BY JOHN HOPKINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A state financial audit of Cleves turned up many weaknesses in past record keeping of village management.
The problems were mostly procedural in the western Hamilton County village of 2,300.
In some instances, village officials were late in meeting financial reporting deadlines. In others, ledgers were inaccurate and funds were transferred without mention of council's approval in village minutes.
The audit, by Ohio State Auditor Jim Petro, was conducted for the years 1996 and 1997. Mayor Harold Duncan, contacted Friday afternoon, said he had not viewed the report.
Treasurer Linda Bolton said many of the problems present in the audit have been corrected during her tenure. The audit period preceded her time on the job.
The clerk in 1996 and 1997 was Thomas Lind, who resigned.
The village has made leaps forward over the years in controlling its finances, said council member Linda Haas of the village's finance committee. One problem, she said, has been the turnover rate of the village treasurer.
Problems noted by the audit included:
Reports of village receipts and expenditures -- presented to council each month -- were found to be inaccurate, containing posting errors and incorrect fund balances.
Internal problems such as time sheets that were not signed by supervisors and, in some cases, not signed by city employees. Sick leave was used without the approval of supervisors.
Some transfers were being made from one fund to another without the approval of council, which is required by state regulations. The audit also found that state deadlines were not met. For example, Ohio law requires the village to file an annual financial report with the auditor within 90 days of year's end.
According to the audit, the village of Cleves did not file its 1996 annual financial report with the state auditor until June 1998.
The state auditor's office recommended the village appoint an audit committee to provide direction and guidance to management. Vice Mayor James Mills also had not viewed the report. He did hear about it. "Everything went fairly well and nothing major was wrong," he said. "I think there were some minor bookkeeping things they said needed to be done."
