Investment advisory board will meet as required, treasurer says

By D.a. Wilkinson

LISBON — Columbiana County Treasurer Nick Barborak is taking responsibility for not having required meetings last year, but he said a whispering campaign should stop.

Barborak read a statement Thursday at the meeting of the county commissioners.

“I have already taken responsibility for ... the frequency of last year’s [investment advisory board] meetings,” he said. “We didn’t meet a few times when we should have. It was a mistake. It has been corrected. That is the end of it.”

The county’s investment advisory board is supposed to meet four times a year. It met once in 2008.

That fact came out in a letter from the state auditor that followed an earlier audit. The audit contained no findings for recovery, which means no money is missing. The management letter is a separate document.

Barborak said, “I expect criticism where it is due. In fact, I welcome it.”

But the treasurer said there are people who are still trying to gain political mileage from the error.

“But I will not tolerate a handful of politically motivated individuals — for the sole purpose of trying to score some cheap political points — denigrating this body or my office by suggesting that something unscrupulous is occurring with the county’s investments.”

He said the implication is “reckless.”

The commissioners recently met with Barborak to look at the county’s investments, which were not bringing in much money because of the poor economy.

Barborak said that since he and the commissioners met, he is starting to see some slow economic growth.

“But we’re not at any risk. We haven’t lost anything of value,” he said.

David Johnson, the chairman of the county Republican Party, said he was unaware of any whispering campaign against Barborak.

Nancy Milliken, a Republican and the county auditor, said management letters are routine.

“You always get a letter,” she said. “You always have recommendations, which is good.”

The state wants her to upgrade part of her computer system, but she said she is concerned about the cost.

wilkinson@vindy.com