$2 Million in MISSING entries uncovered in Morgantown’s BOPARC Taxpayer Spending Records

by: Volunteer Contributors, Ty Morgan
We recently issued a Freedom of Information Act request for public funds spent by Morgantown’s Board Of Park And Recreation Commissioners (BOPARC) during the past 5 years. 

BOPARC is responsible for city parks and facilities such as Marilla Park & Pool, Krepps Park & Pool, Wiles Hill, Dorsey’s Knob, Morgantown Ice Arena, and more. 

We were perplexed to find $1,330,971.46 in expenses with no description of what the public taxpayer money was spent on.

An additional $261,869.94 worth of expenses had no vendor listed on who the payment was issued to.

Further, $464,499.99 had no transaction number. 

In total, $2,057,341.39 of taxpayer funds expended by BOPARC over the past 5 years was missing essential information. 

 

Local Bookkeeper “Surprised” after reviewing BOPARC Taxpayer Spending Records 

 

We asked a Morgantown bookkeeping expert, Jenna Correll, to analyze BOPARC’s financial documents. 

Jenna Correll has an accounting degree from WVU and operates Correll Business Services (correllbizservices.com) since 2019, assisting businesses with bookkeeping, payroll, and business taxes. 

After reviewing 25 pages of BOPARC expenses, Correll was “surprised” to see dozens of expenses were blank.  

Correll elaborates, “The main thing I noted which was a little concerning is the number of transactions that show neither a vendor nor description. A couple of these transactions were over $10,000 with the largest charge being almost $22,000 written on a single check with no explanation on who the check was written to or what it was for.” 

 

Are the blank entries a case of sloppy accounting and negligent record keeping... Or, is something amiss? 

 

“This would be more normal for a small business,” Correll says, after being asked if BOPARC’s records live up to professional bookkeeping standards. 

However, she adds, “government agencies handling taxpayer funds should be held to the highest standard.” 

We asked BOPARC Executive Director Melissa Wiles and Assistant Director Marissa Travinski to comment on their missing $2 Million. As of this story’s publication date, we have not received a response.

More to come. Stay tuned this month for our grassroots investigation series on eyebrow-raising BOPARC taxpayer expenditures you may find hard to believe.

Public Document: 2018-2023 BOPARC Taxpayer Expenses.pdf