It's not very often that an annual meeting of a small credit union gets media attention.

Local media outlets covered the annual meeting of the $32 million Montgomery County Credit Union on Tuesday in Dayton, quoting board chair Michael Buchanan that the credit union lost $1.3 million last year because of “poor management,” according to the Dayton Daily News.

The newspaper reported an “ongoing audit” that revealed expenses were improperly recorded and certain accounts were not being reconciled.

“What happened over the past several years, it started back in 2010, I noticed our credit union was seriously being mismanaged by the CEO,” Buchanan told the Dayton newspaper.

At that time, the president/CEO was Lori Tieman. In March, Montgomery County CU announced Assistant Manager Sylvia Minnifield was named the new acting CEO, replacing Tieman, who served the credit union since 2003.

In a Credit Union Times article in March, Buchanan said the move had been part of a restructuring effort to better meet member demands and that the credit union planned to have a new CEO and CFO in place by the end of next month.

Though Montgomery County CU's net worth stood at 13.79% by the end of the year, its revenues and membership ranks have been declining over the past four years.

From 2008 to 2010, the credit union's revenue plummeted from $241,741 to $69,629. In 2011, Montgomery County CU posted a $29,480 net income loss, and in 2012, it lost an additional $1.3 million.

What's more, Montgomery County CU also showed a net income loss of $52,874 by the end of the first quarter ending March 31, according to NCUA financial performance reports.

NCUA financial performance reports also revealed the credit union's compensation and benefit costs have increased significantly from $579,540 in 2008 to $982,234 in 2012.

Records also show the credit union has lost 1,769 members over the past four years. In 2008, the credit union served 9,028 members. By the end of 2012, membership fell to 7,393. However, Montgomery County CU has lost even more members since the end of the year. According to NCUA, the credit union currently serves 7,259 members.

Phone and email messages were left with Montgomery CU seeking comment from Buchanan and Minnifield. Those messages were not returned by the end of the day on Thursday.

Instant Insights /

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