Chief Historian Ron Bloomfield and one of the displays in the Bay County Historical Museum.

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MILLAGE VOTE SET: County Puts Disclosure Ties On Historical Society

Contract Amendment Also Addresses Society's Identity Theft Concerns

July 30, 2014
By: Dave Rogers

The Bay County Board of Commissioners has approved a November 6 ballot question for the purpose of renewing the property tax limitation by .1 of a mill for 20 years for historic preservation work within Bay County.

Also, Bay County has amended a contract with the Bay County Historical Society (BCHS) providing for annual disclosure of financial information including employees' names and salaries.

The amendment settles a misunderstanding reported in the news media that arose when the society responded to a citizen request, made at a county commission meeting, for names and salaries of employees.

The society's initial disclosure provided position titles and salaries, but no names.

According to documents received from Corporation Counsel Amber Davis-Johnson, an amendment to the "Agreement for Historical Preservation" was signed July 15 by Commissioner Ernie Krygier, chairman, and Judith P. Jeffers, president of the BCHS board of directors.

The amended contract provides:

"Society shall disclose, on a yearly basis via electronic copy, the following items: 1) annual budget, 2) audit and 3) a personnel worksheet that includes the name of the employee, wage and benefits."

These disclosures shall be made to the Finance Director, the amended contract states, also providing: "Society shall also comply with any other written requests for financial information made by the Board of Commissioners with the understanding that they may be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act."

Additional language includes: "County understands and appreciates Society's concern regarding identity theft and will not request social security numbers, dates of birth or addresses of staff members. Society may be asked to provide information when redaction would be appropriate."

Ms. Jeffers, in a letter to Krygier June 26, expressed "concerns regarding the right of privacy for those in our employ especially in today's society where identity theft is a very real concern.

"We would remind the Board of Commissioners that paragraph 6 of our current contract with the County of Bay specifically states that the Bay County Historical Society is an independent contractor and that our employees are not employees of the County of Bay."

The letter noted the society had complied with all requests from the County of Bay, including annual budget, insurance and most recent audit as well as the aggregate amount spent on salaries and wages.

The listing of positions and salaries from 2013 includes:

Bookkeeper $10.38 per hour (part time);

Building/Grounds $9,80 per hour (part time),

Curator Level 1 $34,216;

Curator Level 2 $20,342;

Executive $48,157;

Office/Media $8.24 per hour (part time).

The actual ballot language states: "Shall the limitation of the amount of property taxes which may be levied each year against all taxable real and personal property in the County of Bay be increased by not more than .1 of a mill (10 cents per $1,000) for a period of 20 years, 2014-2033 inclusive, to be used to preserve Bay County's unique history, educate citizens, conduct projects, and operate and maintain a museum? This millage will raise estimated revenues of $250,000 in the first year of the levy."

Ron Bloomfield, director of operations and chief historian, noted in a July 14 letter to Ms. Davis-Johnson that "someone compared the 2013 salary information we provided with the aggregate amount of salary reported for 2012." He noted "there will certainly be a difference due to the fact that we had one additional staff position in 2012 (Volunteer and Visitor Services Manager) at a salary of $28,028 per year. This position was eliminated at the end of 2012."

In explaining a reduction in assets, Mr. Bloomfield noted "the Society is depreciating several items of high cost, including our building (over 900K), a major building renovation in 1998 (700k), and two major exhibition galleries--one in 2000 (84k) and one in 2005 (520k)."

He concluded: "Our collections (artifacts and archives) are not recognized as assets on the statement of financial position, and therefore are not relevant to this financial discussion. On a cash flows basis, we have increased our position every one of the past few years. It is only when you add the depreciation (which for a cash position is essentially invisible) that it shows a loss. Our CPA and board of directors feel that the organization is, and has been in a sound financial position."

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