Wasilla chamber retains Metiva

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

In a written statement read at Tuesday’s luncheon, members of 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 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 statement also says the two-year contract the chamber has with the city of Wasilla to develop a Wasilla Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is up at the end of June. The city will perform its own audit of this account, and the results will be presented to the members.

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 their 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.”

For the complete story, see the Friday edition of the Frontiersman.

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