Columbus – Chronic failure to document expenditures led to more than $14,000 in findings for recovery at the Village of Albany (Athens County), according to an audit report released today by the Auditor of State’s office.

The findings included undocumented billings exceeding $10,000 paid to a law firm, undocumented insurance charges and $500 in unaccounted for public funds.

All three findings for recovery resulted from a lack of required documentation to establish that the transactions occurred and were for a proper public purpose. Former fiscal officer Tim Crow was directly responsible for $1,050 paid to him as reimbursement for health insurance expenses (not documented) and $500 in missing cash or rebate checks that should have been posted to village accounts.

Crow was indirectly liable for the balance of the findings, including $1,050 paid to another village employee for health insurance expenses (not documented) and $10,685 paid to a law office for which no documentation was provided (repaid by the firm).

In addition to the findings for recovery for public funds, nine additional citations included failures of public notice, document retention, appropriations and other compliance requirements.

Village officials responded to the audit, saying they would work with county officials to collect unpaid findings owed to the village.

A full copy of this audit can be found online.

###

The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,600 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.

Contact:
Carrie Bartunek
Press Secretary
614-644-1111