MONROE - The City of Monroe Visitor and Promotion Board will be paying back to the city over $36,000 in old debts they didn't know they had.
Chairman Mayor Ron Marsh told the board at Monday's meeting that previous boards had received advances from the city which had never been repaid.
The board voted unanimously to make a payment of $6,240.70 immediately, and authorized the chairman to make payments with board approval to pay off the remainder at various times.
Marsh said when he asked for an in-depth look at the account a couple weeks ago for the purpose of possibly funding a trailhead facility in Twining Park, "two things didn't look right" in the account. He asked City Comptroller and Treasurer Cathy Maurer to "go back and check it out." And he said he spent the past weekend going through the account and figures.
What Marsh discovered were two cash advances from the city to the board.
In 2004, the city fronted the committee $25,764.12, and in 2005, $10,476.58. Neither amount has been repaid. Instead, the $36,240.70 advance got included in the amount "carried forward" in the account books.
When the members of the present board took over, they were not aware the money in the account was partly those advances.
"I wanted to clean this issue up," Marsh said about calling the special board meeting.
Fronting the board money was not unusual in the past. In 2002, the city fronted the committee over $49,000. But that money was "paid back totally out of this committee in 2003," Marsh said.
Marsh said he didn't not know why the 2004 and 2005 advanced money had not been repaid, nor why the money's status was not more obvious in the accounting.
Board funds stand at $52,843.49, including the $36,240.70.
Marsh said the city is in no hurry to get the money back and is not charging interest. He suggested the money be repaid in installments "so we don't deplete this fund."
Board member and alderman Jan Lefevre asked how "to prevent this from happening again."
"When I took office in April 2006, I said we're not going to spend unless we have the money to spend," Marsh said.
The present board appears to have held to that principle.
"I don't remember at any time, this committee receiving (advance funds)," board member Randy Gobeli said.
"We've always told applicants that as a committee we could approve requests for funds, but that it was contingent on if those funds are available," board member Matt Urban said.
Still, as Urban said, "there's a bill to be paid."
Even with as much as $15,000 expected to be requested from the board for Cheese Days and the Balloon Rally, in addition to other pre-approved requests, Marsh said the Board's funds are "in good shape."
Quarterly, the city receives quarterly 4 percent of the gross receipts from hotels, motels and bed & breakfasts , and retains 10 percent of that for administration costs. The remainder is the board's funding, used to help off-set costs for advertising and events that generate overnight stays in the city.
Marsh said the best quarter to off-set requests for funds is at the end of September, after Cheese Days and the Balloon Rally and summer events are over. That money will arrive in the fund at the end of October.
Chairman Mayor Ron Marsh told the board at Monday's meeting that previous boards had received advances from the city which had never been repaid.
The board voted unanimously to make a payment of $6,240.70 immediately, and authorized the chairman to make payments with board approval to pay off the remainder at various times.
Marsh said when he asked for an in-depth look at the account a couple weeks ago for the purpose of possibly funding a trailhead facility in Twining Park, "two things didn't look right" in the account. He asked City Comptroller and Treasurer Cathy Maurer to "go back and check it out." And he said he spent the past weekend going through the account and figures.
What Marsh discovered were two cash advances from the city to the board.
In 2004, the city fronted the committee $25,764.12, and in 2005, $10,476.58. Neither amount has been repaid. Instead, the $36,240.70 advance got included in the amount "carried forward" in the account books.
When the members of the present board took over, they were not aware the money in the account was partly those advances.
"I wanted to clean this issue up," Marsh said about calling the special board meeting.
Fronting the board money was not unusual in the past. In 2002, the city fronted the committee over $49,000. But that money was "paid back totally out of this committee in 2003," Marsh said.
Marsh said he didn't not know why the 2004 and 2005 advanced money had not been repaid, nor why the money's status was not more obvious in the accounting.
Board funds stand at $52,843.49, including the $36,240.70.
Marsh said the city is in no hurry to get the money back and is not charging interest. He suggested the money be repaid in installments "so we don't deplete this fund."
Board member and alderman Jan Lefevre asked how "to prevent this from happening again."
"When I took office in April 2006, I said we're not going to spend unless we have the money to spend," Marsh said.
The present board appears to have held to that principle.
"I don't remember at any time, this committee receiving (advance funds)," board member Randy Gobeli said.
"We've always told applicants that as a committee we could approve requests for funds, but that it was contingent on if those funds are available," board member Matt Urban said.
Still, as Urban said, "there's a bill to be paid."
Even with as much as $15,000 expected to be requested from the board for Cheese Days and the Balloon Rally, in addition to other pre-approved requests, Marsh said the Board's funds are "in good shape."
Quarterly, the city receives quarterly 4 percent of the gross receipts from hotels, motels and bed & breakfasts , and retains 10 percent of that for administration costs. The remainder is the board's funding, used to help off-set costs for advertising and events that generate overnight stays in the city.
Marsh said the best quarter to off-set requests for funds is at the end of September, after Cheese Days and the Balloon Rally and summer events are over. That money will arrive in the fund at the end of October.