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Hernando Today

SPCA Board Consists Of Familiar Faces

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By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: May 2, 2008

SPRING HILL - The changing of the guard was more like a return to the past.

For the 33 SPCA members who attended Wednesday night's public meeting, that was perfectly fine.

They hope the focus can be on the day-to-day operation of the shelter - especially finances.

"We have to get in there, check all the records ... and see where we stand," said newly elected president Earl Gutknecht.

He was a popular choice among the long-time volunteers. In the last 11 years, he has held each of the officer's positions - including treasurer.

Financially, there is a lot of questions to be answered. The previous president, Michelle McCabe, hired Spring Hill accountant Eugene D. Ashman to review the records at the shelter. The results weren't good.

Details were not discussed during the public meeting, but a copy of Ashman's findings was obtained by Hernando Today.

He stated that because of a lack of reporting for the shelter's thrift shop and multiple fundraisers in 2006, the result could be a suspension of its "privilege to be treated as a charitable organization."

In his letter dated April 25, Ashman also accused the SPCA of failing to complete and submit vital tax forms, which is a "serious violation of tax law that could subject the organization to severe penalties and even loss of exemption (status)," he wrote.

The maximum fine is $5,000 for each missing form.

"I must say the workings of this organization do not conform, or even resemble, the operations of any of the companies I have advised in the past 40-plus years," he wrote in his four-page letter to the SPCA. "It is greatly recommended that you study how normal companies operate and then try to copy them."

Gutknecht announced he would meet with Ashman and work toward making it a debt-free and prudent facility.

"We're going to toe the line," said the 82-year-old after the meeting. "We're going to do everything right."

There also is the issue of unwanted media attention during the past two weeks. Many volunteers complained the previous board neglected to account for dozens of cats that went missing at the shelter.
McCabe has told reporters more than 90 cats were adopted from the time she was elected in January until the end of April. She told the same thing to Hernando County Animal Services, which conducted an inspection of the facility last week.

Manager Liana Teague said she found no evidence of animal cruelty or neglect. She also thought the shelter was a clean and hazard-free place for the 75 cats and 10 dogs being housed there.

Wednesday's meeting took place at Perkins Restaurant on Commercial Way. It was shorter and more subdued compared to the previous meeting in March when the old leadership publicly clashed with some of the long-time volunteers.

For several minutes Wednesday, members bantered about the "mysterious disappearance" of cats. No one knew exactly how many cats were at the facility in January.

They disputed accounts there were up to 200 felines at the SPCA. Some think that number closer to 135 and almost 60 of them wound up missing by the end of February.

Newly elected board member Tracey Hedges began taking head counts and taking notes every week beginning Feb. 27. The total number of cats fluctuated from 80 to 67 before settling at 75 on April 16, she said.

The members are hoping to become more computer-reliant in the future so that bookkeeping and adoption information can be recorded more accurately and efficiently.

That was one of the many recommendations made by Ashman. He noted some of the papers submitted to him were stained by the pets themselves.

"To turn over records saturated with cat urine is unspeakable," he wrote. "A CPA may be tolerant of such behavior, but the IRS will certainly not be. (That's) another reason to computerize records."

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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