PANAMA CITY — Downtown Improvement Board (DIB) members have taken a step to clear the agency from the City Commision’s accusations of improprieties and lay ground rules for more balanced financial oversight in the future.
Commissioners Tuesday night accused the DIB of violating the state’s open-meeting law by holding a February meeting in a downtown restaurant without adequate public notice. During the meeting, seven DIB members discussed audit findings indicating DIB Director Dutch Sanger received commission of $11,625 from acquiring a $125,000 BP grant and Fourth of July event funds from Panama City.
Sanger said Thursday announcements for the meeting were placed on the DIB website and posted at the DIB headquarters. He also maintains the funds fell under the “10 percent commission of paid cash sponsorships” scope outlined in his contract.
Commissioner John Kady disagreed, saying the language clearly does not apply to grants.
“My 16-year-old daughter can tell you what a cash sponsorship is,” Kady said. “It’s not a state grant or that sort of thing. … This is not something that is up to interpretation.”
“Cash sponsorships” are not defined within Sanger’s 2009 contract.
Sanger agreed to repay the $11,625 from his accrued vacation and sick leave time during the February meeting and reaffirmed it at the DIB’s Wednesday meeting. The DIB owed Sanger more than 200 hours of vacation and sick leave, totaling more than $18,000.
DIB members Wednesday also laid ground rules for systematic financial oversight. They agreed any commissions more than $1,000 would have to come before the board for approval and any commissions under $1,000 would require the chairman’s approval.
A monthly spreadsheet of expenses and commissions is expected to be presented to the board at their meetings.
DIB members also agreed Sanger’s roles as executive director and events and festivals coordinator needed to be further defined and updated by the city attorney, though payments would have to come from the DIB, which is about $55,000 in debt.
“The board stepped up to give me direction on what I should concentrate on,” Sanger said. “I don’t set policy; the board does, and until they tell me what to do I continue to do what I always have.”
The DIB will vote on items discussed at the meeting during their regular meeting on March 26 at 4 p.m. at the DIB conference room at 413 Harrison Ave.