{"id":1707,"date":"2013-12-10T08:46:28","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T13:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsom.org\/senzasordino\/?p=1707"},"modified":"2019-03-10T15:55:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T19:55:05","slug":"minnesota-legislators-call-resignations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icsom.org\/senzasordino\/2013\/12\/minnesota-legislators-call-resignations\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Legislators Call for Resignations"},"content":{"rendered":"

On December 10, in a letter to the board of the Minnesota Orchestra Association, ten Minnesota State legislators called for the resignations of Minnesota Orchestra CEO Michael Henson, board chair Jon Campbell, and past board chair Richard Davis, accusing them of financial mismanagement. They also called for an immediate end to the lockout of the musicians. The letter is excerpted below.<\/em><\/p>\n

Leadership of the Minnesota Orchestral Association manipulated financial results in a deliberate deception of the public, first to gain public funding for Orchestra Hall, and then to justify locking out the musicians for well over a year.<\/p>\n

This intentional deception was spelled out in September 2009, by MOA VP of Finance Bryan Ebensteiner to MOA\u2019s Finance and Executive Committees, \u201cBalances in 2009 and 2010 would support our state bonding aspirations, while the deficits in 2011 and 2012 would demonstrate the need to reset the business model.\u201d This statement was made, not as a prediction, but as a fact\u2014long before Mr. Ebensteiner had any real ability to know what would happen with MOA finances.<\/p>\n

MOA achieved exactly the result Mr. Ebensteiner said it would, with balanced budgets in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 and then large and increasing deficits in FY 2011 and 2012.<\/p>\n

It is not only the deception that is troubling, but also the apparent fiscal mismanagement:<\/p>\n

Since Michael Henson was hired as CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra, from 2008\u20132012, the Minnesota Orchestra\u2019s revenue from operations has decreased over 15%, contrasted to the Cleveland Orchestra\u2019s increase of over 8%. Likewise, for donor contributions; from 2008\u201312, the Cleveland Orchestra increased its donor contributions (excluding capital campaigns) by over 25% while the Minnesota Orchestra has shown a decrease of over 15%. The Minnesota Orchestra\u2019s return on its investments did not match that of the Cleveland Orchestra nor of its peer group of similarly-sized endowment funds. We urge you to read the entire comparison at http:\/\/www.orchestrateexcellence.org\/a-tale-of-two-orchestras\/<\/a> <\/p>\n

Despite the subpar financial management of Mr. Henson, and the deliberate deception carried out by his administration, MOA rewarded him with not one, but two, bonuses, totaling over $200,000, bringing his total compensation to over $619,000 during the 2011 calendar year. These bonuses were paid in the midst of the financial crisis that was later used to justify the lockout. The results under Henson\u2019s management have been nothing short of a disaster. <\/p>\n

It is clear that MOA management and Board leadership is willing to destroy the orchestra in order to \u201creset the business model.\u201d <\/p>\n

We call for: <\/p>\n