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BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT SNAFU

The BID (Business Improvement District) investigation.  The Walworth County Sheriff’s investigation into (supposed) missing money from the BID funds, collected from local businesses, is at an end.  At least the first end.  It seems that the detectives only interviewed David Nord, the city administrator, Don Draper, the city attorney, and Karen (now departed) the city comptroller.

Nobody from the BID board was interviewed.  No banks were questioned to double-check deposits and disbursements.  Once again, the city attorney, Dan Draper, lurks in the background, like the proverbial Shadow.  Since when have board members coming aboard on any committee or commission in Lake Geneva demanded an investigation of their own organization?  It’s not done unless there is real suspicion of chicanery.

Yet, the BID’s complaints are being ignored.  The BID is refiling with the sheriff’s department for another investigation, and this one to include the detectives looking at and talking to more than the very people who might be involved in the alleged chicanery.  The City of Lake Geneva has had plenty of financial scandals in the past; the library mess years ago, the fountain money, the infamous and fraudulent city credit cards for officials, the beach cash issues, and more.  It pays to keep a close watch over the money so get cracking Walworth County Sheriff’s investigators.

The BID only has a low six-figure budget.  Until the BID expands its area of participation, like bringing in those businesses currently surrounding the very localized and current central ‘district,’ like some of the big-box businesses, then the income flow will remain relatively modest for this organization.  If the current ‘tax’ contributions made to the bid are not really that significant, then where’s the sizeable money come from in order to go missing (according to the current leadership of the BID)?

Well, the BID puts on events throughout the year.  Money is paid out from the BID in order to pay expenses (like licensing, fees, entertainment, and security).  The BID then controls who can be a vendor at its events.  The vendors are supposed to share a part of the revenue they earn in order to be a vendor at any event.  And therein lies the rub.  Even vendors, some of them, have been alleged to be sharing their revenue with other organizations and individuals and not paying it directly to the BID organization.  Technically, that’s a form of absconding with money that the BID should more properly receive directly and then distribute according to the directives of a majority of the board members.  There isn’t necessarily corruption involved in these informal transactions, however, unless the BID can be the receiving source of all revenues it can’t budget, accommodate, and pay expenses as it sees fit.

Former mayor of Lake Geneva, Spyro Condos, also a sitting member of the police and fire commission, sits as the head of the BID board.   He is the driving force, as well as Dimitri Condos (owner and operator of Popeyes Restaurant on Wrigley Drive), behind requesting a forensic audit.  The private forensic audit failed when a decision was made by both the BID board and the Lake Geneva City Council that it would be best for the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department to assign detectives to investigate the matter.  Now, the BID members (at least the board) are dissatisfied, not with the investigation results, but with the lack of in-depth investigation that appears to have been done.  The sheriffs have agreed, however, to re-open the investigation and do a better job.