State: Any effort to recoup misspent money will have to come from WL Town Council

This post was provided by News Now Warsaw

By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw

WARSAW — What will become of the misspent Winona Lake town government money uncovered in the Indiana State Board of Accounts?

An official with the state Board of Accounts said any effort to recoup money that was improperly used by Winona Lake town employees would need to be initiated by the town council.

The state audit, which scrutinized four years of town finances and practices, came to light Tuesday and uncovered numerous instances of credit card abuse, misuse of town money, and a litany of serious bookkeeping errors and practices.

One employee who is no longer employeed with the town, apparently used a town credit card for numerous non-work related purchases including a car rental while vacationing in Hawaii.

The park director used a town credit card for a personal phone service for several years.

In another report, the state claimed Town Manager Craig Allebach used town money to cover the cost of installing 11 residential wells on private property in the Raccoon Run subdivision, where new homes are selling for upward of $400,000.

Numerous people, including many on Facebook, have questioned if and how that money could be returned.

“At this point, it’s kind of up to them to decide what’s the next step,” said Beth Kelley, deputy state examiner with the state board of accounts.

In fact, the report concluded, “We recommend the town review the expenses noted above and consider requesting reimbursement from individuals for any expenses that were personal and did not relate to the functions or purposes of the town.”

In some cases where major wrongdoing is uncovered against a taxing unit, the state can seek charges, said Jennier Gauger, the chief of staff for the state board of accounts

In those instances, “We would ask that monies be repaid to the local unit of government … if there were, in our minds, improper expenditures or personal gain, but in these issues, this was largely (dealing with) non-compliance,” she said.

The town council and the clerk treasurer issued a statement after the audit report was released. Officials took full responsibility for problems highlighted in the audit report, thanked the state for its work, and outlined a long list of policy changes being enacted.

The post State: Any effort to recoup misspent money will have to come from WL Town Council appeared first on News Now Warsaw.