With the recent discovery of delinquit tax liabilities at the Tyrone Area YMCA, Executive Director Amy Hampton, staff, board of directors and accountant are now trying to see what impact the situation will have on the organization.
“The next step is to find out where we stand with penalties and interest,” Hampton told The Daily Herald. The outstanding federal and state liabilities equal close to $60,000, but that amount could increase with the addition of penalties and interest. “We are hoping to have the penalties abated and we are now taking the proper steps to work this out with the IRS and the Commonwealth.”
Hampton could not say exactly what could happen in the wake of the tax debt discovery, but she did point to a few possible scenarios.
“This will most likely wipe out our savings,” she noted. “We may also have to take out a loan and set up a payment schedule to pay off the balances.”
The YMCA has just over $20,000 in savings and investments. As for current debt, without the back taxes, the non-profit owes $48,000 for the boiler, which was replaced in 1999, and it owes approximately $26,000 on its line of credit with Reliance Bank. Hampton said that until more is known about possible penalties and interest, it is difficult to say if the Y can weather this financial storm.
“Ultimately, it comes down to whether the Tyrone and surrounding areas can, and are willing to, support this organization,” she said. “We have a core group of employees who are ready and willing to do what it takes, but there are a lot of pieces that need to fall into place for this to work. The Y is in a situation it has never been in before.” Hampton also noted that the tax liability is more than can be made up through additional programing or members.
Board President John Harlow said that he has been looking into the situation and he also stressed the help of the community was needed. “We need the community to rally around us and help us out,” he said. He also said that new procedures are being implemented to shore up the oversight process to avoid this situation in future years.
Hampton stressed the community’s involvement with the Y would be vital to its future. “The people in the area have to ask themselves, ‘Do we want to have a YMCA in this town to serve our community?’ I don’t think a lot of people realize what an impact this will have on the Y.”
With the recent economic situation in the area, fundraising has been off. This year’s goal is $30,000 and to date the YMCA has brought in less than $15,000. With reductions in United Way Funding and the loss of a major corporation, Westvaco, the Y is struggling to pay for the day-to-day operations, Hampton said.
The tax liabilities have raised too many unanswered questions for Hampton to predict the future of the YMCA in Tyrone, but she did say, “It’s sad that an organization that has been in the community for so many years could be shutting its doors.”
