Ohio’s auditor says in the last six years about $1.2 million was paid out in late fees, interest and penalties by township or village officials. He’s ordered those officials to pay that money back to those entities.
Republican Auditor Keith Faber said he’s seen what he calls a trend—local officials, mostly part-time workers but including elected ones, repeatedly paying bills or doing payroll withholding late.
“Most of these are circumstances that's continual failure to do your job on time, and that's the kind of thing that--look, it's just there's no excuse for it," Faber said.
Faber said findings for recovery are serious, and that they’re issued not for one-off mistakes but for gross negligence, which involves repeated bad actions.
“If you get into missing bills every month, incurring substantial late fees time and time again, not making payroll distributions properly, those we believe elevate to the higher standard," Faber said. "That's not just malfeasance, that's a callous disregard.”
A total of 652 findings for recovery were issued from the beginning of 2019 to the end of last year, and the auditor's office reports 118 of those were related to late fees and penalties. Those orders for repayment ranged from around $100 to $206,630. Last year, nearly a quarter of the findings for recovery - 27 of 100 - involved late fees. So far this year, there have been 13 findings for recovery totaling more than $92,000.
"For the most part, people who touch government money are honest, hardworking, and don't have a problem. If you look at the thousands and tens of thousands of people who touch government money every day, we have an issue with a very small population," Faber said "But when it occurs, it is important to remember that it's tax dollars and people need to hold those individuals to a higher standard."
Faber said those who suspect fraudulent activity in government can report it to his office by calling 866-FRAUD-OH.
