Financially troubled BOPA asks city for help. Baltimore mayor seeks a forensic audit.

BALTIMORE -- The financially troubled Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA), which organizes several major events, is asking the city to help them get back on track.   

However, the Mayor's Office, in partnership with the comptroller, is calling for an independent forensic audit of BOPA's finances. 

BOPA leaders called a virtual emergency board meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss the agency's financial future.

Rachel Graham, BOPA's chief executive officer, and BOPA's financial team hired Marcum LLP, an outside accounting services firm, to help reconcile accounts and bring them up to date. The nonprofit will operate at a deficit for the rest of the year that could go up to $650,000, according to our media partner The Baltimore Banner.

"What we learned was that there were significant financial documents that were in fact missing," said Graham. 

Big events and even bigger problems 

BOPA runs several citywide events such as Artscape, Baltimore's Farmers Market and the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade.

The organization came under fire by city leaders in 2023 for canceling the MLK parade, causing the Mayor's Office to take over its planning and call for then-CEO Donna Drew Sawyer to step down or risk losing funding.

BOPA's new CEO said the agency is focused on fixing its relationships at City Hall. She said she inherited an agency that needs work. 

"There were some concerns based upon that that we brought to the finance committee and the exec committee to request some special actions be taken," Graham said. "Because based upon cash flow as well as cash on hand, we were facing challenges honestly with addressing payroll, our basic expenses." 

Financial problems date back years

Marcum LLP discovered that BOPA's financial problems began years ago. 

"Dating back currently as far as 2019, the organization has run at a deficit," Graham said. "In FY2019, the deficit was just under $1.1 million. FY20 the deficit was $53,756. There was a positive cash position in 2021, but we didn't do any programming in 2021."

Marcum representatives and BOPA leaders said they've spent months going through accounts and documents figuring out when and where the agency fell short. 

"We learned that there had been no reconciliation of our accounts since June of 2023 and our team had been operating essentially without a data-informed budget nor were they a part of the budget development process through most of FY2024," Graham said. 

The question of payroll and events, like Artscape, also came to the table.

"We do have an investment account, a rainy day account that we then activated to make sure payroll was covered," Graham said. "There has been this 'Well, you shouldn't have done Artscape.' Even if we hadn't done Artscape, we still would have been in the same position." 

The city's response

In June, Baltimore City's spending board approved a one-year contract with BOPA.

BOPA is now leaning on Marcum LLP to help them figure out how to get back on track. 

"Understanding what your budget is and understanding what you have to spend is really key to maintaining financial control," a Marcum representative said. 

The Mayor's Office said in a statement to WJZ Thursday afternoon:

"The picture presented by BOPA at this afternoon's board meeting is deeply troubling and raises more questions than it answers. The Mayor, in partnership with the Comptroller, is calling for an independent forensic audit of BOPA's financials. The City will not be directing any supplemental funds to the organization until the audit is complete. We want to make abundantly clear that the City and this Administration will always support the arts and artists in our city and that support will never be in question. We will continue to work with BOPA to identify the immediate needs, but there will be serious conversation about the long-term path forward."

Scott said Baltimore's art scene remains a priority.

"We are monitoring everyone's concerns like everyone else," Scott said. "But we will do from the city's standpoint whatever we have to do moving forward to make sure that we maintain the arts and culture community that we need here in Baltimore." 

BOPA hopes to focus on bringing FY2024 to a close and getting the support they need.

"While what we've learned and shared as quickly as possible with the community is unsettling, we believe that this information is critical to BOPA operating with integrity and determining the future of the organization," Graham said. "We remain committed to supporting the arts community and working closely with Mayor Scott and his administration to chart the best path forward."