Your Tax Dollars at Work
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 By Marc KilmerAt a time when many local governments are complaining that they don’t have enough funds (i.e., you need to pay higher taxes), state audits reveal that some local government officials are making some pretty questionable purchases with your tax money:
[Valley Township Auditor Bonnie Turner] voided a township check for $7,645, reissued herself a new check and cashed it; she accepted cash payments totaling $3,700 for the purchase of several township cemetery plots and didn’t deposit the money with a bank; she illegally used $2,353 in township funds to pay her personal home telephone bills for two years; and she owes the township $171 for a cell phone and accessories that she failed to return after she resigned.
The audit found that her husband, Larry Turner, the former township fire department safety officer, must repay $1,237 in township funds that he spent illegally on his personal cell phone in 2006 and 2007 after his position was terminated Jan. 10, 2006.
The audit also found that their son, current township worker Jonathan Turner, owes the township $106 for a cell phone and accessories that he failed to return following a reassignment to other job duties.
The best part?
Mrs. Turner said neither she nor her family did anything wrong, and that it is the trustees’ responsibility to sign off on spending decisions.
“I never took anything that didn’t belong to me,” she said.
