More audits.
More problems for township government in Henry County.
Township trustees and board members here are facing new critiques this month after the Indiana State Board of Accounts released audit reports for six of the county's 13 townships. All six of the reports found pages of problems with the townships' operations.
The new batch of reports, which cover a period of time from Jan. 1, 2010, until Dec. 31, 2010, come a few weeks after the SBOA released reports on six other townships here. In those previous reports, four of the six townships had critical comments from auditors.
But in the new reports, all six of the townships examined - Fall Creek, Greensboro, Liberty, Spiceland, Stoney Creek and Wayne - have critical comments.
Donna Tauber, the township trustee for Spiceland, said the SBOA auditors, which create the annual reports, aren't consistent and critique the townships for minor and unpreventable issues.
Tauber said she wants to be a trustee to serve her township, in which she provides public assistance for dozens of people. But she said the audits are frustrating.
"I'm human," Tauber said this week. "I make mistakes but not major mistakes. My books balance to the penny."
For Spiceland Township, the audit report found that the township had a outstanding check from 2004, that payment to employees was made without payroll tax deductions and that the township paid a $2 late fee on a claim.
Additionally, the report said that the township paid sales tax, totaling $17.02 for some purchases in 2010. As the report noted, governmental entities are exempt from sales tax.
In response, Tauber said sometimes she can't avoid paying sales tax.
Stoney Creek Township in northeastern Henry County also faced criticism for paying sales tax.
Additionally, in its report, the auditor also said that two of the Stoney Creek Township's payments didn't match their supporting documentation.
Perhaps the most peculiar comment for the township was that the auditor noted that Stoney Creek Trustee Michael Lykens used township funds to purchase a will and power of attorney program at Staples for $32.09.
The SBOA then requested that Lykens pay that amount back because "public funds may not be used to pay for personal items," according to the report. Lykens reimbursed the township in November 2011, the report said.
In an email to The Courier-Times, Lykens said the purchase was a "simple mistake." He said accidentally, the program got put in the cart with items for the township instead of with his personal items.
Liberty Township in eastern Henry County also had multiple comments on its audit report.
The SBOA found that the township paid $23 in penalties to the IRS for late payments and that some payments didn't have adequate supporting documentation, according to the report.
"Due to the lack of support information the validity and accountability for $3,257.87 could not be established," the audit report said.
For Wayne Township, which includes Knightstown, the SBOA audit found a few problems. For one, the township's bank was short $1,382 because of deposits that hadn't cleared. For another, payments were made for cemetery mowing without a contract.
Lastly, the SBOA found that Wayne Township wasn't using a required check form.
Fall Creek Township in northwestern Henry County also had its fair share of comments in its audit.
The SBOA said the township overdrew its payroll deduction fund by $2,657 and had checks outstanding in excess of two years.
The township also made payments to board members without deductions for taxes and had six payments without supporting documentation.
"In addition, travel claims for Don Osborne, trustee, did not detail odometer readings and only included the total miles for the trip," the audit said.
As for Greensboro Township, in western Henry County, the audit found multiple problems.
According to that audit, the township's annual report wasn't posted by the required deadline, and the township made late payments to the IRS and the Indiana Department of Revenue.
The audit for Greensboro Township also said that the firefighting fund was overdrawn and that some payments didn't have adequate supporting information.
Also, the audit said Greensboro Township has "numerous positing errors."
On Tuesday, Max Riddle, the trustee for Greensboro Township, said he only knew of one posting error.
And Riddle, who's been the trustee for 13 years, added of the auditors, "They've changed things around, and they're being more attentive."
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