February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Ray O’Hanlon
In a dramatic twist to the long running saga over which organization controls the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade, William J. Flynn, president of the parade corporation, has called upon James Barker, executive secretary of the parade committee, to resign.
And Flynn has threatened to resign himself from the parade board of directors if the board and parade trustees do not back his move against Mr. Barker, a move which, according to Mr. Flynn, has been largely prompted by what he describes as “very serious behind the scenes problems” with parade finances.
The call for Barker’s resignation is included in a letter to parade corporation board members and trustees drawn up by Flynn in the face of a continued standoff between parade leaders and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
The letter, dated August 2, openly challenges Mr. Barker’s recently stated view that the parade has had nothing to do with the AOH in recent years and that it has no obligation to take into account the position of the AOH leadership with regard to its organization and running.
The letter, which calls for a full meeting of the parade board on Sept. 5 to discuss its contents, argues that the parade “should be returned to the jurisdiction of the AOH,” and proposes a three-person committee of the corporation’s board of directors to meet with AOH leaders to work out “a suitable and agreeable plan for the future.”
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It also calls for changes in the way the grand marshal is chosen each year and for the parade line of march to be made available to all newspapers and magazines.
But it is in the area of finances that the Flynn letter turns its most critical spotlight on Mr. Barker and his role as the most recognizable public face of the parade along with parade committee chairman John Dunleavy, who is not named in the letter. Neither Mr. Dunleavy, who is in Ireland this week, nor Mr. Barker, could be contacted by press time.
Mr. Flynn warns in his letter to the board/trustees that the parade’s present financial structure, including its relationship with the IRS, “has every symptom of being a first class legal and financial mess.”
Flynn goes into details of his concerns regarding the parade and its financial condition, particularly with regard to its status with the IRS.
But though he has expressed his frustration with Mr. Barker at this point, the call for Mr. Barker’s resignation does not come until the very end of the letter, as a post script entry.
“As this letter was going to mail,” Flynn states, “I learned to my horror that the promised financial reports for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1998 as well as the year beginning October 1, 1999 had been delivered to Mr. Barker earlier this month and that he instructed our accountant, Howard Fleischman, that copies were, on no account, to be forwarded to me.
“I take this to indicate that we may have serious business on our hands, and I am now forced to act accordingly. Though I have been extremely reluctant to take this step, I must now call, at our September 5 meeting, for Mr. Jim Barker’s resignation as an officer of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Inc. Should, for any reason, the Board of Directors-Trustees conclude otherwise, I will tender my resignation as President and as a member of the Board.”
With regard to finances, Flynn states in his letter that there is a need for a full audit of the parade books and that it should be carried out by a major accounting firm. He also recommends that the part-time services of “a professional administrator” be retained to handle all “back office operations.”
With regard to the Hibernians, Flynn notes the threat from the AOH to sever all ties with the parade if parade officials do not recognize the central role of the AOH, its constitution and bylaws in the running of the event.
He urges the board to recommend to the AOH that it recognizes and builds upon the talent of the men and women of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Inc. “who have dedicated themselves to putting on a world class parade of which the Irish community can be proud.”
At this point, Flynn proposes the three-person committee to meet with the Hibernian leadership so as to “work out a suitable and agreeable plan for the future.”
He also asks that the parade line of march, denied by the parade committee to the Irish weeklies in recent years, to be made available to all newspapers and magazines.
The letter does not address the matter of the parade committee’s relationship with the New York Post, which, according to Mr. Barker, is committed to carrying the line of march up until 2005 in what has been viewed as an exclusive deal with the parade committee.
The Flynn letter calls for a “review” of the method of selecting each year’s grand marshal and for finding “some acceptable way in which we can take more formally into account the views of those in the Irish community.”
The letter urges that consideration be given to steps “that should be taken to deal with the dreadful public relations problem we have with major sectors of the community.”
It also calls for the making available to the public an annual report that will include the parade corporation’s “certified financial statements.”
Asked by the Echo for additional details of his concerns over the manner in which parade finances have been handled, Mr. Flynn demurred.
“The board has been fully informed. It would not be proper to speculate further at this time,” he said.
However, he did say that what he wanted to see was nothing less than a “total reform” of the back office operations of the parade.
Mr. Flynn was more forthcoming with regard to the AOH and its role.
“It’s absolutely essential that the AOH remain part of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. I am recommending that we meet with the AOH and resolve the impasse.”