A board that has engaged in name-calling and threats went at it again as Treasurer Bart Wise went over findings from Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau annual report audits.
The CVB board of directors stopped its audit report midway Monday evening because all members did not have a copy. The board is auditing the previous three fiscal years because no audits were completed.
Wise said audits for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 are complete and the 2011 report is in progress.
Wise found $19,700 in undocumented expenses — $14,000 of which had no receipts; another $5,700 had no receipts or explanation of the expenditures.
“Most of it was James’,” he said, referring to former Executive Director James Tsismanakis. The nearly $20,000 evolved from credit card usage. “James had it paid online without any checks.”
The board’s accounting procedures have changed, Wise said, adding expenditures are now paid with checks.
Board member Whirllie Byrd insisted that some of the credit card usage was current Executive Director Nancy Carpenter’s.
Wise explained Carpenter was not executive director during the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years. He added that the finance committee, of which Byrd is a member, met to go over the audits.
Byrd shot back, “I don’t trust you anyway.” She said she didn’t attend the finance committee meeting because she was busy and didn’t have time to read the email notice of the meeting. She said someone should call her on the phone.
Wise said a third finding was more than $34,500 paid to three custodial employees without time sheets or tax forms.
At that point, the board got into a discussion whether members who served under Tsismanakis had conducted audits.
Member Dewitt Hicks said the board voted every year to do one.
“It was the intent of this board to have it done every year,” he said.
Carpenter said minutes reflect the board voted for audits but no one was ever employed to do one.
At that point, members Bernard Buckhalter and Harvey Myrick said discussion should stop until every member had a copy of the findings.
Wise said the CVB’s share of sales tax revenues is $118,000 from November. He said he expects December receipts to top $124,000.
Members then spent at least 30 minutes asking questions about bills.
Board Vice President Mark Castleberry said the board’s function is not to micromanage everything. It is to set policy. He encouraged members to buy and read a book on how boards operate. They are policy-making entities. He added the CVB board has “failed miserably.”
Byrd said Castleberry should take his own advice. He comes to meetings and tries to shove his own policies down other members’ throats, she said.
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