<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1458" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref">
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">INK: Concerns arise
about chamber's finances<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=5> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=5><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Vera White</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">, Daily
News<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=5> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A longtime member of the Moscow Chamber
of Commerce recently called the INKster to express concern about what he calls
"the financial decline" of the organization. To that end, the INKster obtained a
copy of the chamber's financial records as of </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix =
st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:date Year="2004"
Day="31" Month="5"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">May 31,
2004</SPAN></st1:date><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>Some of his concern centered
around the activities for the Chamber Foundation, a nonprofit educational arm
created several years ago for chamber projects. The chamber's balance sheet,
under a listing marked "Long Term Liabilities," shows $8,990 "payable to Chamber
Foundation." Under "Equity," the figure for "Retained Earnings" is listed as a
minus-$74,822,93, "Net Income" as $43,764.89, for a total of minus-$31,058.04.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>"The $8,990 Chamber
Foundation is listed as a current asset, but the chamber balance sheet lists it
as a long-term liability," said the puzzled member. "With the retained earning a
minus-$74,822.93, and a net income of $43,764.89, gives the chamber a total
minus equity position of $31,058.04. It doesn't seem right."
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>The INKster asked for a
clearer definition of the Chamber Foundation. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>"The funding comes from
chamber member donations for chamber projects," he explained. "Another long-time
member admitted that he didn't know what the projects were. We did some
fund-raising through the foundation for building renovations which has yet to
occur." <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>The member also questioned
the $466,806.72 figure listed on the Statement of Cash Flows under "Unearned
Dues." <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>"I don't know how we got to
the point that we had this amount," he said. "According to the Aging Summary,
this is an accumulation of three or four years, but we've been carrying
businesses that aren't in business anymore or are not paying their dues."
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>The INKster was told that
after the former bookkeeper was terminated, the chamber had "contracted out of
house" for bookkeeping services. The information was furnished to the accountant
by interim office manager Connie Kimmell, wife of chamber Executive Director
Paul Kimmell. The chamber replaced Connie Kimmell last week with Bethany
Johnson. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=5>"I hope the new chamber
board and president (Janice McMillan) takes this as a wake-up call," said the
disgruntled member. "I would like to note the recent problems faced by the
Hayden Chamber of Commerce. They are ready to file for bankruptcy because of the
lack of oversight by the board." </FONT></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>