Here's a release we received from New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson :
THOMPSON
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued an audit that found that the Central Park Conservancy - which manages
Overall, the audit - available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov - reported that the Conservancy exceeded its funding commitment to the City, maintained
"The Central Park Conservancy generally complied with its agreement with the City to manage
Under a contract with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the not-for-profit Conservancy must raise and spend at least $5 million each year on maintenance, repairs, programs, among other work on facilities in
In exchange, Parks pays the Conservancy a yearly fee based on the amount of money raised and spent in the previous year, and on revenues that Parks gets from
Auditors probed whether the Conservancy followed the arrangement and included only expenses eligible to generate funding during the period between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006.
During that time, the Conservancy reportedly spent $12.8 million on maintenance, well above the $7 million required to get the maximum funding from Parks, for which, Parks paid the Conservancy $4,282,200 and gave the Conservancy vehicles valued at $100,000.
Auditors found several problems regarding ineligible expenses because the Conservancy didn't have a system that would allow it to identify costs associated with its agreement.
Also, Parks did not request and review any supporting documentation for expenses reported by the Conservancy to ensure they included only eligible ones. Conservancy officials said all expenses charged to its operations account and reported as horticulture, maintenance, and operations on its financial statements were acceptable under its agreement.
Auditors said the $574,571 in ineligible expenses included ones that were banned under the agreement, were not for operating expenses, incurred after the fiscal year, or lacked backup documentation.
Thompson pointed out that, although deemed ineligible, most of the expenses generally were in keeping with the Conservancy's mission of restoring, managing and preserving the park.
Although it wasn't the focus of the audit, auditors discovered that the Conservancy was overcharging couples permit fees for weddings and photography at the
To correct the problems, Thompson recommended that the Conservancy: establish and maintain accurate records and accounts that sufficiently and properly reflect all direct and indirect costs of any nature expended in the performance of its agreement; and, include only expenses that are incurred in the prior fiscal year and directly related to the maintenance, repair, programs, landscaping, and renovation and rehabilitation of facilities in Central Park in amounts used to support City funding.
Additionally, he asked Parks to: issue permits and collect permit fees for all events in Central Park; enter into valid agreements for use of the Dairy and
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