Treasurer: Niles books reconciled through February

NILES

Niles has complied with a state order to reconcile its financial records and is up to date for the first time in several months, according to interim Treasurer Steve Telego.

“We have reconciled February’s records and will start working on March finances at the end of this month,” Telego told The Vindicator. “A project accountant from the state who reviewed (February’s reconciliation) told us ‘it looks good.’”

The city, in fiscal emergency since October 2014, was sharply criticized by its two fiscal supervisors and state Auditor Dave Yost last month for failing to reconcile its records in compliance with state law. Yost subsequently announced that his office would reconcile the records “in the short term” at no cost to the city.

At the time of Yost’s announcement, financial statements for January, which under law must be completed by the 15th of the following month, had not been reconciled. The treasurer at that time, Janet Rizer Jones, had resigned and only one employee remained in the treasurer’s office. The employee had not been trained.

The state accountant balanced the January books, but it was up to the city to balance February’s records.