$700 found missing; manager to resign [Chevy Centre]

[Micky]

Sounds very shaky.  Many people agree that there's more to the story than we're being told.
To risk everything, including your reputation and character, over $700 doesn't seem right.  Are they making him the fall guy?

Also, could anyone find out if it's true that Youngstown City Council paid for a Luxury Suite at the Centre?  When people attend events at the centre, the council persons and their select group are always in the luxury suite.

[ForumManager]

How can they not have the books for last year closed out - but a $700 discrepancy for this year already is already assessed?
hmmm

[yfdgricker]

Mayor says company assures $700 was all
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator 12/1/2006.

The mayor wants a new general manager, but he doesn't want the process rushed.

By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The company managing the city-owned Chevrolet Centre says the missing $700 in on-site parking receipts that led to the resignation of its general manager is the only unaccounted-for money at the facility, according to Mayor Jay Williams.

Global Entertainment Corp., the Phoenix-based company managing the center, won't comment on the matter.

Global did an internal review of the center's receipts and discovered a $700 discrepancy between money collected for on-site parking and deposits. Global reimbursed the money to the center and placed Matthew Hufnagel, the facility's general manager, on a leave of absence pending his resignation.

Global "told us this is the extent of it," Williams said. "Seven-hundred dollars is missing. Matt was in charge. He resigned. People can draw their own conclusions. We want to make sure ... that this is not the tip of the iceberg."

No criminal charges have been filed against Hufnagel. Attempts to reach Hufnagel have been unsuccessful.

The mayor said he has told Global officials that he wants to be informed if any other money is missing, and the company has been responsive. The company says no other money is missing from the center, according to Williams.

The center began offering on-site parking for 200 spots in July as a way to generate a small amount of money. The spots cost $5 to $10, with a sellout providing $1,000 to $2,000 per event.

Manager replacement

Williams wants the general manager position filled as quickly as possible, but he doesn't want Global to rush just to have someone there.

"We want to get a person with the right fit," he said. "But I don't want it vacant for an extended period of time."

Global hired Hufnagel as the center's general manager in February. He was initially hired in August 2005 as the facility's director of sales and marketing.

Jeff Kossow abruptly resigned as head of the center in early December 2005, and a Global executive, flying back and forth between Phoenix and Youngstown, served as interim general manager for two months.

Global "people from Phoenix and locally will step up and fill the void on a temporary basis I believe, but I wouldn't want that for a lengthy time," Williams said. "It's a process [Global will] be in charge of. I hope the process will happen properly, but expeditiously."

Bad financial news

The center's finances for its first 11 months of operations, beginning October 2005, are significantly worse than Global had estimated. Global officials had estimated in May 2005 that the center would make $1.15 million in its first year. It was updated this past January to $652,264.

The center lost $106,165 during those first 11 months, and its deficit for its first year could be as high as $150,000 to $175,000. The center's books for its first year aren't closed, even though that 12-month period ended in September. The city and Global are reviewing the overall financial numbers for the first year and expect to have that process done shortly.

skolnick@vindy.com

[ForumManager]

I gotta say something.
I met Mr. Hufnagel when he was the marketing person and have dealt with him another time since.
He seems very straightforward, honest and community minded. 
I was very surprised to hear about this.
I find it hard to believe that Mr. Hufnagel  would jeopardize his career over $700.
Apparently, there may be other personnel issues ...look at the turnover of their executives since the Centre opened.

I feel there is more to this story than what is in the VIndy.  He may be a scapegoat.
Mistakes happen and if there were monetary discrepancies it may have been more due to not being on top of things and less to underhanded activity which is what I have inferred from the article.  There are no real details in the article. I am willing to assume him innocent until proven guilty.   The Vindy has misquoted me several times and misreported other news stories that I knew details about.

December3
I removed my previous  comments about  my frustration with Youngstown and the waste of money.

[yfdgricker]

Merry Christmas Mr. Hufnagel!

---

$700 found missing; manager to resign
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 12/02/2006.

The missing money was discovered during an internal financial review.

By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The general manager of the city-owned Chevrolet Centre is resigning after an audit discovered $700 missing from the facility's on-site parking receipts.

The city released a statement Thursday that Global Entertainment Corp., the company managing the center, did an internal review of the receipts and uncovered a $700 discrepancy between collections and deposits. Global has reimbursed the money to the center.

Global told the city, according to the same statement, that Matthew Hufnagel, the center's general manager, is on a leave of absence and will resign.

No criminal charges were filed with Youngstown police against Hufnagel as of Thursday.

Mayor Jay Williams said Hufnagel's leave of absence is effective immediately. The mayor said he hoped Global would select a replacement for Hufnagel as soon as possible.

Richard Kozuback, Global's president, couldn't be reached Thursday to comment. A Global official at its Phoenix headquarters said the company wouldn't discuss Hufnagel's resignation.

Hufnagel also couldn't be reached Thursday to comment.

Hired in 2005

Global hired Hufnagel as the center's director of sales and marketing in August 2005. Jeff Kossow abruptly resigned as head of the Chevrolet Centre in early December 2005, about five weeks after the facility opened. Roger Swanson, a Global executive, temporarily replaced Kossow until the company hired Hufnagel in February as the center's general manager.

Hufnagel, who moved to Boardman after being hired by Global, was previously the director of sales and marketing for an arena in Elmira, N.Y., and served as general manager of minor league hockey and baseball teams in that city. He has a master of business administration degree with a concentration in marketing from American University in Washington, D.C.

The center began offering on-site parking for 200 spots in July as a modest form of new income. The spots cost $5 to $10, with a sell-out providing $1,000 to $2,000 per event.

Money-losing year

During the center's first 11 months, beginning with October 2005, the center lost $106,165. Global and the city still haven't closed the books on the center's first year.

The two parties are reviewing the overall financial numbers for the first year of the facility that ended in September, and expect to close the financial books shortly, said Kyle L. Miasek, the city's deputy finance director and its point man on the center.

The center's deficit for its first year could be as high as $150,000 to $175,000, Miasek has said. As part of an updated agreement, Global will pay any deficit for the first year and already paid $383,500 to the city, half of Youngstown's debt on a loan to finance a portion of constructing the facility.

Global estimated in September that the center would make $629,953 in its second year, between this past October and September 2007. If the center makes less than $600,000, Global will pay the difference out of its pocket.