A financial report for the Mount Vernon Public Library, from the financial-accouting firm of DSJ-CPA, Demasco, Sena, and Jahelka shows questionable debit card purchases, 1408 transactions that were not posted in the general ledger, and a lack of resposne from the IRS, who noted that the library has lost its tax-exempt status. The report also indicates a $900,000 variance, or discrepancy, between the fiscal 2021 and 2022 Library budgets.
The report was brought to light by a group called Save Mount Vernon, whose organizers include Atif Coleman, Jesse Van Lew and Naz Duncan. Save Mount Vernon is holding a press conference on Sept. 27 to highlight the alarming financial troubles at the library.
:We are challenging the elected officials to step up and take some action. YOU are our customer service representatives. It’s time you represent us.#SaveMountVernon demands are simple. The residents have seen the worst with the past administrations, and they will not put up with it over and over again. The city residents want to put an end to this embarrassment.We are rejecting the corruption, the retaliatory mentality, and poor judgment emerging from any administration.Our mission is to bring awareness to the city residents of the FACTS VS FALSE PROPAGANDA spewed out by public officials.Most Administrations are very good at distracting people from the truth. We demand the elected officials step up and take some action.Please share any stories or issues you have with the city. YOU have a VOICE.We will #SaveMountVernon and rebuild,” said Save Mount Vernon.
The questions posed by DSJ go back to as far as the 2015 Library budget. According to a release from Save Mount Vernon, ” DSJ reported to the Library Board that the library has not reconciled its financial record for seven years. The report states that there are several accounts in question, including a debit card issued to the library under the name of former library board president, Oscar Davis, Jr.
The DSJ report indicates that the debit card purchases are “not consistent with a library’s normal course of business.” DSJ discovered 596 debit card transactions totalling more than $50,000. And the fact that the library lost its non for profit status three years ago, according to Save Mount Vernon, “may place in danger grant monies that were distributed during that time period as well as current grant applications.
Mr. Jess Van Lew, head of Save Mount Vernon said “We continue to wait for excuses as to why no investigation into the Mount Vernon Libraries failure to reconcile books, and to those 1,400 inquires into the ledger of $4.9 Million. Save Mount Vernon demands accountability and answers to the citizens of Mount Vernon.”
While our headline questions $900,000 in undereported financial acitivy, Save Mount Vernon questions $4.9 Million. We will post the financial report shortly.
