions?”

Since taking office in 2017, Cook has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest in how LSA funds are awarded; a lack of fairness, accountability and transparency of the LSA awards process; and what appears to be $10 million in funding unaccounted for from the LSA account.

A history of Cook’s efforts to obtain information, including right-to-know requests and the county’s legal expenses to fight those requests, as well as communications with state officials seeking an audit of the program are available at RepBudCook.com. 

To watch Cook’s comments to the commissioners, as well as the commissioners’ response, click here. 

LSAs were established under Act 71 of 2004, the PA Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, to provide for the distribution of gaming revenues through the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) to support projects in the public interest within the Commonwealth. In addition to the statewide LSA program, counties in which gaming facilities are located operate local LSAs to award funding for economic development projects, job training, community improvement projects and public interest projects. 



Representative Bud Cook
50th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Patricia Hippler
717.772.9846
phippler@pahousegop.com
RepBudCook.com / Facebook.com/RepBudCook