Board Treasurer Doesn't Ever Share Financials - WTF Do I Do?

GIMNEPIWO said:

They were husband and wife and got a slap on the wrist.

Former Timberlake Dixie Youth treasurer to serve 8 days for embezzlement - Opera News

The former treasurer of Timberlake Dixie Youth Baseball was sentenced Monday to just more than a week in jail after pleading guilty to embezzling from the organization. April Lynn Mathews, 53, was

www.dailyadvent.com

Timberlake youth league embezzlement lands man with community service

A man convicted of embezzling about $30,000 from Timberlake Dixie Youth Baseball was sentenced Wednesday to community service.

newsadvance.com

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So ... the guy who stole $30,000 while performing community service was sentenced to community service.



Did they sentence him to umpire 100 games? Coach 8u for another 5 years?

MoJo said:

Lots of good advice and stories of when things go bad.

I have been on a board that was rather lazy and it can be tough. For the health of the organization, be the one that fixes the problems. Keep on insisting. Use a bunch of soft suggestions before the wrecking ball. Small orgs have no budget for any litigation. Doing things right keeps your org healthy and safe. Little story, I friend of mine on a board had a lawyer friend send a letter (using "client" and not names) to the organization about a complaint of financials. A little scare did quite a lot.

Most states have sunshine laws that govern all types of public organizations. In the absence of a good set of bylaws, Roberts Rules of Order are the standard. Lots of volunteer board members don't read through Roberts Rules or state regs.

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Agree ...

"Offer opportunities" for people to fix errors. Hold them accountable for their choices, though.

Be willing to be a big part of the solution. In the case of financials and book keeping, this may not be your field of expertise either -- but be willing to put the work in to finding the proper solution.

Lots of volunteer board members don't read anything. Even with many local elected bodies (village boards, school boards, etc.) it truly is amateur hour.

Disagree ...

You don't need a budget for a lawyer in a case where people are stealing from the organization. Let the police handle it. NOTE: Not all mis-spending is criminal though. If they spent more money on Team A than Team B, it's not criminal.

Robert's Rules of Order is a system for running meetings (how voting can occur, how motions are made, passed, failed, etc.). It is not a stand-in for by-laws which spell out the basic functional tenets of your organization. If you are going to defer to RRO in your by-laws, be specific as to which edition and which parts you are using to govern your meetings. Then make sure you have a copy.

@The Man In Blue I was surprised about community service as well, but having to umpire 100 games would be a start.

To think at the beginning of the summer I threw my copy from college out because I didn’t think I needed it anymore.

I was so paranoid after posting this that I never followed up. I was worried that if someone within our organization was a member here they might be able to identify me by my username and profile information. I was probably overreacting, but while reading everyone's responses I asked permission from the site admin here if I could change my username due to privacy concerns and they allowed me to do so. I then stripped my profile of specifics and continued to lurk the forums but never replied here again until now.

There were so many shenanigans going on at the end of my term, not just with the questionable bookkeeping, but a whole slew of things that I won't get into here for brevity's sake.

I just wanted to update anyone who read this or may stumble across it later that we were able to turn things around. It took some time. Fortunately, several influential individuals both on and off the board who were part of the problem culture has daughters who aged out of our divisions or moved on to travel.

Key roles were filled by more ethical volunteers. The treasurer left once he was held to higher standards. His replacement, so I am told, has moved all of his paperwork to digital and all the finances are openly shared and discussed in meetings now.

Things aren't perfect. But they are remarkably better and the bad seeds are fewer. There is still work to be done. I am proud to have been a part of this effort because at times it felt very isolating. It made me angry. It made me sad. It even made me feel a little crazy at times and question my own judgement.

It's astounding how much quickly this organization has bounced back in such a short time. If this were a living organism, I would say that cutting out most of the cancer was the most effective form of treatment based on my experiences as a parent and coach, what my daughter shares with me, and what I see and hear from others.

It's bittersweet, too, because I loved serving on the board. I have been witnessing these changes from the outside looking in. After my first term, I decided not to seek reelection (even though it was a sure thing). I was the only board member who voted no or abstained for most of the incumbents during my final board meeting. I think the were a bit shocked. When it came to voting for my position (there were no other candidates because they only gave the public 2 days notice), I informed them that while I wanted to continue I felt the lack of financial transparency and morally questionable behavior I'd witnessed were unlikely to change with this group still in charge next season. And I was right. But my exit was the catalyst that seemed to set things in motion. So I am proud of that.

I reluctantly have the treasurer job this season for HS boosters. I'm probably the least organized of the group, so we keep it really simple. We just don't buy much of anything. We don't even have a debit card at the moment. I didn't want the job, but someone's gotta do it, and I'm ethical and honest up to the smallest detail. I started an online banking profile so I can show everyone what's up at any time.

I was on the Board of the basketball league my daughter was in up to age 12. The treasurer captured all league finances on a Google sheet that was updated and circulated to every Board member on a biweekly basis or whenever an expenditure over $100 occurred. Great for transparency and also made Board meetings a lot more efficient, because everyone knew what the league's financial situation was going into the meeting.