Columbus – An audit report released today, covering fiscal years 2016 and 2017, issues a finding for recovery against Mary Bruno, the former fiscal officer for the Village of Milan in Erie County.

Bruno was responsible for processing payroll for all village employees, including herself. She was also the sole signatory on all payroll checks, including her own. The report, released by Auditor of State Keith Faber, finds that in Nov. 2016, Bruno overpaid herself $2,979.

“Internal financial controls are the first line of defense against fraud and a lack of proper controls is part of what contributed to this problem in the first place.” Auditor Faber said. “Village leadership has since divided up payroll processing duties, ensuring that no one will take advantage of taxpayers like this again.”

From Oct. 30 to Dec. 10, 2016, Bruno was on medical sick leave with permission to work from home. However, village management advised her to charge regular time instead of sick time when working at home during this time.

From Nov. 13 to Nov. 26, 2016, Bruno incorrectly accrued 102 hours of compensatory time, earned at the rate of time and a half. Bruno should not have billed at the rate of time and a half; therefore, 34 hours or $1,033 of the total compensatory time was an overpayment. Additionally, during that pay period, Bruno improperly paid out 64 hours of sick leave time, overpaying herself an additional $1,946.

In accordance with these facts, the Auditor’s office has issued a finding for recovery for $2,979, against Bruno and in favor of the village.

A full copy of this report is available online.

###

The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio is responsible for auditing more than 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government. 

Contact

Allie Dumski

Press Secretary

(614) -644-1111