Flickr.com PhotoThe "Jordan Livability Blog" continues to assert itself as the de facto "voice of the New Majority" in the ongoing Jordan neighborhood controversy--or soap opera, depending on how you view it. Some new information went up in the last few days as the "New Majority" starts to get its hands on financial statements...
First, check out this blog post about the election of new board officers, and why it is important, click here. I can't help but note the labels created here on the Johnny Northside blog--"New Majority" and "Old Majority"--have stuck, and are now being used by participants in this struggle, as evidenced by this blog post.
A much more exciting blog post--and I think this post is the first of more which will follow in this pattern--gets into the nitty gritty of questionable expenditures by the "Old Majority." (Questionable in the minds of the New Majority, I should say, I am trying to maintain some objectivity, here) Click here for that blog post questioning where the money went.
Keep this in mind: this blog post represents only the tip of the iceberg. The "New Majority" doesn't have its hands on very many financial statements, yet. Yet with only a relatively small amount of information in their possession, they're now asking stuff like: Why $886.26 worth of expenditures at restaurants and bars? How on earth did $785.68 get spent at CVS Pharmacy? What WAS all that stuff? And what was the point of a hotel room ($95.70) in Brooklyn Park?
I've periodically stayed in hotels in Brooklyn Park during weekend visitation with my son. Even on the weekends, hotel rooms can be had for around $60. So almost a hundred bucks for a hotel room is either more "upscale" lodging, or somebody is getting breakfast in bed.
One thing I should point out: there is an expenditure for a Northeast bar called "Gabby's." Well, actually there are TWO expenditures, but these are both for the same date. This bar has been a notorious trouble spot for the past couple years, click here for more info. The Gabby's has found its way to a lawsuit, alleging city officials are trying to shut down the bar on the basis of the race of its clientele. Complaints from neighbors are consistent, however, and there has been at least one shooting in the bar.
In any case...even before the dramatic board elections and the current controversy, the Jordan Livability Blog was already focused on the issue of expenditures by Jerry Moore, and whether these were needful expenditures. Click here for an earlier blog post about that.
Clearly, this pattern of airing the expenditure information will continue as the "New Majority" gets its hands on more records. The internet adds a new twist: anybody who may have information about, for example, the reason for a hotel room expense has an opportunity to post information, anonymously, and add to the public discussion.
P.S. The image on the "Gabby's" sign is apparently old time movie star "Gabby Hayes." One has to wonder how, exactly, Hayes' name and visage came to be used by a bar in Northeast Minneapolis. I'm sure there's a cool story in there somewhere.
6 comments:
The debit card uses were just for 6 months!!! Can you imagine how much has been wasted in the last 2 years. I was at a meeting about 9-10 months ago when Bob Scott and Shannon Hartfield were screaming at a few of the community members for trying to "be so negative and cause controversy in the neighborhood". The community members were simply asking for the financial reports. They had been suspicious of financial mis-management for quite a while. The accountant present at that meeting stood up and said what a "nice man" Jerry Moore and how dare the neighborhood question his actions. Well Bob, Shannon, Ben, Jerry and the accountant should have to pay back every dime!! This is ridiculous. Board members for non profits are legally responsible for the fiscal management of the organization...right?? So grab your check books folks and give the money back to the neighborhood where it belongs!
I always thought the picture of Gabby looked suspiciously like former Saint Paul Mayor George Latimer. What is stranger, a Nordeast bar with a picture of George "Gabby" Hayes or a Nordeast bar with a picture of George "The Mayor" Latimer on their sign? How about a picture of the mayor dressed as Gabby Hayes?
KCz
if any of the inner circle jordan people are reading this, can you update us on anything in regards to the accountant? has she been in touch with the new majority? any accounting done for the past 5 or 6 months that was previously left without being completed? thanks
now jordan livability has new info on the infamous sprint bills!!! it's not pretty.
http://jordanlivability.wordpress.com/concerns/financial-analysis-sprint-bills-galore/
Regarding the accountant: She has been the organization's accountant for 12 years or more. I've heard that she was in touch with the "new majority"...to send a bill for December and half of January, along with a note that she would not provide the "new majority" with any of its accounting records or reports until both bills were paid. It should be noted that "old majority" paid her outstanding balance in the first week of January.
I'm shocked that a CPA would behave in such a fashion. The organization was left without any records to determine if there were tax filings or notifications (1099s?) that were due by the end of January. End of the calendar year is a big deal in the accounting world. What kind of CPA or accountant would purposely put their client in this kind of a situation with the IRS, especially after being paid just a few weeks earlier?
that's terrible about the accountant - can she be held accountable? is there an agency that can enforce her to do the right thing?
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