YOUNGSTOWN Auditor probes $25,000 in over-billing

The mayor credited the finance director for discovering the discrepancies.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A cleaning supplies vendor over-billed the city $25,000 over four years, and the state auditor is investigating.
The vendor, which neither the city nor the auditor's office would identify, has repaid the money.
The city requested the audit to explore whether the over-billings were intentional and if there are other discrepancies.
"We don't know that right now," Mayor George M. McKelvey said this morning. He referred to the matter as "what we are calling over-billings."
McKelvey wondered why the over-billings by a single vendor lasted so long.
"It raises questions with us, serious questions," he said.
The audit, to be done by the state's Fraud and Investigative Audits Group, is expected to take several months. The city doesn't have the ability to undertake such an investigation, McKelvey said.
The city will pursue legal action against the vendor if the audit determines the over-billings were attempts at fraud, he said.
McKelvey credited Finance Director David Bozanich for reviewing contracts and discovering the discrepancies.
Bozanich didn't accept the explanation that the over-billings were merely the result of clerical errors, the mayor said. Bozanich was in court on the city's behalf this morning and wasn't available to comment.
McKelvey and Law Director John McNally IV declined to identify the vendor. The mayor said he didn't want to jeopardize the investigation.
What's being done
The city is checking with the state auditor about what paperwork related to the vendor would be public documents and can be released, McKelvey said.
Youngstown isn't the only local government with questions surrounding cleaning supplies.
A Trumbull County grand jury has been hearing evidence relating to maintenance department purchasing practices. An example is an $8 charge for cans of glass cleaner.
Last year The Vindicator uncovered excessive buying and sloppy bookkeeping in the maintenance department.
The stories spawned investigations by Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, the FBI and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
rgsmith@vindy.com