LIVERMORE – Norlands has weathered its storm, says Trustee President George Ames.

With new money-handling procedures and oversight of accounting practices in place, a new director at the helm and new opportunities on the horizon, trustees are looking forward to an “exciting new era” for the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center and its programs.

A year ago, a detailed audit of Norlands’ financial records uncovered about $250,000 in hidden losses and missing funds.

The audit indicated nearly $50,000 had been stolen. It also found that the center’s accounting system had been manipulated to mask operating losses of nearly $200,000 over a two-year span.

Armour Goodman of Dixfield, a bookkeeper at Norlands from February 2000 to May 2002, was indicted in March on charges of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, forgery and falsifying private records.

Goodman’s trial, originally set for this month, has been postponed until November at the request of his attorney, said state Assistant Attorney General Michael Colleran.

In the wake of the storm, Norlands’ Board of Trustees adopted a comprehensive oversight policy.

Treasurer L. Clinton Boothby said the board has adopted safeguards and procedures “to prevent a recurrence of the financial improprieties that occurred last year.”

That list includes:

• Direct oversight of accounting by the executive director and the treasurer.

• Two signatures on checks.

• Restricted access to accounts.

• Reduction in the total number of its accounts.

The center, which has an annual operating budget of $200,000 to $300,000, depends on membership dues, corporate funding, programs, tours, donations and endowments for its funds.

Most of Norlands’ programs are designed to further the public’s understanding of life in 1870, Ames said.

Norlands also is a repository of information and primary source data about the Civil War and about the influential Washburn family, which once called Norlands home.

“We are also seeking grant support for our education programs,” Ames said. He noted that the programs cost much more to run than they receive in fees.

It is “increasingly apparent that program income has not kept pace with operating costs,” he said.

Challenges remain

After Norlands’ trustees learned the center’s true financial situation, they scaled back paid staff and the center’s operating times last winter.

Currently, trustees are trying to increase the use of the site during its typically slow months of December through February by hosting company holiday parties and teaching classes, as well as offering several special holiday events.

The fall school programs are in full swing, and fall foliage bus tours are booking visits.

Norlands’ donations were higher last year than in recent years, “thanks to efforts by staff and trustees,” Ames said.

“However, Norlands’ current financial needs are many, and we hope for increased support through our annual appeal,” Ames said. The appeal begins at the end of this month.

Norlands, like all living history museums, depends on “significant donations to survive,” the treasurer said. Many changes have been made in the operating structure with an eye toward “maintaining program quality while significantly reducing costs.”

This would not be possible, Boothby said, without the faithful support of Norlands’ staff and volunteers who’ve made personal sacrifices to keep the doors open.

Now there is “cautious enthusiasm tempered with a realistic understanding of enormous challenges ahead,” he said.

Looking for revenue

As the annual appeal draws near, Ames said he hopes that people will be generous in supporting Norlands and its programs, which last year reached more than 10,000 schoolchildren.

The new executive director, George Lyons, is working on many fronts, Ames said, to improve and expand programs, reduce overhead costs and to obtain new sources of revenue.

Norlands’ trustees expect to receive a generous donation soon, which will allow them to make improvements in the Norlands Church, which would help make that building more hospitable for income-producing activities, Ames said.

The history center’s Web site, www.norlands.org, includes directions to get to the center, information about its programs and collections, and a membership form.

“We survive on members’ generosity, and we would love to see everyone who supports our mission to support us through membership,” Ames said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link