Thursday (12/20) on the CBS Minnesota website, Pat Kessler reports, “When the Minnesota Orchestra got $14 million in taxpayer funds to renovate its Minneapolis concert hall, they vouched for its financial stability at the time, citing ‘three balanced budgets in a row.’ Now, some lawmakers want a hearing to investigate whether that was truthful. More than a dozen House lawmakers signed on to a letter to Minnesota Orchestra management, calling for a hearing to find out if they were misled before awarding millions of dollars to the Orchestra. The stinging letter from 14 Democratic House members raises questions about the ethics of Minnesota Orchestra management. ‘Which is it? Are you facing an economic downturn with stability? Or are you running deficits?’ asked State Representative Jim Davnie (DFL) Minneapolis. ‘Did you put three years of balanced budgets on the table successfully? Or did you not?’ … The Orchestra’s Board of Directors spokesman Doug Kelly says the organization has truthfully and ethically revealed all of its finances. ‘I am confident that when we testify before them that the legislature will be satisfied that nobody from the Minnesota Orchestra misled them about the budget or our future stability,’ said Kelly.”
Posted December 21, 2012
