BRUCE CAPPS: Lack of KADB audits should trouble city, county leaders

During the most recent monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, a local management consultant hired by KADB asked, “Why are we here?”

With that, the KADB Board embarked on the beginnings of a re-examination of the goals of the agency. KADB is to be congratulated for this very positive exercise. While details of the anticipated outcomes of the process were not made clear, 30 years after the establishment of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, a re-evaluation of the goals of that organization is clearly in order.

The city’s appointed boards and commissions report directly to the City Commission. In doing so, they have two main functions: advise city commissioners on matters of policy and supervise the operations of a city department or agency, such as KADB. However, based on discussions at many recent meetings of the KADB board, there is very often little evidence that they are actively engaged in policy formulation.

There are generally few if any new initiatives presented by board members nor little examination of current programs. This is in part because the board seems to exercise little control over the agenda of its meetings, which are often directed by the staff of KADB. Real policy input to the City Commission is negligible.

KADB is a public foundation created by a local ordinance and currently receives approximately $200,000 in annual funding from local governments. The ordinance that established KADB gives the city and county commissions the right to request financial data from KADB. There are no recent instances where the commissions have done so.

The ordinance also authorizes the city and county administrations to audit the finances of KADB at the commissions’ request. There is no evidence that audits have been conducted … ever. Audits do not imply wrongdoing, but they are important. They often determine compliance with best practices. The current bylaws of KADB place few restrictions on the use of funds by the organization’s staff, nor do they include any limitation to check-writing authority.

More importantly, there is no evidence that the KADB Board of Directors regularly receives current and complete sets of reports showing all the financial transactions of KADB. Other than an oddly constituted monthly “Administrative Account Report,” apparently there are no complete financial reports regularly submitted by the staff of KADB to its board. This should be worrisome to the board.

In addition to receiving public funds, KADB also solicits, receives and disperses donations from individuals, private corporations, and other not-for-profit organizations. Despite a clear obligation to the public, the KADB board evidently sees no reason to periodically review complete financial reports that include all sources of revenue and detailed uses of funds.

KADB’s self-examination of goals is laudable. But the examination also needs to consider the greater responsibilities of the board of KADB. Appointments to the city’s boards and commissions provide city residents with an excellent opportunity to directly impact local government. But appointees must understand that their duties and responsibilities extend beyond just showing up.

Bruce Capps moved to Albany five years ago after living in Atlanta for more than 40 years. In Atlanta, he had a long career in insurance and was a founding partner in an insurance claims adjusting company. He has an MBA in marketing and insurance from Georgia State University and an undergraduate degree in history. Now retired, Capps is pursuing a lifelong interest in historic preservation and urban revitalization.