This post was provided by News Now Warsaw

By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw

WINONA LAKE — Online reaction to Winona Lake Town Council’s decision not to take any further action against town employees accused of misusing town credit cards was overwhelmingly negative.

Many residents waited months to see what, if anything, the town council would do after a state audit showed town credit cards appeared to have been misused by some town employees for several years.

Council has taken several steps to improve recordkeeping and financial operations of the town following the report and has expressed regret over the circumstances.

But Council president Ashley McGinnis announced Tuesday that discussions with employees led to the return of some money, but that no further action would be taken.

In a written statement read at Tuesday’s council meetinng, McGinnis said some money had been recovered.

Some, she said afterward, were deemed legitimate after looking into the issue further..

As a result, McGinnis said the town had been “made whole” and that no further action would be taken.

Town officials have not identified the workers who were investigated following the audit report or how much money was returned.

One of those who is not pleased is Dave Wollkins, who spent years on the town council before being elected to the state legislature several decades ago.

Wolkins, who now sits on Kosicusko County Council, has watched the fallout of the audit and was asked for his impressions after this week’s decision.

One of the many issues that Wolkins found troubling in the state audit was the lack of accountability concerning an older 2.5-ton dump truck, which some believe was simply given away without any documentation.

“I am so disappointed – the lack of transparency is just sickening,” Wolkins said Wednesday. “When they say the town is made whole, what does that mean? Do we get the dump truck back?”

Wolkins said he wants the town to release more information.

“I defended that board to a lot of my friends (thinking) they would in fact take care of the situation and be transparent about it, and we would know what happened,” he said. “And obviously, that has not happened.”

Previous stories:

Still no decisions on how Winona Lake will respond …

State report outlines numerous improper practices by Winona Lake town employees

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