Despite the situation — the Legion must pay the Iowa Department of Revenue nearly $90,000 in back taxes before it can regain the aforementioned license and resume transactions at the golf course, pro shop and lounge — the mood was overwhelmingly positive, and applause broke out several times during the meeting, which ran about an hour and a half. Underhill joked that when he accepted the role of post commander, he knew he was walking into a tough spot.

“I didn’t think it was quite going to be this tough, but we’re gonna get through this. Good things are coming. I’ve got a great group up here that’s helped,” he said.

He also sang the praises of Boles, a Coast Guard veteran who returned to the Legion about three weeks before the shutdown and has been working to get the organization and its affiliated businesses.

“I’ve never seen a guy more positive than Dave, and for that, he has made me positive. And I hope, at the end of this, you all will be positive. Where we’re at may not be where we want to be, that’s for sure, but where we’re gonna be, we’re gonna get there, but it’s gonna take everybody to help otherwise we won’t be there,” Underhil said. “We need everybody to help.”

Legionnaire Steve Storjohann addresses the crowd during Wednesday night’s meeting.

Before he handed the microphone off to Boles, the commander simply asked that no one talk over each other, and he also nailed down a hard cutoff time of 8 p.m. From there, Boles said the meeting would not be contentious or argumentative, but he intended to present facts and figures while also suggesting courses of action to help resolve the dilemma and get the course back open to the public.

As he dove into the matter at hand, Boles explained the various branches of the Legion and the difference between the organization itself and its affiliated businesses while also noting how its members have given back to Marshalltown and the surrounding communities over the years. Based on three year averages, he said, the businesses were operating at a $15,000 loss when comparing gross revenues to expenses.

“That just tells you that we’re on a tightrope to just make ends meet every year,” he said.

To reverse the trend, the Legion must reduce expenses without affecting customer services, review current margins and adjust variable increases to line items and plan for potential revenue increase opportunities. Of course, the simplest way to do that would be to add more members between the golf course, the Legion itself, the Sons of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary.

The meat of the meeting, as Boles described it, concerned the problems regarding the failure to file and pay sales tax over the last few years. In addition, organizational safeguards were not present to protect against financial and operational irregularities, and oversight of the organization’s financial activities were “unchecked” with no checks and balances in place.

“(With) those four or five factors right there, it just starts going downhill. It’s a cascading effect,” Boles said.

He then laid out several practices that have since been adopted to avoid repeating the past mistakes and shared ways that those in attendance could help. Three people now have access to bank transactions, and two signatures will be required for accounts payable checks. The executive board will also approve all accounts payable transactions at monthly meetings, and Quickbooks accounting software and monthly reporting will be implemented. Boles wants to promote increased transparency going forward while making decisions that deliver maximum return on investment (ROI).

The most immediate concern, however, is money. For 26 months, there were no sales tax returns filed, and after frequent communication with representatives from the Iowa Department of Revenue, it was determined that the Legion owes $89,460.93 including interest and penalties. Originally, the DOR’s estimate was north of $300,000, and according to Boles, the agency actually waived 16 months’ worth of what they could’ve charged.

“Bless their hearts. It could’ve been worse. It could’ve been $100 some thousand, but they removed it,” he said.

The balance needs to be paid off as soon as possible, he added, because until it is, the Legion cannot reapply for a sales tax permit. And without the ability to sell anything, fundraising is more difficult, but in response to a question, Boles did say memberships could be paid in advance to help cover the costs.

While cart and passholder revenue could generate an estimated $250,000 in 2025, there are other bills and day-to-day operational expenses to account for, and Boles said they could ask for contributions or work with civic partners. He also referred to “additional spending” that occurred beyond the operating costs before he returned to take on his current position.

“There’s a lot of cash going through there, and it has to be accounted for. It needs to be accounted for. I’m not saying it wasn’t in some fashion. I’m just saying it got spent, and there’s not much of a trail there,” he said. “I don’t want to live in the past. Like I said, we don’t need to spend time going back in time trying to figure things out.”

Before he handed the microphone back to Underhill, Boles had a simple message to share — we will recover, we’ll be open and we will improve. Underhill warned that using membership and cart fee money was “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” and with the already limited profit margins, he felt they could use some of it but shouldn’t rely on it as the only way to pay off the tax debt.

“We’ve got other problems that we need to take care of, but we need this money as quickly as possible to get in business, to get going and start moving and make payroll. We’ve got two guys still on the payroll. We need to get them paid,” he said. “Nobody wants to lose Dave, including me. We’re not losing Dave. If we lose Dave, I’m out of here, and the other one is Tim, our groundskeeper… We need to assure him that he’s got a spot here and we’re not letting him go anywhere.”

Underhill’s goal was to inform the audience that things were being done differently, and if a problem is detected, it will be dealt with swiftly. From there, the floor was opened for questions, and they poured in for nearly 40 minutes. The early inquiries centered around suggested methods of fundraising.

In addition to golfers, Boles said Legionnaires would be contacted about making donations to the cause, and any contributions would be recorded with receipts provided. One attendee felt the community could not afford to lose another important facility in town, and another wondered if the property could be refinanced to help pay off the debt — Underhill countered, however, that without being able to show profit, they wouldn’t be able to get loans anyway.

More questions came in about additional revenue sources and whether a reciprocation agreement could be explored with other courses in the area. Boles also mentioned the possibility of improving the food options at the lounge, and in response to a comment about whether the property taxes were up to date, he said they “three-quarters paid” for the current period.

Underhill drew a hearty round of laughter when, in response to a question about whether the Legion’s bank accounts could be seized, he joked that there was no money in them to seize in the first place. American Legion Auxiliary President Deb Miller said she is working on fundraising for replacing an air conditioner inside the lounge, and as the conversation wound down, Boles sought to dispel rumors that agents from the DOR put chains around the doors.

“Don’t believe anything (that) people showed up. Nobody had a gun. Nobody from the State Department of Revenue has even been here. Other than me talking with them on the phone, which they’ve been very courteous and very helpful every time, it’s all handled by a piece of paper other than opening up a letter and reading it and facing the music,” Boles said.

Another questioner asked for clarity on a previous investigation involving $274,000 about a decade ago, and it was indicated that the situation had been “handled” back then. Legionnaire and past Post Commander Steve Storjohann had one of the last words of the night and placed his full faith in Boles to get the job done.

“I’ve heard nothing but good about you. I have confidence in you and I hope everybody in this room has confidence in you because you’re gonna need it,” Storjohann said to a round of applause. “I’ve known Troy for many years and he stepped into a pile when he volunteered for this job, and hopefully that fragrance is gonna go away. But I applaud you… I just want to applaud you two and the committee, you two guys up there too (Rick Olson and Kenny Buffington), for what you have volunteered to do. And I appreciate that, being a past commander, and I have all the confidence in the world in you. And I’m behind you 100 percent.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.