The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Carthage, Jasper County

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October 29, 2009

<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0> Humane Society officer to answer council's questions <font color="#ff0000"> w/ auditor's letters to Carthage Humane Society board</font>

By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — An accountant who is an officer with the Carthage Humane Society will be asked to attend the next Carthage City Council meeting to explain reports that prompted some criticism of the group that oversees the local animal shelter.

Financial statements from the group were characterized as “useless” at Tuesday night’s council meeting, based on statements from auditors that were submitted along with the reports.

Letters from Hardy, Wrestler and Associates noted that information was lacking in statements for August and September that were submitted to the council as part of the group’s report to the city. Carthage pays the Humane Society to accept animals picked up by the city’s animal control program.

Councilman’s take

Councilman Mike Harris noted a statement by the auditors that the data was not audited and that Humane Society management had “elected to omit substantially all the disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles. If the omitted disclosures were included in the financial statements, they might influence the user’s conclusions about the organization’s financial position, changes in net assets and cash flows. Accordingly, these financial statements are not decisions for those who are not informed about such matters.”

“To me, this says the information is useless,” Harris said.

Councilman Bill Welch, council liaison to the Humane Society board, said the statement “is standard language” used by auditing firms.

City Administrator Tom Short on Thursday agreed: “It is standard, because it’s a compilation report, and not audited financial statements.” He said Brian Schmidt, a Humane Society board member who also is an accountant, will be invited to the next meeting to answer council questions.

Background

The Humane Society in 2006 was the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general’s office that alleged financial mismanagement and misdeeds, and poor animal care.

A year later, three officers targeted in the lawsuit were no longer on the Humane Society board, and the organization signed a settlement agreeing to changes, including improved fiscal oversight.

Manager’s response

The accounting firm was hired as a result of the probe, and Tish Bentlage, shelter manager, said she did not fault the auditors on the language.

“We had been shorthanded,” she said. “I was doing other jobs and didn’t get all the information together. But everything’s accounted for.”

She said accountants visit the shelter at least once a month and work with her on the records. She said they also assembled records required by the Internal Revenue Service for not-for-profit organizations to maintain their tax-exempt status.

“They did a year’s worth of accounting for us before we went to Steadley,” Bentlage said, referring to the organization’s request for support from the Steadley Foundation.

The Carthage-based foundation for years had supported the shelter, but that funding dried up several years ago because of inadequate financial reporting and the loss of tax-exempt status.

Earlier this year, the society received a $50,000 grant from the foundation, Bentlage said.

Short said the city has seen “a huge step forward in terms of the information we’re getting from them now.”





Kill rate down

Councilman Bill Welch said the statistic with which he is most pleased is the 10 percent euthanasia rate for dogs, meaning only 10 percent of the dogs taken to the shelter are killed. “Before, it was as high as 70 percent,” he said.

Shelter manager Tish Bentlage said the group now works “with some really great animal rescue organizations who help us place the dogs.”

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