There's a power struggle brewing at the Dade County Bar Association over allegations of misspending, plunging revenue, declining membership and a president at odds with some board members.

The Dade group is the largest voluntary bar association in Florida, according to its website. But some board members claim membership dropped 15 percent the last fiscal year while expenses climbed 25 percent.

The county bar's 2016 tax return, the latest publicly available filing, shows net assets or fund balances dropped $255,906 in 2015. Contributions and grants also fell, dropping nearly $46,000 during that period. Total revenue remained almost flat, increasing by less than $9,000 to reach about $1.07 million.

Jordan Dresnick served as the group's president-elect for the fiscal year that ended in June 2017. Some board members say he's spent hundreds of thousands of dollars since then, pushing the bar toward financial duress. They also say three of the bar's eight employees have quit since November, and another two have given notice they will depart on April 1.

Tensions boiled over at a nearly three-hour board meeting on March 21.

Secretary Jane Muir raised concerns about the bar's finances and questioned Dresnick's focus on launching several first-time events. Muir said the events caused the bar to lose money and led to employee departures after overworked staff quit after multiple late nights.

Muir confirmed she raised those concerns, but declined to elaborate Monday.

“The president speaks for the bar,” she said, citing the group's bylaws.

Dresnick is in his first year at the helm of the group founded about 100 years ago and incorporated in 1920. He acknowledges he's brought a new philosophy that upset stalwart bar members, who've challenged his decisions.

Dresnick said under his leadership, the bar hosted its first programs celebrating Black History Month, LGBT pride, women's history and Hispanic heritage. He said the events and other programming generated about $300,000 in sponsorships for the fiscal year that started July 1, from a legal community grateful for the bar's steps toward inclusion and diversity.

“We have never had anywhere near that level before,” Dresnick said. “People … for the first time are very proud to be associated with the bar association that has done so much to give a voice to members of the community that have been overlooked for so long. We shouldn't go another year without including minorities.”

As for concerns about his spending, Dresnick said the group had massive onetime outlays. He said it spent $210,000 to repair the elevator in its building at 123 NW First Ave. in Miami in November, and $30,000 to fix its air conditioning. Staff also got their first bonuses in years, according to Dresnick, who declined to elaborate on the total expenditure.

“It is unfortunate that in a bar organization of nearly 4,000 supportive members, a disgruntled few people upset with the DCBA's successful focus on diverse programming (would make) … defamatory remarks about the hard work of the volunteers who serve the Dade County Bar,” he said in a written statement.

Bar rules allow members to request audited financial statements.