Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov

Columbus – A finding for recovery of $966 was issued Thursday against the current and former executive directors of the Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority for late fees on bills paid after their due dates.

The issue was identified as part of an audit of the Authority’s 2021 fiscal year. Auditors determined the agency paid late fees on 20 transactions when payments were made to vendors after their due dates. The fees did not serve a proper public purpose and “could have been avoided had the Authority timely remitted all payments,” according to the report.

In its official response, the Authority said payments were mailed to vendors prior to due dates, and that the timing of the receipt of those payments was beyond the agency’s control.

Additionally, the Authority noted it had disputed late fees in the past and recovered some of the payments as billing credits. The agency is working to set up electronic payments to vendors, among other changes, to avoid further late fees.

Thursday’s finding was issued against the current and former executive director and their bonding company, which is jointly and severally responsible for repayment.

The full report is available on the AOS website using Audit Search.

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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.