Chamber keeps Metiva; cash flow a problem

WASILLA — Based on the results of an informal internal audit conducted by the board of directors, Cheryl Metiva will remain as the executive director of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce.

In a written statement read at Tuesday’s luncheon, the board of directors says they reviewed the books for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 to date and found instances of “liberal spending” by Metiva. However, they have not found any legal wrongdoing or funds missing from their accounts. The expenses in question are small and not responsible for the chamber’s financial deficit, the board says.

The statement also says Metiva is not the only party at fault. She was under the direct supervision of at least four members of the board at the time of the questionable expenses, and previous boards were able to review these expenses anytime upon request.

“Our internal investigation has revealed there were severe short comings in the by-laws, policy and procedure manual, fiscal controls and lack of oversight and control of prior boards to identify the spending of the executive director,” the statement says.

The two-year contract the chamber has with the City of Wasilla to develop a Wasilla Visitor and Tourism Bureau is up at the end of June. In 2007, the chamber received a grant for $100,000 over two years to spend on promoting the town and attracting guests. The city will perform its own audit of this account, and the results will be presented to the members, the board’s statement says.

Additionally, the chamber is asking for three licensed financial professionals from the membership to form a committee to review the books and make recommendations to the board.

The request for proposal has gone out for the third-party audit, but sufficient funding has not been raised yet, the statement says.

A lawyer specializing in human resource policies is going over the chamber’s practices, and the Foraker Group has been contacted to review and rewrite the by-laws.

The board voted unanimously to retain Metiva, who was put on administrative leave pending the results of the audit. Her position will be “governed under a new contract, as well as these revised by-laws, policies and procedures and controls.”

Chris Abernathy, the president of the board, reiterated the board is pursing the third-party audit. However, he said, because of the state of the chamber’s finances, they needed answers quickly and an audit was performed as a board. They needed an executive director to generate money and run the chamber.

“We have to operate on a daily basis,” Abernathy said. “We need someone who can bring money in and do that job.”

Asked if he was worried about backlash from retaining Metiva, he said that was a factor the board weighed. They determined there would be a fall-out either way — if Metiva was fired or not — and retaining her was the most prudent decision, Abernathy said.

Abernathy said he expects Metiva back in the office on Monday, and she has indicated to him she is already using her contacts to get the chamber back on the right path.

Abernathy refused to turn over the chamber’s bank statements, saying they are sealed from both the public and members of the chamber. Despite this, the Frontiersman obtained a copy of the profits and losses for the years 2004 to the present.

The profits and losses do not have details about individual expenditures and revenues, but there are line items for income and expenses. While it is not clear if money was misused, there is a trend of spending outpacing revenue.

Taking out the grant money from the city of Wasilla, the chamber’s expenses grew by 137 percent from 2004 to 2008 while their income only increased by 130 percent. The chamber had little over $11,000 in its checking and savings accounts as of the end of 2008.

In an early Frontiersman article, Metiva cited the 2008 king salmon derby as one of the reasons for the chamber’s financial problems. The profits and losses show the income from the derby had not exceeded $30,000 since 2004, holding steady around $24,000 to $28,000 per year. However in 2008, the chamber spent $30,757.01 on the derby, up from $14,894.53 in 2004.

For its part, the city of Wasilla will begin its audit of the Visitor and Tourism Bureau grant shortly, said Mayor Verne Rupright. The city’s accounting firm will compare the expenditures to the terms stated in the contract. The contract did allow up to $25,000 for the contractor — the chamber — to use on employee income and benefits. It also allowed for up to $10,000 for the cost of dues, memberships, personal expenses, food, travel expenses or trade show or convention fees. According to the profits and losses from the chamber, $12,500 was spent on salaries and $5902.58 on convention fees and travel. Rupright expects the results of the city’s audit about Aug. 1. Read the board’s statement, at www.wasillachamber.org/

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or (907) 352-2252.