Columbus – Auditor of State Keith Faber today released the 2016-2017 audit of Gasper Township (Preble County), which uncovered that Anitra Roell incurred $4,899 in penalties and late fees during her time as fiscal officer.

“For a fiscal officer to fail to pay bills on time is a gross neglect of duty,” Auditor Faber said. “Too often in Ohio, taxpayers are being left to pick up the tab for public officials’ negligence. I recommend the township implement policies and procedures to verify that all payments are made in a timely manner from this point forward.”

As fiscal officer, Roell withheld the required income taxes from township employee earnings from 2014-2018. However, at various points during this time, she failed to remit tax withholdings to the federal government in a timely manner. This neglect of duty led to the Township incurring penalties and late charges from the federal government.

Auditor Faber issued a finding for recovery against Roell and in favor of the township for $4,899, the full amount of money expended to pay the late fees.

A full copy of this audit 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 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.

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Allie Dumski

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