2010-02-04

BC Commissioners request accounting of pictorial book

By Judith Pannebaker

Bandera County Commissioners have finally requested a fiscal accounting regarding proceeds from an illustrated book that honored the county’s 150th anniversary. However, lackadaisical record keeping rather than malfeasance has been attributed to the current confusion.

On April 14, 2005, the court authorized the Bandera County Historical “Committee” to publish an official book to commemorate the county’s sesquicentennial. “A Pictorial History of Bandera County” came out the following year.

According to information in the book, its publication was underwritten by the Bandera County Chamber of Commerce, $5,000; the Bandera County Convention and Visitors Bureau, $10,000; and an anonymous donor, whose monetary contribution remains unknown. Apparently grant funding also helped fund the book’s publication cost.

Since then, however, commissioners apparently remained in the dark regarding the absolute number of books sold, their cost and where the money from the sales went.

Additionally, a report submitted to the commissioners during a Thursday, Jan. 28, meeting indicated a discrepancy in the number of books still available.

An Oct. 14, 2009, inventory of the pictorial books remaining at the county annex at Mansfield Park showed 600 books on hand – 32 full boxes with 18 books to a box, a box containing just 16 books and one box with eight books with special leather covers. Bandera County Historical Commission Chairman Roy Dugosh and Sara Cerda, county records manager, signed off on last fall’s inventory.

However, a subsequent inventory on Jan. 21, showed only 564 books remained – 30 full boxes, one box with 16 books and another with eight books with special covers.

Records indicated that an individual associated with “A Pictorial History of Bandera County” had checked out two boxes of books prior to the Christmas holidays.

“The only information we have is a current book count,” Dugosh told commissioners last week. “We’re trying to get the information on the number of books that were originally printed.” Since that meeting, Dugosh learned that The Donning Company Publishers of Virginia Beach, Virginia, had printed 1,200 books.

Additionally, Dugosh did not find information regarding total book sales. It was believed that funds from the book sales had been turned over to County Treasurer Kay Welch. Apparently Welch has received some funds, but her figures did not match numbers provided by the Bandera County Historical Society.

Commissioners seemed perplexed about the historical commission vs. the historical society monikers. However, as Precinct 4 Commissioner Doug King explained in a later interview, by law, the historical commission could not sell the books and make a profit. Therefore, several members of the commission formed the so-called “historical society” to obtain the necessary tax identification number and receive proceeds from the book sales. The tax identification of the historical society purportedly falls under the umbrella of the Bandera Community Foundation.

However, the copyright of “A Pictorial History of Bandera County” belongs to the historical commission.

King serves as court liaison to the Bandera County Historical Commission. He explained that after the publishing house and salaries had been paid, any profits were earmarked for the historical commission. He anticipated revisiting the issue at a future meeting of commissioners court.

King, however, could not clarify the role of the Bandera County Historical “Committee” in the publishing of the book.

Noting the bottom line at last week’s meeting, Dugosh said, “There’s a lot of books and a lot of money to be made and the historical commission could use it.”