Petitions Fall Short To Recall IVGID Trustees

5:02 PM: This article has been updated with comments from Trustee Schmitz.

Two recall petitions circulating this past summer have reportedly failed to collect the number of signatures needed for a special election to remove two elected officials, Trustees Matthew Dent and Sara Schmitz, who serve as Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees who oversee the Incline Village General Improvement District. (IVGID).

Both petitions fell short of the minimum requirement of 1,801 signatures. The Secretary of State reports Dent received 1,726 signatures and Schmitz received 1,687 signatures.

The recall effort was lead by former Trustee Tim Callicrate, supported by many IVGID employees, and endorsed by the Incline Village Realtors Association. The supporters, in part, accused Dent and Schmitz of “micromanaging” IVGID staff, “creating a toxic work environment” for IVGID staff, a “loss” of a $25 million “grant”, and various subjective and emotionally-charged claims of perceived wrongdoing.

Last month, The Globe reported that numerous resignations have occurred since the Board of Trustees began providing financial oversight.

A newly formed audit committee uncovered millions of dollars unaccounted for in revenues, expenses, a surplus of millions of dollars charged to the community through recreation fees after payment of a bond (a violation of Nevada Statute), zero bank reconciliations for over a year, and an out-of-balance general ledger.

In August, Audit Committee Chair Chris Nolet warned the community and the Board of the “gross mismanagement” by IVGID of the general finances during public comment:

In three minutes, I can’t possibly address the current state of complete disrepair faced by our Director of Finance, Bobby Magee, and his few team members. His memo to the board package tonight provided some insight into the rather frightening circumstances they face.

No bank reconciliations for one year, an out of balanced GL [General Ledger] that has not been closed for the past two months. An implementation system, which is months, if not years late and still incomplete in the aggregate. These circumstances represent an extremely daunting set of conditions, even for a GID [General Improvement District].

More importantly, the presence of these circumstances in any organization has historically correlated to various financial frauds. While we’ve not seen any such specific circumstances, sudden leadership resignations, unreconciled bank accounts, and our open and out of balanced GL are well known traits, all of which indicate that substantial skepticism and expanded audit scopes are warranted.

These deplorable circumstances don’t just develop overnight. For example, under the slipshod leadership of Tim Callicrate and Indra Winquest [former General Manager], two – TWO – different audit firms reported the district did not main effective internal controls over financial reporting.

Realtor Mary Kleingartner, who is on the Recall Committee, vows that the recall effort is “far from over” and promises a challenge. Kleingartner announced on social media that the curing process conducted by the Secretary of State was “unfair and unreasonable.”

Trustee Schmitz told The Globe:

I’m glad that this is behind us. I am saddened by what this has put our community through this past summer. It has been destructive. It has spewed misinformation and hatefulness–which none of us in our community deserve. 

I will continue to serve the residents of Incline Village and Crystal Bay with integrity and transparency throughout the remainder of my term. 

I want to hank the Registrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez for her team’s professionalism and dedication, and the community members that have been supportive throughout this process. I also want to thank my husband…the poor guy. 

At the time of publishing, attempts to reach Tim Callicrate were unsuccessful. Chairman Dent was unavailable for comment.