I don't understand how something like this even happens, how it is nobody's fault, and how nobody knew anything until the doors closed.
Schenectady
Carver Community Center owed $130,000 in federal payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and $150,000 to vendors and suppliers when it closed abruptly last month, an official said.
Al Jackson, who serves as the nonprofit center's financial consultant, told the Times Union last week that the payroll taxes owed to the IRS are for 2010, 2011 and 2012, the same years the board chairwoman said the center failed to file audits, which is required of nonprofit groups like Carver. Jackson used to be Carver's treasurer and was a board member.
The closure of the popular Craig Street center forced the Schenectady County Library branch to shut its operations Dec. 18 and led to calls from the head of the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association for the ouster of the current board.
City Councilwoman Marion Porterfield said the Jan. 9 meeting at Bethel AME Church was productive and helped ease anxieties in the community.
"People were trying to make sure Carver is not closed permanently; that is the goal," Porterfield said. "I think people walked away thinking 'OK, it's possible to fix this and what do we do in the meantime, and people felt better knowing what was going on."
Carver Board Chairwoman Lola Cole, who attended Thursday's meeting, defended the board.
She has said the center ran into problems when it failed to file three straight years of audits dating back to 2010.
For years, she said, board members authorized payments for the audits and didn't find out until recently that they weren't being filed. Cole said that by the time the board recently learned of the auditing irregularities, which she blamed on the former executive director and fiscal director, it was too late.
Cole has accused former Executive Director Guido Iovinella and former Fiscal Director Carlene Dorman of showing the board one set of fiscal reports and budgets and different ones to county and state officials. As a result, Cole said, Iovinella was fired and Dorman quit.
Asked Friday if the board failed to do its due diligence on its finances, Cole said the board "doesn't do the operations" and has worked hard. She said Carver will reopen once it pays off its debt and renews its license to operate though she didn't know when that might happen.
"I'm optimistic but I can't give you a time frame," added Cole, noting the panel more than ever needs the support of the public and monetary help in the future. "We don't want people running us down, we did the best we could, and we're still trying to resolve this situation."
Carver is hosting a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Refreshing Spring Church, 327 Georgetta Dix Plaza.
http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Schenectady-residents-get-answers-and-details-5147102.php
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