Ark Valley News - School board requests VCRC audit

School board requests VCRC audit
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: August 23, 2018

The Valley Center school board wants more transparency out of the recreation commission.

On Aug. 20, the school board voted 6-1 to conduct a third-party audit over the rec commission's finances for the last five years.

Recreation commission director Steve Geddes gave a budget presentation early in the meeting before the board decided to move on. Geddes explained that three and a half of the four mills of property taxes the recreation commission receives cover operating costs, and the remaining half a mill goes towards capital improvement projects each year. He also detailed a number of projects he hopes to have done in the future.

About midway through the meeting, board member Jason Reffner asked if the board could redirect its focus toward the rec commission. He said he did not feel comfortable with some of the rec commission's explanations and motioned for an internal audit. Reffner alluded to the fact that he thought the rec commission's budget breakdown was too vague and had questions about whether the rec has been following statutes correctly.

Geddes interjected that the rec commission already has yearly audits performed by another firm. The board still felt that it needed to hire another party to conduct the investigation.

Board president Brad Barbour was supportive of Reffner's motion.

"I think Jason just sounds like he's a little uncomfortable with some of this stuff," said Barbour. "I know (the rec commission) does it every year but my opinion is I wouldn't mind seeing an audit on (the rec commission) going back three years or five. I would just feel better when people call me and ask me so I can know exactly what this stuff is for. I know (Geddes) said to come talk anytime and (he) would explain it to us. I'd like it to be more out here so people can see it."

Though the school board does not control the rec commission, it has two appointees on the rec commission's board. The district also serves as the taxing entity for the rec commission.

The board heard from three potential candidates who have applied to serve in a recently vacated seat on the rec commission board. The candidates included Mark Dennett, Chuck Wolfe and Danny Park.

Dennett and Wolfe both had positive attitudes about the position and said they would enjoy working to improve the community for the youth. However, neither addressed the previous discussion surrounding the rec commission that evening. Park served as the city's appointed rec board member for the last four years but was not re-appointed this year.

"As far as the audits, there are questions the community has that we need to be able to answer," said Park. "I know Steve (Geddes) talks about the audits that have been done by individuals. I can tell you — and you probably know this from your own audits — the auditor comes out and if you spent $15,000 on gas and you put it in that column, God bless you, life's good. But that doesn't mean all $15,000 of that gas went into rec equipment. Those are the questions the community has and those are the things that need to be addressed."

The board decided to table its decision on which candidate will serve as the liaison until its next meeting Sept. 10.