Mar 29, 2:55 AM EST
Public art program scrutinized for spending
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- The nonprofit group that runs Scottsdale's public art program spent more than $500,000 on administrative expenses in the last budget year, about 25 percent of its entire budget, an audit found.
The quasi-independent Scottsdale Cultural Council also charged taxpayers for personal cell phones and potentially misspent on travel and meals, the audit report showed.
While most of the charges are legitimate, City Auditor Cheryl Barcala said the group's records offered little detail on the spending.
"There's room for improvement in how the Cultural Council documents their expenditures," Barcala said.
The Cultural Council is subject to city policies because it uses public money. It operates several art programs for the city, including the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts.
While most of the charges are legitimate, City Auditor Cheryl Barcala said the group's financial records offered little detail on why some cash was spent. "There's room for improvement in how the Cultural Council documents their expenditures," she said.
The Cultural Council is a nonprofit company subject to city policies because it uses public money. Scottsdale contracts with the group to operate several art programs, including the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts.
The audit report singled out travel and meal purchases for questioning.
"Certain travel expenditures . . . did not appear necessary or cost effective," the report states, "and documentation was not available to provide evidence that less costly alternatives were considered."
The city shares some of the responsibility for the shortcomings, the report states, because city officials did not question the expenses.
"They haven't put a lot of emphasis on creating budgets and they haven't put much emphasis on creating financial statements," said City Councilman Jim Lane. "That's been a bone of contention."
Valarie Vadala Homer, director of the public art program for the Cultural Council, said those documentation problems are being fixed.
The report also recommended that employees should be paid out of a separate city fund to free up more money for art.
The public art fund was created in 1985 to help improve the aesthetics of city property. A city law says 1 percent of the capital improvement must be set aside each year for public art.
Pieces dot the entire city, including ornate bus shelters and sculptures that line many Scottsdale roads.