Submitted by Barry Austin
THE LAW DOESN’T APPLY TO US, CSA SAYS
Anyone who wasn’t at the Coronado Senior Association (CSA) board of directors meeting on 13 December 2017 missed an incredible show of arrogance and entitlement by its board members.
When asked whether the board intended to hold open meetings, the president stated, “the board can meet wherever and whenever we want, regardless of what CSA’s contract with the City requires and what state laws say.” Added another, “CSA’s bylaws govern what we do, not the City or State.” WOW! As if to provide justification for their remarks, the two women added, “Roger Miller [Coronado Recreation & Golf Services Director] told us we can continue doing whatever we were doing before we signed the contract with the City.”
When the board reviewed their 11-month 2017 financial status ($13,960 in dues income, $47,032 in expenses, for a net deficit of $33,072), attention turned to their fund raising efforts for November — bingo netted $237 and the annual meeting lunch netted $209, for a total of $446 for the month. The board congratulated themselves on a job well done, despite the fact that they need to raise $2,800 each and every month of the year to cover their spending. November fund raising thus only covered 16% of the needed amount for November. (Other months were equally dismal.)
So, with the board having recognized the pitiful progress being made to cover their deficit spending, the observers at the meeting then expected a lively conversation on what fund raising activities and/or expense reductions would be initiated to resolve the resulting $30,000 annual deficit. No such discussion ensued. In fact, various board members expressed total indifference to their deficit spending by saying, “The money will come from somewhere,” and “Let’s not worry about the money,” “We’re doing our best,” and “The City owes us.” Incredibly, as if attempting to garner pity from the audience, the former president of CSA (who resigned from that office earlier this year), who astonishingly is the newly-elected treasurer, added, “Our mission is to comfort poor and lonely seniors. Money is someone else’s responsibility.”
Take-home messages from the meeting were clear: (1) the CSA board believes it does not need to follow either state laws or its written contract with the City, (2) controlling expenses is not something that the CSA board believes it should be doing, (3) they are not serious about raising funds to support their operations, and (4) the “mission” of the CSA is quite different from what they agreed to do in their contract with the City of Coronado and doesn’t agree with their “purpose” and “motto” statements on their website or their filings with the Internal Revenue Service.
By their very own words and actions, the board of CSA continues to make clear that they are undeserving of the $34,200 of taxpayer money that they receive in quarterly installments through the Coronado City Council. I call upon the Mayor and Council to stop funding the Coronado Senior Association. Our City has more beneficial uses for that money.
And, if Coronado Recreation & Golf Services Director Roger Miller really made the statement that the board members say (paragraph 2 above), he should be reprimanded and the CSA contract for which he is the administrator should be reassigned to another City staffer.
Barry Austin
