The Board of Trustees of the New Rochelle Public Library issued a public statement today on their 7-month long investigation into Accounting Discrepancies first reported by Talk of the Sound last June.

After an investigation of the library’s financial records and those maintained by the City School District Treasurer, the New Rochelle Public Library Board of Trustees has determined that the apparent accounting discrepancy that was brought to the attention of the Board in June 2011 was due to an inconsistency in the designation and reporting of “restricted funds” versus “assigned funds” in the library’s Fund Balance. The cash shortfall was primarily solved by transferring funds owed by the Capital Fund to the General Fund in July 2011.

To prevent future accounting discrepancies the Board has taken the following measures:

If you did not get it in the mail you can download a copy of the NRPL Foundation newsletter here.

New Rochelle Public Library Foundation supporters believe the Library is a centerpiece of our diverse community and plays a critical role in the future of our city and the overall quality of life. The Foundation’s work helps the Library fulfill its mission to “improve the life of every citizen in our city” and to encourage learning in all stages of life, protect intellectual freedom and provide fair and equal access to information.

Talk of the Sound has learned that Operations Manager Anthony Maraglino has been "unexpectedly resigned" by the New Rochelle Public Library. His last day was Friday.

Maraglino's departure comes in the wake of the recent disclosure of financial mismanagement at the library, first reported by Talk of the Sound. Library officials are still not entirely sure what happened and continue to investigate but have acknowledged that several hundred thousand dollars thought to be in the library's fund balance is not there. They have described the problem as an error in calculation and provided assurances that no money was stolen. Board members have been somewhat mystified about the source of the problem because as recently as June 9th, the library director Thomas Geoffino had reported to the board that the library spending was under budget, having expended 81% of its 2010-11 budget with 92% of the fiscal year lapsed.

The New Rochelle Public Library Board of Trustees has recently become aware of lower than expected cash balance for the library due to a series of accounting errors. These accounting errors reflect the need for increased internal controls for the library’s accounting process. The lower cash balance is not expected to result in any change in Library services for the public.

At the time of the development of the New Rochelle Public Library budget, the Board of Trustees believed that the Library had over $500,000 in cash in the bank, mostly from the result of bonding expenditures not spent the previous fiscal year.  A portion of this cash was thought to reflect the $77,500 in fund balance from the previous year’s unspent funds.

In June 2011, the Board of Trustees was notified by the School District that our cash flow was low and that we needed to monitor spending until the receipt of the regularly schedule Temporary Anticipation Note (TAN) funding. The Board of Trustees immediately hired a CPA and began researching the nature of these differences.

The Board of Trustees of the New Rochelle Public Library went into an extended executive session last night to discuss an issue related to financial mismanagement by a library employee.

Before the meeting, Board President Greg Varian told Talk of the Sound the issue was on the agenda but would not be discussed publicly but that a statement would be issued Friday.

Talk of the Sound has agreed to hold further reporting on the story until the statement is officially released. Check back here for further developments during the day.

UPDATE: On Friday, Talk of the Sound was contacted by Library Trustee Bo Kemp who told Talk of the Sound that the issue had to do with fund balance accounting and that the amount involved was $100,000. He stated that an official announcement would be forthcoming that day. In the meantime, our reporting was picked up by other media outlets and a formal statement was issued yesterday afternoon which is reprinted below:

Bernardo Nunez has joined the New Rochelle Public Library Board of Trustees. Mr. Nunez has extensive financial accounting background in both the private sector and not-for-profit sector. He worked previously in the commercial banking industry and, more recently, for the Cathedral of St. John the Devine in New York.

Mr. Nunez will take over the responsibility previously assigned to Thomas Leghorn which included various finance-related roles among them chairing the budget committee.

[DISCLOSURE: Mr. Nunez is my wife's cousin]

One of New Rochelle Public Library’s most popular series, International Music and Dance performances bring the sounds and movements of global cultures to New Rochelle this summer, thrilling and delighting all ages. The 28th season of the free performances runs six Tuesday evenings, beginning July 5th. All performances begin at 7:00 pm, and seating is on a first-come/first-served basis, to the capacity of the library’s 145-seat Ossie Davis Theater. Doors open at 6:45 pm.

July 5 Korean Drums and Dance with Vongku Pak
A stunning performance with the sounds, costumes and movement of Korea. Percussionist Vongku Pak and his troupe fuse contemporary Korean drumming styles with elements of traditional dance into dynamic musical performances. Unique rhythm patterns define the salmulnori performance, which includes two sets of drums and brass gongs, and the sulchanggu, which showcases the most distinctive drum of Korea.

July 12 Brazilian Capoeira