Columbus – Village of Middlefield Mayor Ben Garlich said today that, although he had initial doubts whether savings could be identified, he is pleased with both the results and the process used in a performance audit released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“It provided a necessary foundation to make some hard decisions,” Garlich said. “Auditors had to come in and work directly with our staff to find savings, and because our people were willing and the process was objective and non-intrusive, they did that in a way that built support.”

Yost said he was gratified by the village’s willingness to examine its own operations.

“It takes guts to subject yourself to an objective review, but that’s a great way -- sometimes the only way -- you’re going to find true savings,” Auditor Yost said.

Among the recommendations in the report, the largest savings of $405,600 could be realized by contracting out the village’s safety services to the Geauga County Sheriff. Included in this figure is $166,600 that the village has already begun to save by shifting its dispatch center to the Sheriff during the course of the audit.

An additional $114,000 in annual savings could result from other recommendations in the report, including reducing the vehicle fleet, and reducing staffing in the sewer plant and recreation department.

A full copy of this audit can be found 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 5,600 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.

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Carrie Bartunek
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