WASILLA -- The Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce board has voted to keep on an executive director who had been under fire because of questions about spending.

Board member Mike Gabel at a chamber meeting Tuesday said the board had voted unanimously to retain Cheryl Metiva as executive director in light of the results of an internal review. Metiva had been on paid leave since late May after five board members abruptly resigned, citing questions about expenditures by the executive director. Metiva was out of town Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

Gabel said board members reviewed the chamber's books dating back to 2006. The members found instances of "liberal spending," but he said those expenses were under the direct supervision of no fewer than four directors and were in full view of prior chamber boards.

He said it would be inappropriate to hold Metiva solely responsible for those expenses. He also said the total amount of the expenditures was "not significant" and was not to blame for the chamber's current financial crunch.

Still, he said, "severe shortcomings" in the chamber's policies and procedures for overseeing spending exist and need to be corrected.

In an interview later, Gabel declined to provide the total amount of Metiva's expenses or give a ballpark figure. At the meeting, he asked three chamber members who are licensed financial professionals to volunteer to review the books. He said he expected that once this had been done, the information on the expenses could be released.

The board still hopes to hire an independent firm to audit the group's books. However, an appeal to members for $20,000 in contributions to help pay for the audit and other work has fallen short so far. At the meeting, Grabel said the board had raised about $1,600.

Find S.J. Komarnitsky online at adn.com/contact/skomarnitsky or call her in Wasilla at 907-352-6714.

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