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by Cynthia Gould
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A state audit released Friday finds multiple cases of financial mismanagement at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia. The Examiners of Public Accounts listed 29 findings in its review of the Music Hall of Fame Board. The organization has received millions of dollars in taxpayer funding.
The audit found $113,437 in expenditures where there was no documentation, insufficient documentation, or unallowed expenses. Executive Director Sandra Burroughs Killen was put on unpaid leave in March according to the Times Daily.
The State Examiner has ordered Burroughs Killen to pay back $64,719.
The report stated the executive director was solely responsible for all checking account and credit card transactions without sufficient review by the board. That included 334 bank transactions totaling $76,731 and 242 credit card transactions totaling $36,706.
Some of the expenses questioned by auditors:
$14,709 – restaurants and eateries
$12,286 – in state hotels
$43,982 – flower delivery, concert and theater tickets, and gifts
Seven members of the Hall of Fame Board are appointed by the governor to six year terms. Four members are appointed by the Muscle Shoals Music Association. Three are from the state at large. The board appoints the Executive Director.
The report also revealed the board did not have policies and procedures in place for receipts of donations, accounting of ticket sales or proper documentation of meals and travel. There was also a case noted of noncompliance with the state bid law.
ABC 33/40 News has called the Music Hall of Fame for comment multiple times and have not heard back.