Town Commissions Audit of LTV Books

An acrimonious rift among members of the board of directors of LTV, the Wainscott organization that provides two public access television channels in East Hampton under contract with the town, has prompted town officials to commission an audit of the nonprofit’s finances. The decision was announced during an annual town board hearing last Thursday to solicit public comment on LTV’s services.

Nawrocki Smith, an outside auditing firm that also checks on the town’s financial practices, will begin working next week with LTV’s accountant, according to Len Bernard, the town budget officer.

The town provides the lion’s share of LTV’s budget, using money the town receives as a franchise fee from Cablevision and a separate fee for public access TV equipment. By law, at least a portion of the fee Cablevision pays the town for its transmission lines must be used to provide public access TV.

According to a four-year contract with LTV running through 2016 (which has a three-year renewal option), the town provides LTV $637,480 annually, plus $40,000 as the equipment fee. In return, LTV films and broadcasts school events and governmental meetings on Channel 22 and also provides town residents with the opportunity to create and air original programs on Channel 20.

The issue among LTV board members apparently turns on a potential consulting contract with Seth Redlus, LTV’s former executive director, who stepped down in March and now lives in Texas.

Robert Strada, the chairman of LTV’s board of directors, told the East Hampton Town Board last Thursday that members of the LTV board had, at an April meeting, introduced what he called “a sweetheart severance and consulting package” for Mr. Redlus without previous board discussion.

“I objected then, and I object now to its content and its clandestine procedure,” he said. Mr. Strada, who has been chairman of the board for almost a decade, said he was then asked by a group of board members to resign.

Mr. Strada said he had “serious questions about the organization’s financial activities” and asked the town board for the financial audit. An audit had already been scheduled, Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell told him. An audit of LTV’s books commissioned by the town in 2012 resulted in several recommendations for better record keeping, but found nothing seriously amiss.

Jim Shelley, the treasurer of LTV and the board vice chairman, who is at odds with Mr. Strada, apologized to town officials for the “current board kerfuffle,” calling it “unseemly.” He pledged to cooperate with the audit of LTV’s books, even offering to pay for the audit personally.

Because of internal disagreements, the LTV board has been unable to gather a quorum, making it impossible to meet and conduct routine business, or, as some board members have reportedly planned, to vote to dismiss Mr. Strada and his wife, Michelle Murphy Strada, from the board.

“LTV functions beautifully, and will continue to function beautifully,” Mr. Strada said. But, he went on, “there are disagreements within the LTV board that have to be resolved. The disagreement is about money and transparency. It’s about fiduciary responsibility.”

Morgan Vaughn, who has been serving as LTV’s interim executive director since March, provided an overview of the station’s offerings. She said that allowing Mr. Redlus to provide “off-site technical direction” was key, as his expertise was unmatched by anyone else at the facility, but that the terms of an agreement with him have not been finalized. “In my opinion it is worth it,” she said. Mr. Redlus, an East Hampton native, is reported to have had an annual salary of $90,000. The fee he was to be paid to provide technical assistance could not be confirmed.

A number of speakers at the hearing told the town board that LTV is doing a good job at offering an invaluable service.

    The Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster, an Amagansett pastor who produces a show on LTV, said the service is “a voice of democracy in our community” that has “had an amazing reach. . . . LTV is one of the best public access facilities in the country,” she said.

“I applaud LTV for the job they do with the amount of money they get,” said Bruce Nalepinski, an East Hampton resident who runs Southampton Town’s public access station, SEA-TV. “I don’t believe their budget is overblown,” he said.

The town board will “ensure that our performance review is thorough and comprehensive, especially under the circumstances we have here today,” Mr. Cantwell told the LTV representatives last week. “I understand that there’s a rift on the board. It’s not the town board’s responsibility to heal that. I’m appealing to the LTV board tonight to heal that rift — find a way to move forward.” LTV “is such an asset to the community,” he said. This week, the supervisor added that the board will rely on the auditors’ recommendations as to how far inquiries into LTV’s financial matters should go, in order “to assure the town that the finances of LTV are appropriate.”

That may or may not include examining the terms of a potential consulting contract with Mr. Redlus. But, the supervisor said, “I don’t want to get ahead of where the issues are.”

Town Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc, who is the board’s liaison to LTV, said Tuesday that he hoped the strife would soon abate, but that it was largely a matter for the organization itself to resolve. “I think we’re getting our money’s worth,” the councilman said. But, he said, if the LTV board disagreement “affects LTV’s ability to provide services,” the situation will be of concern to the town. “Absolutely,” he said.