Youngstown City Hall issues 'blank' checks

The city of Youngstown's Law Department has launched an investigation into payroll checks that were altered, enabling someone to pocket more money than was due. That's the good news. The bad news is that the probe has spotlighted the problem with the city's checks and if the problem isn't corrected immediately there could be other larcenous individuals stealing from the city.
Law Director John A. McNally says he can't explain why the checks the city issues do not reflect the amount in numbers and in words. As a facsimile of a check printed in Saturday's Vindicator shows, only the amount in numbers is shown. Why is that a problem? Because the checks can be altered. On July 5, for example, the city's finance department issued a check for $332.94. However, the bearer received $382.94 in cash. The second "3" was changed to an "8." Then on July 19, a check for $235.66 was cashed for $285.66; on Aug. 2, a $309 check was cashed for $809.
The subject of the investigation is a 23-year-old South Side woman who was hired to work the 2002 summer program from June 10 to Aug. 2. She was paid $7.50 an hour. The altered checks have been turned over to the police department, and city Prosecutor Dionne Almasy says she'll review the case once the detective assigned has completed the investigation.
The fact that a comparatively small amount of money was involved -- $600 -- should have no bearing on how assiduously the prosecutor and the law department pursue this crime. An individual or, perhaps, several individuals stole from the public treasury, and for that they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The message that emanates from City Hall must be clear: Stealing from government isn't a victimless crime. The victims are the taxpayers.
Personal checks
And that brings us to the system in place in the finance department. Did no one responsible for overseeing the expenditure of public dollars wonder why the city would be issuing checks that required less information than personal checks? Indeed, the auditor in Struthers, Mary Ellen Jones, noted that having the amount in numbers and in writing is not only preferred by the banks, but the banks will accept the written amount of the check if it differs from the numerical amount.
At a time when city government wants income-tax payers to dig deeper into their pockets -- if the half-percent increase is approved in the November general election, the city's income tax rate will be the highest in the state of Ohio, 2.75 percent -- the theft of public dollars as a result of a flawed system does not inspire confidence.
Ever since a state audit found that only 19 percent of city of Youngstown residents filed income tax returns in 1998, and also suggested that the city could be losing as much as $5 million a year because of mismanaged income tax collections, we have been urging the McKelvey administration to address the systemic weakness inherent in city government's operation.
The problem with the checks issued by the finance department are a glaring example of what's wrong.