The source of the erroneous numbers in the La Plata Electric Association board of directors expenditure report remains a mystery, the cooperative said Tuesday in a statement.
But closer oversight of all financial accounting is coming, LPEA officials said.
Britt Bassett, an LPEA board member who is standing for re-election this month, brought the discrepancy to the attention of LPEA Executive Director Mike Dreyspring on Monday and later gave The Durango Herald a copy of the expenditure report.
At issue is the amount of board-related spending in the fourth quarter of 2013. The amount, which LPEA officials concede is wrong, is much too low, making it appear that board expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2014 increased by $34,000.
In reality, the 2014 amount was about $11,000 more.
“After extensive review of all board-of-director expenditures for 2013, 2014 and 2015, the source of the incorrect information is still unclear,” the LPEA statement said. “The 2013 information was incorrectly copied into the 2014 report.”
Deliberate manipulation of numbers never was a consideration, LPEA spokeswoman Indiana Reed said.
Board expenditures will continue to be presented quarterly, the LPEA statement said. In the future, three sets of eyes will review general ledger and board expenditures. The controller, the chief financial officer and the chief executive officer will check entries.
The expenditure reports of board members – per diem and the cost of mileage, rooms, meals, airfare, courses, insurance and miscellaneous expenses – are not routinely made available to the public. Some people who closely follow LPEA have requested that detailed expenditure reports be made more readily available.
Bassett is concerned that the erroneous figures are being bandied about in public, specifically in letters to the editor. In a close election, a seemingly profligate board of directors could sway voters, he said.
Four seats are open, with results to be announced Saturday at the LPEA annual meeting in Pagosa Springs. As of Tuesday, La Plata County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee Parker had received 6,592 ballots out of almost 32,000 mailed to members.
daler@durangoherald.com
