Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce admits financial losses in letter to local paper

BOONVILLE- The Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce has officially admitted to financial losses.

This development was found via the latest letter to the editor in this week’s Boonville Herald. "However, chamber members understandably want explanations of past years' losses," the chamber wrote. 

The letter itself, approved by the chamber, is addressed to both town and village officials. In the message, the chamber said these financial concerns “need to be finally addressed.”

Read the full letter text from the paper here: 

To our Town/Village officials,

The Boonville Area of Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors are moving forward to address the past and present concens of our Jan 19 and Feb. 17 open to our public meetings. We are definitely impressed to see 20 plus new faces of members and non-members of the Chamber at the meetings.  We see enthusiasm in the four people in the crowd who signed up for the newly formed committees. Seasonal events of the Chamber of Commerce, such as parades, Best of Boonville in June, Spring Easter Egg Hunt, Summer-Fall Farmers Market, and the annual Fall Festival are being formed. Plus, new committees are being formed.  New committees to start upgrading bylaws and general membership have four new faces.

Unfortunately, by laws were not distributed at our open Feb. 17 meeting as planned. Surprisingly, it was discovered at a Feb. 10 meeting with Village Attomey Jessica Young that none of the Chamber of Commerce bylaws have been registered with New York State since 1961. The board of directors decided to wait for updated and legal bylaws to go to our members.

The financial concerns that have been lingering for over a decade were heatedly brought up at these two meetings and need to be finally addressed. This current Board of Directors is now faced with problem solving our members' concerns.

Yearly tax filings and a 2020 assessment were completed successfully.  However, chamber members understandably want explanations of past years' losses. Most significant were issues regarding a $60,000 sale of land to the Woods- men's Association, plus issues regarding a longtime paid secretary.  New accounting procedures are being discussed and in full review. Our members' needs for the transparency claims cannot necessarily be done with rapid urgency. Potentially, a new auditing committee should and can be proposed at our annual membership meeting on March 16, at 6 p.m. at the Boonville VFW, to begin assessment of financial issues.

This is where we are at since our last Thursday meeting. We, as the Board of Directors, want and need you to know our local businesses' concerns and worries. Our members are the lifeblood of all our businesses... not just on Main Street... and they are our friends and neighbors. We feel you are the the leaders in our village and town and we need your advice and support. As a 100 percent all volunteer, non-paid Board of Directors, we appreciate your feedback as soon as possible.

Respectfully,

Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

Boonville, NY

A photo copy of the letter is available below:

Image of letter in the latest Boonville Herald.

Specifically, the chamber said in their letter the most significant financial issues revolve around the $60,000 sale of land to the Woodsmen’s Field Days Association in 2012, plus a long-time paid secretary.

During the January public meeting, the Chamber kept referring to the deeds of “past boards,” but would not elaborate exactly what. When asked to explain during that meeting, the chamber’s response suggested their legal team advised not to discuss.

However, during the latest public gathering in February, the land sale issue and financial losses recorded on the chamber’s IRS 990 forms were brought up by members directly.

An in-depth summary of the chamber's IRS 990 forms from 2016-2019 can be viewed below:

This chart was organized by Robbin Grunert, who is a freelance accountant and oversees tax returns for numerous organizations throughout the North Country.

Below is the list of Boonville Chamber Directors from 2016-2019, according to their 990 forms via the IRS website:

2016 Board of Directors.

2017 Board of Directors.

2018 Board of Directors.

2019 Board of Directors.

The chamber's IRS 990 tax forms can be viewed via the IRS website (EIN number is required: 16-1107552).

Only 990 chamber forms from 2016-2019 were available for inspection on the IRS website as of this report. 2020 and 2021 still are not up for review via the IRS website, however; we have achieved copies for future analysis.   

An idea was suggested from the membership during the February meeting for a forensic audit, to which the chamber replied by suggesting they would have to check with their attorney.

In their letter to the Herald, the chamber says new accounting procedures are being discussed. “Our members’ needs for the transparency claims cannot necessarily be done with rapid urgency,” the chamber wrote to the paper. 

"Potentially, a new auditing committee should and can be proposed at our annual membership meeting," the chamber added. 

That meeting, according to the chamber, is aimed for Thursday, March 16 at the Boonville Harland J. Hennessey VFW Post at 6:00 p.m.

Headline image via the Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce.