This isn’t the first time the state has asked Wilson, who also works as a fiscal officer for two other villages, to repay money to the village. A state audit released in 2011 found Wilson owed the village $213 for the office supplies she purchased in 2010 that didn’t appear to have any use for the village.
Although the state auditor’s office listed the matter as still unresolved in an audit released last week, a spokesman with Ohio’s Attorney General Office said that Wilson was cleared from paying that money back to Somerville after previous Somerville council members signed an affidavit stating the $213 in office supplies weren’t misspent.
Wilson responded to this story Thursday and said that the cable bill was a valid village expense used to pay for Internet, although the state, at this time, has no records to prove the expense was for public purposes.
As of last week, Wilson had not paid the $247 the state says she owes the village. Somerville, a village of about 280 residents, has an annual budget of $46,000.
“If we could somehow get that back, that would help us pay bills for a while,” Lori Saurber, the village’s new fiscal officer, said. Saurber said the village can’t afford to hire a lawyer to recoup the money from Wilson. And, Saurber said she doesn’t believe the former fiscal officer has plans to pay back the money.
Wilson was being paid between $200 to $250 per month to oversee finances for the village before she left in 2011, Saurber said. Saurber said she and her husband, Paul, the current mayor of the village, are now volunteering in their positions as Somerville officials. She also said new council members have since replaced the ones who oversaw the village during Wilson’s tenure.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said Wednesday he hadn’t had a chance yet to review the state’s audit of Somerville but he “will definitely be taking a look” at Wilson’s alleged misconduct.
The state auditor report issued Tuesday states that Wilson also worked for two other villages at the time she paid her Time Warner Cable bill. A spokesman with the state auditor’s office confirmed Wednesday that Wilson works for the villages of Camden and West Elkton in Preble County. The three villages are all within about 20 minutes of driving distance from one another.
A village of Camden official could not immediately be reached for this story.
Richard Kirby, a council member of the village of West Elkton, said the village has never had an issue with Wilson. State audit reports of the other two villages did not yield findings for cash recovery from Wilson in recent years.
The state’s audit also found the village failed to accurately record some transactions and some expenditures were not properly authorized by the fiscal officer from 2011 to 2012.
Saurber, who took over the fiscal officer position near the end of 2012 for the village, said the audit has helped her, her husband and the new council members better understand how to document village finances.
“The audit was a good education tool for us as a council, knowing the things we need to do,” Saurber said. “It’s more of a learning tool.”
About the Author