$73,650.00 is 'Missing' from the GLA Books
Aug 16, 2016 8:51:11 GMT -7
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Post by Admin on Aug 16, 2016 8:51:11 GMT -7
$73,650.00 is 'Missing' from the GLA Books
$73,650.00 has gone “missing” or unaccounted for in the GLA books. When Treasurer Rudy Parker was queried at the August 8th, 2016 GLA Board Meeting, he seemed confused and unaware of the balance sheet shortage. Finally,he blurted out that maybe it was due to the recalculations that the accountant and bookkeeper were doing on past due balances. He promised to "look into it." The latest Finance Committee meeting on August 17th would be the next chance landowners would get to query the Treasurer and Board members; however, that meeting was unexpectedly cancelled and rescheduled for September 7th. No explanation was given either by the Treasurer or the GLA Board.
The GLA Balance sheet dated June 30th, 2016 shows an accounts receivable balance of $263,673.29. Accounts Receivable is predominately money that people owe to the Glastonbury Landowners Association. Much of that amount is past due. Since interest is compounded monthly, that balance tends to increase as time goes on. When large amounts are collected, the balance can drop; however, no large amounts were collected in June. A screenshot of the June 2016 balance sheet is below. The amount in question is circled in red.
The GLA Balance Sheet for July 2016 shows that the Accounts Receivable balance for June plummeted to $190,023.65, a difference of $73,650.00. A screenshot follows, and the amount is circled in red.
The Forum asked several landowners for their thoughts regarding the $73,650.00 “missing” funds. Regina Wunsch replied, “There are no missing funds in the GLA receivables to date. There is an unaccounted for reduction in the receivables. Until there is data produced for the actual recalc amounts for every given month, old past due payments due to sale of property etc., past due payment plan payments, current assessment payments, construction bond refunds, donation payments or payments for anything that was billed under other income it is impossible to tell what is what.”
The $73,650.00 that evaporated from the GLA Balance Sheets this summer may be due to the "recalcs" that Rudy and Regina referenced. It was decided by the GLA Board to recalculate every past due account to get an exact rendering of what each landowner owes. One of the reasons given was that the current software, QuickBooks, does not have the ability to accurately separate past interest and principal amounts. Rather than getting software that can do this or simply calculating those accounts by hand and with a calculator, the GLA Board agreed to just erase thousands of dollars owed by landowners before 1997. Once those amounts were given back to the debtors, the new principal and interest balance needed to be calculated, hence the term "recacls" that the process is called. The GLA Board has refused to provide any information on how the recalcs are done or what the reduced amounts are for various landowners. It is widely suspected by many landowners that Church Universal and Triumphant will receive the largest amount of debt forgiven.
There is a growing consensus that the GLA Board should undergo a complete and public audit. Debbie Blais, a South Glastonbury landowner stated that the “Board should provide full disclosure on such a large change from one month to another. This [drop in receivables] is not normally expected and the reason for such a large change should definitely be detailed and explained to landowners.” Debbie is also in favor of an audit and has submitted several document requests to the GLA Board. Regina Wunsch has also submitted many letters to the GLA Board and has followed up with a document request for the most recent unaccounted funds.
The “missing” funds, if they are not an accounting error, represent real money that is owed to landowners. It is money that is equal to the collected 2016 assessments of 175 parcels with dwellings. It could purchase chip sealing for the crumbling North Glastonbury loop, or it could purchase approximately 225 double truckloads of road mix for our decaying gravel road network.
The Glastonbury Community Forum will continue to follow this breaking story as it develops.
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