Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov

Columbus – A finding for recovery of $25,144 was issued Thursday against the Fiscal Officer of Madison Township in Butler County to recoup fees charged for late tax filings and bill payments, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced.

The total, which was repaid as part of the audit, included $24,395 in fees and penalties from the Internal Revenue Service for late filings and $749 in late fees and interest charges for credit card and utilities payments.

According to the audit report, “The payment of late fees and penalties due to the inability of the Fiscal Officer to make timely payment is not a proper public purpose.”

Fiscal Officer Amy Schenck paid the full amount to Madison Township, via a cashier’s check, in June 2022. Township officials offered no response to the finding as part of the audit report.

The issue was one of several noted in auditors’ review of the Township’s 2018 and 2019 finances, including:

• The Township made payments to United Health Care totaling more than $150,000 and disbursed an additional $101,330 in “healthcare costs,” though support documentation was not provided to auditors for either. The fiscal officer and two township trustees also were reimbursed for health care costs over and above the annual plan limits.
• The Township established a Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) that violated certain provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act. Additionally, “… there was a Trustee who used the HRA reimbursement to purchase an individual (i.e. non-group) plan on the marketplace. The Fiscal Officer used the HRA as her only insurance coverage. These reimbursement practices are not lawful….”
• In a separate management letter, auditors noted, “The Township did not submit remittances of withholdings in full or on a timely basis for 2017 in the amount of $1,423 for school district tax. This resulted in a lien being placed on the Township property that was not released until May 5, 2019.
• The Township did not provide documentation to verify state income tax withholdings and Public Employee Retirement System remittances were paid in September 2018 and March 2019. According to the report, “Failure to file, pay, and report the withholdings could result in liabilities, penalties, and interest levied against the Township.”

The full report is available on the AOS website using Audit Search.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio is responsible for auditing more than 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.