Ohio Auditor’s Office places Newton Falls on unauditable list
By Ed Runyan
NEWTON FALLS
Incomplete financial records prompted Auditor of State Dave Yost to place the Village of Newton Falls on the “unauditable” list.
“Complete financial records shine a light on local governments,” Yost said. “Taxpayers should not be left in the dark on how their dollars are being spent.”
During the course of the regular financial audit for Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2014, the Auditor of State’s office determined that the condition of the village’s financial records was not adequate to complete the audit, according to a press release from the auditor’s office. In a letter to the village, the state auditor provided a list of records required to complete the audit.
Within 90 days of the date of the letter, the village must revise its financial records and provide the necessary data. Failure to bring accounts, records and reports to an auditable condition may result in legal action, including the possibility of the attorney general issuing a subpoena to village officials to explain the condition of records, the auditor’s office said. The attorney general also may file suit to compel officials to prepare and/or produce the required information.
Tracy Reimbold, the village’s finance director, said Tuesday the unauditable designation came about because of a $55,000 loan the village made at the end of 2014 from the village water fund to the general fund.
The loan was approved by council and was repaid, but the village “stalled” after Law Director A. Joseph Fritz wrote a legal opinion on the matter, and he and state officials went “back and forth on the opinion,” Reimbold said.
Because of the issue, the village was unable to respond within 30 days to an email from the state auditors. She said she views the “unauditable” designation as a way to get the village to “speed up” its response to the email.
She said the auditor’s office is 95 percent done with the audit. It’s a “pretty minor issue,” Reimbold said, adding that she expects it to be resolved within a couple weeks.
The village does have some financial issues, and it is planning to close its village community center as one way of cutting costs, she said.
An entity is removed from the “unauditable” list once the audit is completed and released to the public, the auditor’s office said.