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About > Year in Review > Finance and Administration
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Finance and Administration provides oversight of WRHS financial management, information systems and technology, and human resources. We are pleased to announce WRHS had net earnings from operations in excess of $45,000 after depreciation, and overall net earnings of over $3 million. It was the consensus of both Board and staff that it was essential to finish the year in positive territory, and we achieved that goal.
Financial Highlights
• Increase in unrestricted net assets - $864,751
• Increase in net assets - total $3,121,988
• Decrease in bank debt from $1.2 million to $217,903
• Increase in the market value of investments and trusts over the prior year of $2,885,795
• Decrease in total liabilities from $1.6 million to $701,154
Overall operating revenue decreased as the 2010 fiscal year included a bequest of $600,000. If the bequest was factored out, revenue actually increased slightly. While admissions and memberships decreased, earned revenue increased by nearly $100,000. This is a reflection of hard work on the part of staff to focus on expanding existing revenue sources and identifying and taking advantage of new earned revenue sources. Budgetary discipline resulted in a slight decrease in operating expenses. Program expenses represent approximately 76% of the total operating expenses for the 2011 fiscal year.
WRHS was notified near the end of the 2011 fiscal year of a significant bequest from Fred and Kathleen Crawford for benefit of the Crawford Auto Aviation Collection. The bequest will come to WRHS via the Cleveland Foundation, and was established to exist in perpetuity in support of the Collection and WRHS. Also during the 2011 fiscal year, a capital appropriation of $2.8 million was released by the state of Ohio. Cuyahoga Community College will serve as the fiscal agent for the appropriation, which is earmarked for improvements to the History Center. We anticipate the improvements will be complete by August, 2012.
In August, 2009, the Society began capital improvements to the Hay-McKinney Mansion, funded by a grant of $1 million from the State of Ohio through the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission. We have addressed critical infrastructure issues including drainage, foundation repair and waterproofing, restoration of the brick walkways and terrace area and roof repairs. During the 2011 fiscal year, we added ADA accessible amenities, including bathroom facilities and a ramp, and installed a new, energy efficient, boiler. We repaired the interior plaster, and repainted the interior hallways and ceilings on the first and second floors, and installed a new stamped concrete driveway to the rear of the property. Currently, we are making repairs to the exterior of the mansion, including the entrance area and a new front drive, and painting the entire exterior façade. We are optimistic the facility will be a profitable venue for facility rentals, especially once the exterior landscaping is completed and the garden areas available for events. These improvements were especially timely, so we could re-open the mansion for tours to compensate for revenue lost while approximately half of the Society’s History Center facilities in University Circle undergoes renovations and is closed to visitors during the 2012 fiscal year. We anticipate the capital improvements to the Hay-McKinney Mansion to be completed by October 31, 2011.
WRHS also received $250,000 from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission for Hale Farm & Village, in reimbursement for capital improvements made in prior fiscal years. The money was earmarked for future improvements at Hale Farm & Village, while $25,000 of the money was used to establish a preservation endowment fund at the Akron Community Foundation for the benefit of Hale future preservation needs.
In February, 2010, the Society was notified of a bequest, by a donor who wished to remain anonymous, in excess of $600,000 and earmarked for capital improvements. The bequest funded the following improvements during the 2011 fiscal year:
• New tractor for Hale Farm & Village, and new lawn equipment at the History Center
• HVAC repairs/upgrades throughout WRHS
• Roof repairs at the History Center
• New public address system
• New equipment for rentals
• New closed circuit security system
• Tuck-pointing/new expansion joints for the Library exterior to correct water penetration issues
• Improvements at Shandy Hall, including removal of trees and brush, grading of the yard with new topsoil and seed, and a new connection to city water
• Improvements to the Norton Room, including plaster repair, painting of the ceiling and new carpeting
• Upgraded technology, including 34 new PC/Laptops and installation of Office 2010, and upgraded memory in 49 PC’s throughout WRHS
In the area of Human Resources, we also made a number of significant improvements. The employee manual was reviewed, revised and upgraded to bring it into compliance with new laws and regulations. The manual was last issued in 2003, and was previously only accessible in the Human Resources office or electronically. The newly updated manual was distributed to all employees, and each employee was subsequently contacted to make sure they both read and understood the manual. Despite the great uncertainty from health care reform, WRHS was able to renew health coverage for employees at the same level with only minimal increase in cost (6.35%) to both WRHS and the individual employees.
Finally, our insurance coverage was greatly improved. Coverage on the historic structures was increased to bring the values more in line with replacement costs. Coverage on collections was increased ten-fold, with a modest and acceptable increase in premium costs.
Mary M. Thoburn, CPA
Vice President of Finance & Administration
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