I had to sit and think about how I could begin to put thoughts to paper. The Wedgefield Examiner will start with the facts. Each attendee at the January 15th meeting received a four page treasurer's report. In any similar circumstance, with a board and their related report documents, I could take their papers home and file them as a fact of what was happening in that area of the organization. Not here! Listen to the Treasurer's report at The Wedgefield Times, at about 7.38 minutes into the tape. When DeMarchi gave the report he explained that he had received the report at 6:00 PM, from the management company. He further states that he has spent hours with the management company to get the report in line for reporting Wedgefield's financial transactions. Next, the key word that jumped out of his report was that there was ERRONEOUS information in the reports that we had been handed to take home as RECORDS! You may not keep your reports, but I do. In an era of lawsuits, often claims of violating sound business practice in money and contract management (whether true or false), we were handed this report. The headings were blocked out and according to the handout we have $19,786.61 in canal funds, a $10,000 irrigation system & repair budget, a social committee budget of $500, etc. In the recent past, I believe we even had gazebo maintenance on a report. I didn't see any of these items in the APPROVED 2013 budget.
My stack of reports for the last two plus years are inconsistent, almost no two alike, are either dumbed down like we couldn't possibly understand a real report, or have line items sent all over the place. I hope the board, or the related individual board members, never have to justify this mess in a court. I don't know how they could.
What's the problem? When did we begin to lack consistency and concrete reports? It really started after the Recall of 2010 and a new treasurer that brought in a in house accounting program favored by some of his co-horts in the Concerned Citizen hierarchy. At that time, we had a contract with a CPA, but paid staff to run the in house program and the CPA. That treasurer resigned. McMillin took over. Your board voted to fire the CPA, add a new accounting system, and a bookkeeper, who was brought in to "save money" and "get the job done right". McMillin dumbed down the report to the residents to a page with 10 - 12 lines on it. 2012 delivered Cline as treasurer, who again changed the look of the reports. The bookkeeper was out mid year, and the management company entered early last summer. 2013 brings DeMarchi in as treasurer, and we continue with the management company. We are headed to change again. There is a new reporting format being developed as we read. I'll remind you that we haven't had a report, provided by the management company that truly reports the business of Wedgefield, since the management company entered. If you review the tapes of the meetings since they entered, no matter which treasurer is speaking, they are making verbal corrections, claiming hours of time spent with the management company, etc. I respect the treasurer's time. I question why they are allowing this to go on. I question why they are handing out documents that don't have written correction, to ERRONEOUS information.
Your board, your president, allow ineffective, erroneous reporting to continue. Remember that CPA? We paid him $750/month to perform these services. We are paying the management company $2,525/month - minimum, for a number of services your board is either barely using, or not using at all. Your board is utilizing their accounting services. This is costing you and me, way too much. I've got my financial reports, but it appears by the word ERRONEOUS, that I can't count on what is reported.
I've worked for, or served on, numerous boards for over 25 years. Great boards, middle of the road boards, ineffective boards, but not one did, or would have, handed out an organization financial report, knowing it had ERRONEOUS information on it.
