Roth will ask for look at symphony expenses

BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN - Deputy Mayor Michelle Roth told the News Transcript this week that she will request a forensic audit of the recreation trust fund account that has been funding the Manalapan Battleground Symphony.

Roth said she will make the request at the Township Committee's June 13 meeting and hopes her fellow committee members will support and approve the action.

Roth said her recent examination of the 2007 municipal budget which is scheduled for a public hearing and adoption that evening led her to believe that a "look back to the mid-90s is needed."

The proposal from Roth comes on the heels of a planned restructuring of the Manalapan Parks and Recreation Department.

Roth cited two recent examples as proof that a closer look is needed at how and why money from the recreation trust fund was spent. She said a Manalapan Battleground Symphony concert held in February cost Manalapan $3,000, while the spring concert held a month ago cost more than $6,000.

Roth said she, Committeeman Anthony Gennaro and Township Administrator Tara Lovrich met recently with Stephen Pine and George Hicks, two members of the symphony's board. According to Roth, the meeting was offered to be scheduled at the convenience of symphony conductor Chiu-Tze Lin.

Lin resigned from her position as conductor after refusing to meet with the municipal representatives.

Roth said, "The Township Committee unanimously supports the arts and our Manalapan Battleground Symphony community orchestra. However, it is our responsibility to make sure taxpayer dollars are prudently spent.

"When our current CFO and administrator uncovered the inappropriate charging of symphony expenses which were overlooked by both their predecessors, they recommended to the committee that we separate the symphony from the recreation department and prevent any future expenses (from being) charged to the recreation trust fund account. The committee did that on May 9.

"It is also very troubling that despite being asked to attend a meeting in early May the conductor chose not to do so. The only representatives from the symphony were the two volunteer board members who met with our CFO, administrator, assistant director of recreation and two Township Committee members to discuss inappropriate charging of expenses and how a restructuring was now required in order to continue to provide concerts to our residents," Roth said.

"We understand the need to add a few paid professionals to our community orchestra to raise the sound quality and enhance the listening enjoyment for our residents. However, we have not had a credible explanation as to why spending for the symphony was inconsistent from concert to concert and appeared to go completely unchecked by the recreation department.

"Why is it that during one concert this year we paid $2,655 for paid performers and another concert saw that price soar to $6,200? In addition to her conducting fees, we have been paying our conductor $2,000 per year for administrative services since September 1999. Instead of coming to speak with any member of the governing body or our administrator or CFO to discuss the concerns raised at our meeting, the conductor chose to quit," the committeewoman said.

Roth said those reasons are why she will call for a forensic accounting of the recreation trust fund going back to the mid-90s to see if there are any other "questionable charges to this account."

When asked if he would support Roth's request for an audit of the recreation trust fund account that has been funding the symphony, Gennaro said he would.

"It sounds reasonable. It's sort of what we were trying to do anyway when we asked them for their expenses. I would support a review to determine the actual costs and money spent," he said.

Gennaro said he remains committed to finding a way to preserve the symphony.

Lin said the May meeting she declined to attend conflicted with her work schedule. However, she also asserted that she did not believe her inclusion at the meeting was appropriate. She said she doubted she would attend the June 13 Township Committee meeting. Lin said she would leave the representation of the symphony's finances to Hicks and Pine.

Lin said she believed the "money aspect" should only be discussed with symphony board members because she technically is their employee who is guided by their policies and decisions.

She said the results of the meeting with Roth, Gennaro and the other township officials as related to her by Pine and Hicks had left her "kind of disappointed at how the symphony is being valued in the overall scheme of the budget."

Hicks was out of town and not available for comment, and a telephone message left for Pine was not returned by press time Monday.

When asked to explain why she felt it necessary to resign, Lin said, "As to what led to my decision on resignation, it is really very simple. I am a professional musician who is highly respected by my colleagues. I am very focused and intensely serious in what I do, as I seek the highest quality possible.

"I have given a lot over the last seven years to the symphony and the community and certainly well beyond the call of duty relative to my financial compensation. All the discussions about the budget cuts (which were quite severe) greatly disappointed me. It really boggles my mind that the symphony budget has been the subject of so much discussion when it constitutes only 0.01 percent of the Manalapan budget of about $29 million."

She said the township's decision to cut the symphony's budget from $35,000 in 2006 to $10,000 in 2007 "certainly does not go anywhere to solve the kind of fiscal issues Manalapan has. You feel that you have given so much, and you clearly see how little your efforts have been appreciated by the way the symphony was treated by the township powers that be. This is why I was forced to make the decision I made."

Roth said Pine and Hicks were asked at the May meeting to submit a budget of expenses for the symphony. She said they were informed at that time that the symphony might have to cut back on the number of concerts it gave in Manalapan and at locations outside the community.

Lin said she decided to resign as conductor once she learned that funding for the symphony was being cut by $25,000 this year. She said she was paid a $2,000 annual retainer as conductor and additional money according to any extra work she did for the symphony.

Lin declined to discuss the additional fees she would charge, explaining that the fees would be based on the venue and services being provided at any given time.

Roth said the extra fees were something she wanted to discuss with Lin. Roth noted, for example, that Lin received a $600 fee to judge a young musicians competition.

Lin responded by asserting that any additional money she received did not come close to compensating her for the time she put into the symphony, saying in the overall, "It's more like I'm a volunteer who gets some compensation."

Lin said that under her direction the symphony gave four concerts a year: a Labor Day weekend pops concert, a winter holiday concert, a family concert which she said placed a focus on music education, and a spring concert which featured the young artists competition winners.

Regarding the orchestra's funding, according to Lin, the symphony gets about $4,000 per year from the Monmouth County Arts Council through the New Jersey Arts Council, and the rest through the municipal budget.

The spark that led Lin to resign from the position she held for seven years came when symphony board members were told that the funding would be reduced from $35,000 to $10,000.

Municipal officials said the cut was being made with regret and explained that the rising cost of mandated services necessitated the action.

Mayor Andrew Lucas said while every member of the governing body "highly values the arts and the fine musicians that make up the symphony," the budget cut was necessary, but did not necessarily mean the symphony is being abandoned.

Lucas said a plan is being developed that would provide for the remainder of the money (the $25,000 difference) to come from fundraisers such as a planned Mayor's Arts Council Ball.

Also, said Lucas, officials are trying to help the symphony become eligible to receive tax-free donations.

Lin said she took issue with municipal officials criticizing the symphony for playing outside of Manalapan, including a concert last year in Princeton. She said being asked to play in Princeton was a testimonial to the talented musicians in the symphony.

According to Lin, any concerts performed by the symphony were paid for by the host hall.

Roth disputed Lin's assertion that all concerts performed by the symphony were paid for by the host hall. She said Manalapan paid a Freehold church $850 for the symphony to hold a May 12 concert.

Roth said she questions why Manalapan taxpayers should pay for the symphony to play in another town. She cited an additional $500 that was spent to cover the cost of having employees from the Manalapan Department of Public Works on hand to set up and clean up at the event in Freehold.

Roth said the symphony's concerts could be held at township venues like Manalapan High School. According to Roth, Freehold Regional High School District Superintendent of Schools James Wasser supports hosting municipal events such as the symphony performances.

According to Roth, $6,200 was paid to musicians who played in the May 12 concert, compared with $3,000 it cost for the symphony's concert in February.

Roth said she asked to meet with Lin in order to discuss these recent matters and to talk about working on cost-saving initiatives such as using the high school as a venue. She said Lin refused to meet with township officials and instead relied on Pine and Hicks to represent her position.

Lin countered by disputing Roth's assertion that the May 12 concert in Freehold only took in $70. She said the approximate proceeds totaled $1,789.

When asked what she thought about Roth's plan to request an audit of money paid out to the symphony from the recreation trust fund, Lin said, "It's sort of like a witch hunt, like they're looking for things. I have a good name."

Lin said she is starting a new orchestra, the Bravura Philharmonic.

"There is a lot of work ahead of me with this new group, which includes getting an orchestra board together and taking other important steps. I am glad that a huge number of members from the symphony expressed great interest in continuing to work with me, so I feel I am off to a good start," she said.

Lin said it pained her to leave the 65-member symphony she led for seven years. She said that as a musician, the symphony afforded her a chance to express her art. Second, she felt proud as a resident of having an orchestra to conduct.

"I happened to be a resident of Manalapan when the orchestra board hired me which was not the case with any of the orchestra's past conductors ... The fact that I am a resident here made me more keen on knowing the talent in the area. Regarding the concerts themselves, my greatest pleasure over the years has been to see the joy that the concerts have brought to our audiences, especially seniors and young people," Lin said.

Manalapan