Assumptions hurt Libman, others

Recently, The Indianapolis Star published a long-awaited letter from Steven Libman. As Libman was an employee of the Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, and both employer and employee had signed a mutual confidentiality agreement, all of the inflammatory rhetoric came from other than the principals in this situation. Quite simply, they could not speak.

Libman has now acknowledged a personal failure and apologized to the center, to the community and to his family.

When any president or CEO leaves, a review and audit are routinely done to reassure the organization that all was handled correctly and that there was no illegal behavior, so they can move forward with a new leader. That yearly audit was routinely begun before Libman left, and when complete will be reviewed by the foundation and the city council and then made public.

Additionally, all contracts he negotiated have been reviewed and found in order. Travel expenses were routinely reviewed after each trip by Eric Stovall of KPMG and the finance chair, and so the organization is moving responsibly forward.

We on the city council applaud the foundation’s careful steps to ensure public confidence about Libman’s professional actions and not add to the media frenzy.

However, Libman has had to endure endless salacious speculation about his professional behavior on television, on radio and in the press with phrases such as “possible” misappropriation of funds and “probable” misuse of public money.

Until we have the foundation audit and results of their internal review, Libman, like any other citizen of the United States is still innocent until proven guilty. The IBJ in reporting this story should not publish unsubstantiated allegations, as they damage not only Libman but the reputation of the Center for the Performing Arts, which are constrained from commenting.

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Luci Snyder
Finance chair, Carmel City Council