THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, September 27, 2019 Page 7 “I see a lack of governance” Town Meeting member DiVirgilio chides SaugusTV board for not filing timely reports By Mark E. Vogler S augus Community Television, Inc. is risking possible heavy fines and potential loss of its nonprofit status if it doesn’t get caught up on filing its tax returns, various financial documents and annual reports, a Town Meeting member warned the company at Monday night’s Special Town Meeting. “The nonprofit is not in compliance,” said Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Steven DiVirgilio. “The nonprofit needs to amend its 2016 Federal Tax Return, which was submitted with no information. It needs to file its 2017 nonprofit tax returns. The organization will be subject to a fine of $10,000 or five percent of gross receipts, whichever is less,” he said. DiVirgilio, who is also a certified public accountant and a member of the town’s Finance Committee, told his colleagues that personal research he had done on the nonprofit corporation that oversees the operations of SaugusTV revealed some serious financial liability if the paperwork isn’t done. “So, as a licensed CPA who audits companies, audits nonprofits, does financial statements, taxes, I see a lack of governance,” DiVirgilio said. “But, when you come to MCAS | from page 5 (CTP) of 50 percent or higher, indicating that the school is improving. Only two of the six Saugus Schools have reached that percentage. Here is a summary of how each of the six schools in the district ranked under the 2019 whelming support on three warrant articles totaling more than a million dollars – much of that will be used to improve the operations while building a new studio in a building it plans to share with the Saugus Historical Society. (See related story.) HARSH WORDS: Finance Committee/Town Meeting Member Steven DiVirgilio questions the financial responsibility of the SaugusTV board at Monday night’s Special Town Meeting. (Saugus Advocate Photo by Mark E. Vogler) Town Meeting, I would disclose that. I would disclose that you are a couple of years behind. I don’t know why you don’t. So, to me, the accounting hasn’t been done, or it’s either too difficult or you don’t have the right people in place,” he said. “But I don’t understand it. It could be contingent liability there. It is possible that their nonprofit status has been revoked. I don’t know. If that was the case, I would hope that would be disclosed. But, if you don’t file for three years, you Assessment and Accountability data released by DESE: Lynnhurst Elementary School – With a CTP of 90 percent, the school is easily meeting or exceeding its targets, and is substantially above the 75 percent threshold. This is a school with an enrollment of 282 for October 2018. The school was among the 67 on are automatically revoked. That turns you into a for-profit corporation,” he said. “So, I’ll ask this to one of the board members, ‘Are you in compliance with the Department of Revenue? Can you get a certificate of good standing? And has there been any correspondence from the United States Treasury Department as to the status of the nonprofit status. Has it been revoked?’” DiVirgilio was one of the few critics of Saugus Cable TV (SCTV), which received overthe “School of Recognition” list, chosen for “high growth” in students meeting their targets. This school had the best percentage in the district for meeting or exceeding expectations for testing results. For “We have no choice but to file them” Precinct 4 Town Meeting member Albert J. DiNardo, who is also president of the Board of Directors of Saugus Community Television, Inc., went to the lectern to respond to DiVirgilo’s critique. DiNardo said the lawyer representing Saugus Cable has already made public comments about the nonprofit’s records-keeping situation. “Our attorney was at the Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night and explained it all very well,” DiNardo said. “The problem is that ... and if you recall, SaugusTV has been under three separate corporations in the last seven or eight years. It’s been bounced back and forth,” he said. “Our employees, as a matter of fact, have been paid from three separate corporations, although they have worked for one corporation. When they go for a mortgage, it looks like they have worked for three different English Language Arts (ELA): 3rd grade, 73; 5th grade, 83. For Mathematics: 5th grade, 85. For Science: 5th grade, 75. Its biggest improvement came in 5th grade Mathematics, where the students meeting or exceeding companies. So, there has been a lot of turmoil and the last corporation – and I really don’t want to get into it, because we are in litigation because there was some questionable monies unaccounted for …” DiNardo added that SaugusTV’s attorney is in the process of filing the delinquent documents and updating information. Efforts to update the records have been hampered because the nonprofit is still waiting to receive audit reports, according to DiNardo. “We met with the auditors last week. And all those will be filed. We have to file. We have no choice but to file them,” DiNardo said. “But it has taken us years to stabilize the operations, to bring it back to where we are today, separate from the town and separate from these old corporations. I think the town is looking into that, and I heard that it’s even gone to the state Attorney General,” he said. DiVirgilio noted that the nonprofit could also face fines from the state Attorney General’s Office for failure to file required records. “This information is supposed to be available online to the public with the Attorney General’s office. It is not, so there will be fines there as well,” he said. expectations increased from 65 percent to 85 percent. The school achieved these doubledigit improvements for meeting or exceeding expectations: MCAS | SEE PAGE 8 NEEDING SOME HELP: For the second consecutive year, the Belmonte Middle School has been cited by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as “in need of focused/targeted support” because poor MCASresults.
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