THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604200334
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Robert H. Frankel was hired to direct The Chrysler Museum in 1989, in part because he had a track record of assembling high-impact art exhibits that didn't cost much.
But Frankel did not turn out to be the budget-scrutinizing manager the board had hoped he would be, according to board president Roy B. Martin Jr. Instead, Frankel created his annual budgets with little input from department heads, according to an internal memo signed by senior staff members, obtained by The Virginian-Pilot this week.
Martin said Frankel's ``poor budgeting system'' contributed to museum debt, which grew to more than $500,000 from 1992 to 1995.
Frankel, 53, left the museum in October to direct the Santa Barbara (Calif.) Museum of Art.
Martin and Nancy Lia, a consulting comptroller for the museum, said the former director often overspent his budget and overestimated income. Lia surmised that this occurred partly because budgets were based on Frankel's estimates and not on solid documentation.
In the five-page confidential memo, obtained by the newspaper, 11 department heads and curators outlined serious concerns about Frankel's management style. It is dated Feb. 11, 1992, and addressed to Frankel. In the memo, the museum's top employees complained that ``department heads need to be included in budget considerations. Staff wishes to be consulted during the budget planning process and be advised of developments.''
Frankel was handed the memo during a senior staff meeting. He accepted the memo, and told the group he would review it, said former head librarian Rena Hudgins, who was among the memo writers and who was laid off in February.
But he never addressed those issues, staff members said.
Friday, Frankel declined to comment on the memo. Instead, he stressed that ``the budgets were created appropriately, and with the full awareness of the board.''
Martin said that Frankel ``repeatedly assured me'' that he met with department heads. ``Now I hear the contrary. But that question was asked many times.''
To craft a budget without participation from senior staff members is unusual, said Frank Scheuerell, project manager for the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the nation's rule-making body for the accounting profession.
``It's tough to run an organization like that. Usually, a director assembles the department heads to do their budgets, and makes them stewards for their budgets. It doesn't come from the top down,'' Scheuerell said.
In the memo, the museum staff also asked their director to:
Answer memorandums and phone calls from staff, and keep them informed about matters affecting their departments. They related a sense of ``isolation and frustration'' among the staff.
Develop and share long- and short-term plans with the staff. The memo says that ``the Museum seems to operate by a style of crisis management. This makes the workplace inefficient, frustrating and unnecessarily stressful.''
Develop a conservation plan for the permanent collection and take better care of the galleries. According to the memo, ``the collections are being put at risk by placing a growing emphasis on The Museum as a party venue . . . and by moving objects on an ongoing basis to accommodate functions.''
In her previous job as a librarian at The Cleveland Museum of Art from 1983 to 1988, Hudgins said she could ``account for every penny'' of her department's budget.
``At the Chrysler, I couldn't account for anything.'' Frankel's style, she said, was ``to obfuscate, to keep you from knowing anything.''
During Frankel's time in Norfolk, the museum opened nearly as many exhibits per year, plus major shows. He also increased the number of tours, family events, lectures and other programs. ILLUSTRATION: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE CHRYSLER FINANCIAL PICTURE?
VP
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: CHRYSLER MUSEUM FINANCES BUDGET by CNB