Columbus – Almost $5,000 in revenue went missing from the City of Maple Heights (Cuyahoga County) Building Department during 2016, according to a report released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost. 

The city’s latest financial audit uncovered instances where customer payments collected by the building department for licenses, fees and permits were not recorded in the city’s accounting records or deposited into its bank account.

“A competent fiscal operation doesn’t let $5,000 slip through the cracks,” Auditor Yost said. “Maple Heights needs to heighten its financial oversight so citizens can have confidence that their hard-earned dollars aren’t going to waste.”

The building department clerk was in charge of processing transactions and submitting the revenue to the finance department accountant, who logged the payments in the city’s accounting system and deposited them into the bank. The city finance director oversaw this process and was responsible for verifying the revenue was properly recorded and deposited.  

Auditors issued a $4,961 finding for recovery against Building Department Clerk Sonia Beaman and former City Finance Director Irene Crowell. Former City Finance Department Accountant Jana Crosby is jointly liable for $2,356 of that amount.

A special report published by Auditor Yost in November highlights the dangers local governments face when collection processes go unchecked. According to the report, more than $3.4 million in payments received by local governments in the past decade never made it into the government accounts.

A full copy of this report is available online.  

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 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:
Beth Gianforcaro
Press Secretary
614-644-1111