The Lincoln County Animal Shelter Board of Directors acknowledges that the shelter's finances aren't where they need to be.

However, the directors say steps are being taken to ensure everything is brought to light and up to speed, in response to a letter written by a former board member who alleged mismanagement at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter and Boothbay Region Humane Society.

The issue arose when former board member and vice president Michaela Stone wrote a letter addressing why she was resigning from the animal shelter board.

In it, Stone, of Alna states that during her year-and-a-half on the board she witnessed a lack of accountability, a mismanagement of records and books, and that the nonprofit had a $20,000 penalty from the IRS and that several shelter-owned properties, and a painting, were not being sold off for funding.

While there is a good deal of truth to those claims, the board has taken steps to resolve and correct those issues, board member Martha Takatsu said.

The largest problem has been the transition from paper records to the digital age, and who has prepared documents for the shelter.

“Everything used to be handled by volunteers or the board, but now we have an accountant in place,” Takatsu said. “The problem was that we didn't move fast enough. There is a process, there are bylaws. We've engaged an attorney to perform a forensic audit and we're dealing with translating the paper to digital.”

Board member Kelly Brook said the volunteer nature of the bookkeeping has resulted in problems with trying to keep track of records.

“There were 16 boxes (of records) and we've just started to go through it, but it is a lot of information,” she said. “Right now, we're going through the time line and we're noticing gaps. There's gaps in the information ...”

With the electronic aids, the process has started in trying to fill in those gaps of information, but the board has undergone a transformation within the past year, with members leaving and joining.

The old bookkeeper has been let go; the accounting firm (William Brewer CPA in Bath) is going through records and the transition from paper to digital bookkeeping has begun in earnest, board member Kim Fletcher said. But, even with the progress, a major blow has been dealt, she said.

“Some donations have been curtailed; certainly the goodwill has been impacted,” she said. “It's sad; it's uncalled-for. The only ones who suffer from that are the animals.”

That goodwill is just as important as any amount of money, Fletcher said, as nonprofits depend on public perception and generosity.

“There's always going to be a struggle as a nonprofit,” she said. “Still, we cannot express a deep enough gratitude for the support the community has given us. The public needs to know there is a new board and individuals involved.”

As for Stone, Takatsu said the board wanted her to come back.

“It's important to note that she absolutely spearheaded our fundraisers,” she said. “She's really passionate for animals and we asked her to come back.”