PORT ANGELES — When the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society closed its dog facility last July due to unsustainable operating costs, the community called for increased transparency from the nonprofit organization.
At its monthly meeting in January, the board unanimously voted to keep its monthly minutes and other information private while providing more detailed financial overviews to the public.
After the Bark House’s closure, many individuals wanted more detailed information on how funds had been spent, although the organization’s IRS Form 990s and Annual Financial Reports are publicly available and linked on the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society’s (OPHS’s) website.
“We still want to see the financial audits and statements showing exactly where our money has gone,” Sparrow Shafer commented on an OPHS Facebook post in September. “No one trusts your organization anymore and the best way to rebuild that trust and gain your donors back is to be transparent about where all our money went.”
During a public forum in November, audience members again repeated the desire for full transparency and more communication from OPHS’ board, which had gone through a near complete overhaul since the Bark House shut down.
Based on those requests, the OPHS board decided to issue a quarterly discovery report, online or via a newsletter, that shows a high-level overview of income and expenses, said board president and acting executive director Paul Stehr-Green.
The goal of that report is to demonstrate to people “a large share of our intake is spent on taking care of our animals – food, vet services, [etc.],” Stehr-Green said.
“We want to assure people that the money they’re giving us is not being wasted,” he added. “What we get in, all of it goes to the animals.”
However, after discussion, the board voted unanimously against sharing monthly minutes, monthly financial statements, employee decisions and contracts with the public, Stehr-Green said.
“The basic argument was, in order for the board to make decisions and be able to talk about things frankly and openly,” those pieces of information should not be made public, Stehr-Green said.
“It’s not, I know, what some people wanted,” he said. “But the board unanimously felt this is what could happen.”
As the board works on updating OPHS’s procedures and transparency, its employees are continually working on updating the facility with the goal of reopening the Bark House in mid-February.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
