News

Gallia County -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor today released the audit of Morgan Township for fiscal years 2005 and 2006. The audit indicates that the township’s financial activity was not properly recorded and that the township had a deficit of nearly $16,000 in the general fund.

“Village officials must maintain proper records of their financial activity in accordance with state law,” Taylor said. “The failure to do so increases the potential for misspending of public funds.”

The audit reports that township officials did not properly identify the source of all public funds the township received, nor did they properly identify how the money was spent. As a result, auditors spent additional audit time correcting the record keeping issues.

The audit also reveals that the township had a general fund deficit of $15,985 and an overall funds deficit of $2,159 at the end of the audit period. Taylor recommends that township officials take immediate steps to identify ways to reduce spending and improve efficiency to eliminate these deficits.

Other issues outlined in the audit include the township’s failure to:

• Maintain proper accounting records
• Monitor the accuracy of financial reports
• Balance the books in a timely manner

A copy of the complete audit is available online at www.auditor.state.oh.us.

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The Ohio Auditor of State’s office is one of the largest accounting offices in the nation.  The office strives to ensure that all public funds are spent legally and appropriately and works aggressively to root out fraud, waste and abuse in public spending. Taylor encourages anyone suspecting fraud or misspending of public dollars to contact her office toll free at 1-866-FRAUD-OH (1-866-372-8364). Since taking office in January 2007, Taylor has identified more than $10.5 million in public funds that were handled improperly, spent illegally or stolen and must be repaid.