NDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Public Integrity Coalition, led by Attorney General Greg Zoeller, wants state lawmakers to approve new tools to crack down on theft and corruption by local government officials.
Since 2009, State Board of Accounts audits have uncovered more than 250 instances involving some $8 million in public funds stolen by local office-holders or government employees in Indiana's 92 counties.
One of the largest was the theft of $310,325 by the former clerk of the Merrillville Town Court. Overall, 19 cases with $868,938 in stolen funds have been recorded in Lake County over the past five years.
Zoeller has attempted to reclaim that money by freezing the assets of the suspected embezzlers and filing civil collections actions, but he's hoping the proposed changes will stop taxpayer funds from being stolen in the first place.
"It's not that public corruption is rampant, it's really something that's usually pretty limited, but I always say that we can and must do better to protect Hoosier taxpayers," Zoeller said.
The plan, which will be sponsored during the 2015 legislative session by state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, calls for extending whistleblower protection against retribution or firing to government employees who confidentially report the suspected theft of public funds.
In addition, Zoeller believes requiring the state be named a party to the $30,000 insurance policy against theft that public officials must purchase each year will speed the recovery of stolen funds.
Cities and towns also would be allowed to rely on the clerk-treasurer of a nearby town or a local certified public accountant to handle and oversee public funds if their clerk-treasurer resigns mid-term.
"Our goal is (to) maintain public trust by reducing the number of lawsuits we bring to recover public funds from those who embezzled taxpayers' money," he said.