Portage County must repay $700,000 to the state

RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) — A northeast Ohio county has been ordered to repay the state more than $700,000 for questionable spending in a federally funded job training program.

The state says nearly half the money was spent by Portage County on unauthorized advertising for job fairs, and for gifts that included laptops, video games and charge cards.

The state released its findings Monday.

Director Anita Herington with the Portage County Department of Job and Family Services said today that the job program had provided thousands of pages to show state guidelines had been followed. She expects a county hearing at some point to review the state’s findings.