New audit ordered by Sacramento State shows more financial issues at Capital Public Radio
A new review of financial issues at Capital Public Radio found hundreds of thousands of dollars in unsupported payments and offered additional details on potential conflicts of interest surrounding contracts and the lease of a downtown Sacramento headquarters.
The forensic report flagged more than $774,000 in spending — including at least $460,800 linked to an individual “without corresponding evidence of expense reports and/or receipts.” That person had at least some influence over the station’s finances, according to the review.
Sacramento State, which holds the broadcast licenses for the station, released the report. The names of individuals identified in it were redacted. University President Luke Wood said in a campus email that was to “avoid jeopardizing a related investigation by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.”
Deputies began investigating “financial improprieties” months ago, said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. He declined to say who was included within the scope of the investigation.
“These (investigations) take a lot of time,” Gandhi said.
The examination released Monday comes after a separate audit last year identified widespread concerns including poor recordkeeping and a lack of oversight at the station. It found CapRadio was more than $1.8 million behind on payments it said it would make to Sac State and that it did not have proper board approval for more than $1.1 million in lease agreements for studio equipment and furniture.
The new review said a spouse of a station board member at the time appeared to have a stake in a property, located at 730 I St., which CapRadio planned to lease for a new headquarters. At a minimum, the report said, that type of arrangement “demonstrates at least the appearance of a potential conflict of interest.” The relationship was not noted in board meeting minutes, according to the report from CliftonLarsonAllen, an accounting firm.
Last year, The Sacramento Bee reported that Katherine Bardis-Miry was a member of the station’s board of directors when CapRadio signed a lease on the downtown building in 2021. Her husband, developer Bay Miry was a part owner of the building and was involved in the agreement.
Bardis-Miry told The Bee at the time she had no say in the selection of the building for the new headquarters and that she recused herself from votes or detailed discussions regarding the property.
She was asked to step out of a board meeting in 2019 prior to a conversation about the property, CliftonLarsonAllen’s report said. Minutes from other board meetings where the building was discussed, and Bardis-Miry was present, do not indicate whether or not she recused herself. She resigned from the board in October along with many other members.
CliftonLarsonAllen also found a furniture contract for the new headquarters was agreed upon without evidence that it went through a competitive bid process.
The president of the business involved in the deal was a CapRadio board member at the time the contract was finalized, the report said.
The Bee previously reported Western Contract sold more than $22,000 in equipment and furniture to CapRadio. The company’s president Bill Yee was on the station’s board at the time. Yee did not immediately respond to a voicemail and email requesting comment Monday afternoon.
CliftonLarsonAllen also reviewed three other contracts in which “a CPR Board member was either a founder or a partner at the vendor.”
The station does not appear to be moving into the 730 I St. headquarters, at least at the moment. Its website says: “CapRadio will continue functioning as a Sacramento State auxiliary from our current headquarters on campus, which fully meets our needs.”
The examination took a deeper look at financial issues identified in September by the Chancellor’s Office of the California State University system. In response to last year’s report, Sac State took over financial, but not journalistic, oversight of CapRadio, whose stations include KXJZ-FM (90.9) and KXPR-FM (88.9).
In October, Wood said the school had spent $12 million to prop up the station and blamed “total financial mismanagement” for its issues. In one example, he said CapRadio reported having $3 million in reserves when it actually had $85,000.
In its report, CliftonLarsonAllen said Sac State wanted the university to “examine several potential avenues of personal benefit by a former executive and board members of the station.” The report covered CapRadio’s operations from July 2020 to June 2023.
“While the findings are deeply troubling,” Wood said in a statement, “they guide us to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.”
Frank Maranzino, CapRadio’s interim general manager, had an upbeat response to the news, saying in a statement the station was seeing growth in listenership and engagement.
“We have more work to do, but I am incredibly proud of how far CapRadio has come over the last 12 months.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 11:45 AM.
