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College President James R. Campion said much of the comptroller's criticism was based on the audit team's insistence that purchase orders and receipts should be kept together, not filed in two different places as the college has done for "the last 40 years."
He said it was important for the public to know that no "irregularities" were discovered by either the comptroller's audit or by independent audits carried out by the college on a regular basis. "We're proud of that, and we want to assure the public that we'll continue to be diligent and do what we're supposed to do," said Mr. Campion. "That is to provide educational opportunities for our citizens."
Kinderhook Supervisor Doug McGivney, a Democrat, issued a statement Sunday, November 9, calling for the county Board of Supervisors to investigate political contributions discovered during the comptroller's audit. "The use of the College 'Bookstore' money to contribute to the Columbia County Republican Party is infuriating," says Mr. McGivney's written statement.
According to the comptroller's report, Mr. Campion was reimbursed for $60 to attend the 2006 Abraham Lincoln Day Dinner sponsored by the Columbia County Young Republicans Club and $30 for a ticket to the 2007 Columbia County Republican Committee's annual picnic. The report states that he also spent $350 from the association's discretionary fund on two tickets "to a 2005 reception for a state senator," who was not named in the report.
"There's nothing secret about it," said Mr. Campion, acknowledging that the senator in question was Steve Saland (R-41st). "He's a sitting public official, an incumbent senator."
As for the other two Republican events, Mr. Campion said, "I have always made it my personal policy to attend any event to which I'm invited. I support folks who support this institution, and I am sorry that Mr. McGivney is viewing it in those terms."
Mr. McGivney emphasized that he considers Mr. Campion "a great asset" to the college and the county, but he said the college president had made a "bad" mistake. "It is not tolerable [for] the C-GCC, President Campion or anyone else to use a shadow corporation to funnel money derived from the monopolistic college bookstore to the Republican Party," says Mr. McGivney's November 9 statement.
The comptroller's office report also questions the association's use of college facilities rent-free, and it makes two recommendations:
+The Board of Trustees should consider revising the contract with the association to ensure that contract terms are fair and reasonable. In the Comptroller's view, the current contract, "which allows the association to use the College facilities without charge, is neither fair nor reasonable to the College's sponsors' taxpayers."
+The board should review the contract to ensure that funds expended are in support of the college and are expended in compliance with college policies and budgetary and spending controls.
Mr. Campion said the college will make changes "where we can and where it's to the benefit of the taxpayers." But he said the comptroller's office may have overlooked the benefits the association provides for the college. "What we've looked at over the years is that the association does not charge us anything for operating the bookstore or childcare for the benefit of the students," said Mr. Campion. "And the association does give grants to college faculty, student groups and so on. During the period of the examination they actually supplied grants of about $30,000 to the institution."
As far as credit cards are concerned, Mr. Campion questioned whether the comptroller's objections were really based on the methods the college uses to document transactions. "We need to be clear that only nine cards exist on campus, and four have the names of myself and three vice presidents," he said. "The rest are issued solely to departments."
Total expenditures for the 13 credit cards during the nearly two years covered by the audit--September 1, 2005 through June 28, 2007--amounted to over $685,000.
The comptroller's report refers to "over 150 transactions with a well-known online vendor where 'merchandise' was the only description provided, per the credit card statement."
Mr. Campion said the vendor is Amazon.com, and the library maintains printed receipts for every online transaction. "They would have just needed to match up documents," he said. "I'm not pooh-poohing the examination, but it's all about the way we handle paperwork and what could happen. We received no allegation of wrongdoing."
The comptroller also faulted college officials for business dealings with members of the Board of Trustees, where there could be conflicts of interest. Mr. Campion acknowledged that a former board member had a financial interest in MainCare, a company that supplies fuel oil for the college. But the fuel is actually bought on state contract, according to Mr. Campion. And a $2,012 cement purchase from a board member's company, criticized in the report, was actually made by the buildings and grounds superintendent, who had no idea that anyone connected with the college had an interest in the company.
The comptroller's report lists a total of 16 recommendations, some of which have already been implemented, according to Mr. Campion. The recommendations include:
+College officials should monitor compliance with the board of trustees' purchasing policy to ensure that written and verbal quotes are routinely sought and demanded
+The board should either audit each claim or assign that responsibility to an individual who is independent of all other aspects of the purchasing and payment process
+The board should adopt a comprehensive policy for credit card use. The number of credit cards (and accounts) and the individuals authorized to use those cards should be reviewed and addressed as part of the policy
+The board should take steps to address the conflicts of interest identified in the report, and college officers and employees should be made aware of the statutory requirements of General Municipal Law
+College officials should ensure that financial related duties in the Bursar's Office are assigned so that the work of one individual independently verifies another's in the course of their regular duties
Mr. Campion wrote to the Office of the State Comptroller October 3 stating the college's position on some of the auditors' findings. "They did not agree with all of our rebuttals," said Mr. Campion. "The next thing that has to happen is that we have 90 days from the date the report was released to address the recommendations in the documents. Then, after that submission, we have until the beginning of the next fiscal year to begin to implement the corrective action plan."
It would be difficult to add staff at this point to accommodate all the comptroller's preferences, according to Mr. Campion, but the college will do what it can. "We are going to try to do that in the areas we think need tightening up," he said.
To contact Richard Roth, email rroth@IndeNews.com.
