Here is what I asked them on June 18, 2015 in question 3, in my letter:
"During the May WPA Board Meeting, a board member mentioned that the bookkeeper/ accountant had left, and wanted to know if she would be replaced. When did this contractor, or employee leave? What was the date? What was the reason that this person left? Treasurer DeMarchi, did not report on the date this individual left, plans to replace her, candidates, or anticipated expense to the accounting function. Please provide that information. "
What made me think that I would get an answer:
The Board Community Liaison, Anderson, responded in writing, in regard to question # 3 said, "I will refer this question to Al DeMarchi, the board treasurer." It has been more than 30 days since I wrote, and still no answer from Treasurer, DeMarchi.
Now, for what happened during the meeting. PLEASE NOTE: I will relate what occurred to the best of my ability. As always, I highly suggest that you go to the tape of the meeting at the WPA website, or The Wedgefield Times, to verify information for yourself. COMMENTS, are provided at the end of the article, and noted as such.
Here is where some of the answers, inadvertently, start coming. Treasurer, Demarchi, reports that the bookkeeper has left, and he is trying to find another. DeMarchi says the former bookkeeper (?????) left because she was upset that she couldn't use a 5 year old program, and the WPA had gotten a new one. He lists some of the things that the new person would need to do. He has a quote in a envelope for $600/mo., but wants to table it because the CPA (believe that we use for the audit) is in Europe, and he'd like to wait for a schedule of his fees. Garrison jumps in and asks him what he is waiting for? He states that this guy bid once, then renigged on the bid. Garrison said that we have been without the bookkeeper (position to be filled?????), for "MONTHS AND MONTHS". At another point Garrison says, "I don't want to wait. It has been long enough, fooling around with this." Still later, Garrison speaks about integrity, protection to board and Kathy, in having these services performed. Cline says we need to do the right thing. Later, Garrison suggests that DeMarchi call the board to a meeting BEFORE the next meeting, to get this done.
During the July meeting, DeMarchi announces that he is changing/simplifying, the financial reports, that are handed out each month. (Why, less reported, less chance of error? A dumbing down of reporting to suit the needs of a flawed process?)
Before we leave the board meeting, and go into comments, it should be noted that during McMillin's request for funds for the weed eating carp, that he states the money is to come out of fund # 10--. When discussion begins, DeMarchi gives another account number, and asks Kathy (paid staff, and other member of the DeMarchi, two person, accounting function) if that isn't correct. She agrees with the number McMillin has presented, and DeMarchi says that he gave her a note on that. They'll talk about it later.
COMMENTS:
Before I really get into this, I should note that I went to The Wedgefield Times, to check their coverage of this meeting. I found the following in the meeting report there.
Meeting Highlights
NOTE that the WPA Board in general, and probably Mr. DeMarchi in particular, has removed the "monthly" portion of the financial data package handed out at this monthly WPA Board meeting. The reader of this web site has no information that this part of the financial data package, along with the monthly YTD part of the package, have been used to show errors in the WPA published data every month since January 2015, via my recent, lengthly and confidential email to the WPA Board. During a home visit by Mr. DeMarchi, your Treasurer, committed to the following actions regarding the correcting the errors: (1) finding the cause of the errors, (2) fixing them, (3) and revising the appropriate WPA web site financial files with names showing the corrected versions.
I presume that by withholding the "monthly" WPA data, Board does not plan to honor the above commitment! But maybe the Board has little need for "error-free" financial statements.
I believe the financial data errors are a consequence of a "no prior review" policy before the publication of such data!
I have already gone to the office and reviewed the correspondence file from Jan. - June 2015. For almost every one of those months, a resident was questioning the figures in the financial reports, with errors admitted at times by DeMarchi.
I'm not requesting a home visit by DeMarchi, as provided to The Wedgefield Times Editor. I do deserve to have my questions answered in writing. I pay my assessments, this is where I live, and we deserve better governance and fiscal management than this. This isn't weeds in the pond and how to get them out, and your board's experimenting! This is our money!
Every board member has failed miserably in their responsibilities. Why? They have gotten far to comfortable in dumbing down information (now proposed in financial reports), and lack of reporting exactly what is going on, when, where, and why, from the board table. The "integrity", a word I'll use right along with Garrison, has been gone for months, and you can't tell me that board members didn't know. So they sat there month after month, basically lying to us by omission. They love cohesive, but they are individually elected to represent us, vote, ask, and get the business of the association out on the board table, and in the open!
