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Columbus – An elected official in Southeastern Ohio has repaid more than $700 after Auditor of State Keith Faber’s Office discovered improper gasoline purchases on a township account.

Morgan Township Trustee John Manley repaid the Gallia County township’s Gasoline Tax Fund $501 and its General Fund $208 as part of a finding for recovery after a review of receipts and invoices from August 2018 through November 2019.

The finding was one of several issues identified in a state audit of Morgan Township’s financial books for 2019 and 2020.

During that time, the township had a charge account with a local gas station to cover fuel purchases for township vehicles. However, the State Auditor’s Office determined that the lone vehicle owned by the township that used regular gasoline, a 1990 Chevy truck, was inoperable. And the only other township equipment that used regular gas during the audit period was a saw.

Still, the township paid for 30 regular gasoline purchases during the audit period, totaling $709 and purchased by Manley. The purchases “are presumed not to be related to the operations of the township,” according to an audit released Tuesday.

The State Auditor’s Office also noted that the township did not have “any specific policy or controls in place to monitor the purchase or usage of gasoline and no mileage or gas logs (were) maintained with the township vehicles or employees.”

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.