The Willow Glen ResidentBusiness association had a duty to report the problemWhen nearly $8,000 in beverage sales turned up missing after Founders Day 1996, Willow Glen Business and Professional Association board members opted to leave the discrepancy unreported and uninvestigated. In doing so, they made a bad situation worse. It's certainly conceivable that the discrepancy could be chalked up to loose controls over the handling of cash at the event itself. And to the extent that this contributed to the problem, it is encouraging that they revamped the system for keeping watch over money during fairs, from collecting cash to dropping it at the bank. The problem is, though, that because the discrepancy was unreported and uninvestigated, questions remain about what happened to the $8,000. Organizers had a duty to tell dues-paying retailers that money, essentially their money, was missing. Organizers had a duty to balance the books so that future organizers would be able to plan for other Founders Day events. And organizers had a duty to truthfully report beverage sales on the city grant application so that funds for future Founders Days weren't in jeopardy.
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This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 12, 1997. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||