Alcohol, gift cards and overpayment of managers flagged in financial audit of Northern Colorado YMCA
The Town of Johnstown has received a finalized financial audit report of their local YMCA, one which raises concerns of how and where money was spent by the organization. The YMCA of Johnstown was built and paid for with cash from sales taxes in Johnstown. However, the town contracted with the "Y" to staff and upkeep the facility through 2031.
The town agreed to pay the YMCA up to $500,000 a year to offset any costs not covered by memberships. However, the amount in which the YMCA has been requesting of the town has continued to grow, according to council members, leading to questions about the money flow around the Johnstown Y.
CBS News Colorado obtained a copy of the financial audit, which was later presented to the community at a town hall meeting on Monday evening. The document unveiled alleged issues around where the money Johnstown provided was spent.
The organization tasked with completing the audit found what they described as "fluctuations in monthly financial statements."
Some of the issues with finances uncovered in the audit were written off as software coding errors by Y staff members.
However, the audit also found issues with money being overcharged to the town and also other concerns with money possibly spent outside of the Johnstown location's best interest.
One concern included the audit finding the YMCA owed Johnstown more than $27,000 for their child care program.
The financial audit also alleged that staff members or managers were using town funds to purchase alcohol, which is prohibited.
The audit unveiled that the YMCA shares a bank account for five different locations. Those include Johnstown, Boulder, Lafayette, Longmont and a YMCA camp. With all sharing one bank account, there were times where auditors couldn't determine if Johnstown YMCA funds were being used to pay for expenses at other facilities.
At one point, the audit reported that Johnstown YMCA funds were being used to pay for upgrades to the Boulder YMCA location. The audit reported that the YMCA staff claimed that was a coding error as well.
Auditors also reported hundreds of dollars in gift cards being purchased, which the YMCA told them was to encourage retention of staff members in Johnstown. However, there was no proof provided that the gift cards were ever distributed to staff in the Johnstown YMCA location.
The audit also reported that at least one manager was overpaid more than $30,000 recently. The audit found the manager was paid for the entire year, even though they were only on staff for a portion of the year.
A spokesperson for the Town of Johnstown declined to provide interview for this report until the findings could be presented and discussed by the council to the public.
The YMCA responded to CBS News Colorado's request for an interview following the publication of this article. Read YMCA of Northern Colorado CEO Chris Coker's comments here.
In a recent town hall meeting, the town manager suggested to the council that they have the right to terminate their contract with the YMCA if they choose. Residents told CBS News Colorado they were concerned by the issues arising from the financial audit.