News

Madison County -

State Auditor Mary Taylor released the 2004 and 2005 audit for the Pleasant/Darby Union Cemetery today.  The audit found that the cemetery lacked documentation for $9,827.82 in spending that must be paid back. 

Additionally, many of their receipts, or records of money received by the cemetery, were incomplete.  The final audit opinion reflects the fact that they did not maintain proper accounting records. 

“For the past two years the cemetery has not kept the financial records necessary to properly track spending which may increase the risk for misuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Taylor. 

The Ohio Attorney General has been notified of the undocumented spending.

The funds that must be repaid to the cemetery include:

• Money that was spent without documentation - $7,513.05

• Funds that were reimbursed to employees without documentation - $2,314.77

$1,352.78, which was mistakenly deposited to the wrong account, was repaid to the correct account during the course of the audit.
 
In response to the audit, cemetery officials said that they would make every effort to ensure proper documentation in the future.

The Ohio Auditor of State’s Office is one of the largest accounting offices in the nation.  The office strives to ensure that all public funds are spent legally and appropriately and works aggressively to root out fraud, waste and abuse in public spending. Taylor encourages anyone suspecting fraud or misspending of public dollars to contact her office toll free at 1-866-FRAUD-OH (1-866-372-8364).

A full copy of the audit is available online at www.auditor.state.oh.us.