HRC says it has done nothing wrong, advised city & county of budget surplus

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 — The Bardstown-Nelson County Human Rights Commission did not commit any wrongdoing at its Feb. 2 meeting in a vote regarding a donation of commission funds to the Flint Water Challenge, according to Kathy Reed, commission chair.

HRC Chair Kathy Reed’s Feb. 10 letter to Mayor John Royalty and the Bardstown City Council. Click image to enlarge.

In a letter to Mayor John Royalty dated Feb. 10, Reed writes that after the meeting where the commission voted to make a $250 donation, Michael Johnson, the commission’s secretary and the sole vote against using commission funds for the water challenge donation, contacted City Attorney Tim Butler regarding a question about the use of commission funds for the donation.

When Butler advised Johnson that funds provided by the city or county should not be used for the donation, Reed said commission members were advised by email about Butler’s opinion.

“As a result, no check has been written to the Flint Water Funds from the Human Rights Commission,” Reed states. “The commission has challenged each other to give personal funds to the Flint Water effort and so far $350 has been pledged by Commissioners.”

Reed’s letter said she had not heard directly from Royalty, but stated his office had requested the commission’s financial records for the past five years.

“These financial records show that we received funds from the city and county and on occasion we receive donations from commission members as well,” her letter states.

Reed said the commission strives to be transparent, and that a treasurer’s report is presented at the commission’s public monthly meetings that detail its expenses and its account balance.

“The commission members are comprised of volunteers who are interested in protections for our most vulnerable citizens; these protections are already afforded by federal and state law,” she concludes. “There is still much work to be done and we look forward to doing it with your help.”

TREASURER: SURPLUS WAS REPORTED. In an email exchange with Mayor Royalty, commission treasurer Michael Greenwell said in August he sent an email to both the judge-executive and mayor reporting their anticipated surplus.

• Download the 2014-15 commission financial report (1 page pdf document).

In the Aug. 5, 2015 email, Greenwell explained the commission only spent 3 percent of its 2014-15 budget because it moved the date of its annual essay contest, which he said was the commission’s largest annual expense.

The 2014-15 year-end budget report Johnson said he set to both the mayor and fiscal court show the commission had only $89.43 in expenses for the year. The commission ended fiscal year 2014-15 with a balance of $2,910.57.

The commission receives a total of $3,000 annually from the city and county governments to fund its operation and cover its expenses.

In his email reply, Royalty said he never received Greenwell’s email and hadn’t seen the financial report.

“In my 11 years on the city council, I have never known the commission to have a surplus, nor have I ever seen a balance sheet showing a surplus,” he responded.

Referring to the commission’s budget, Royalty said “With the county and city each giving $1,500 apiece and your ending balance sheet showing zero, I’m not sure where this surplus comes from.”

Greenwell noted that the financial report accurately indicated the unspent balance for the 2014-15 fiscal year. The city and county provided an additional $3,000 in funding to the commission for fiscal year 2015-16, pushing the commission’s bank balance to more than $5,000.

In his email, Greenwell suggested that due to its surplus funds, the commission should refrain from accepting additional city or county funds for the upcoming 2016-17 fiscal year.

Greenwell’s appointment expires in February and he has asked not to be reappointed. Four other commissioners have asked to be reappointed.

The mayor and county judge each make five appointments to the 10-person commission.

NEXT UP. The Bardstown City Council meets next at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23. The human rights commission meets at noon Tuesday, March 1 at the Nelson County Public Library.

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