MANCHESTER, Ohio — The Village of Manchester is now under audit for allegedly using money from the village's fire levy fund to pay a private organization.
In a letter dated June 13, Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber informed the village of an audit that will include the period between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022.
The notice says, "due to insufficient policies and procedures," the village made a payment of $20,652.63 to the Manchester Fireman's Benefit Association. The nonprofit had taken out a loan and obtained a promissory note for $60,280 from a bank to pay for improvements for a fire station owned by the Village of Manchester.
Hear more about the case below:
According to the notice, Fire Chief Richard Bowman indicated to the village's fiscal officer, Robin Taylor, that the village was required to make the payment. Both Taylor and Village Council President Christine Henderson signed the check to the bank.
The village council did not authorize or approve the payment. The auditor's office said the village couldn't provide any evidence it had the legal authority or obligation to pay for a portion of the association's debt. The notice said the state issued a finding for recovery for public monies illegally expended against Bowman, Taylor and Henderson in the amount of $20,652.63 in favor of the village's fire levy fund.
"This is nothing to walk away from; this is serious," said Troy Jolly, Village of Manchester council member. "All of that was not even brought to the finance team. It wasn't even produced in council."
When asked if he thought some on council wanted this covered up or hidden from the public, Jolly responded, "I'll use the words filtered to be filtered down."
We also asked him if he thought this was fraud.
"Well, that's what the auditor of the state is saying, and when you read through the ORC, yeah, it's fraud," he said.
The notice sent to Bowman, Taylor and Henderson says the state auditor will determine whether "public money has been illegally expended, any public money collected has not been accounted for, any public money due has not been collected, or any public property has been converted or misappropriated." It says a "finding for recovery" may be issued against them but doesn't constitute "a final determination that such legal liability exists and is not an accusation of criminal misconduct."
WCPO is working to get all sides of this story. We visited the village hall to speak with Taylor, but her assistant told us she was on the phone and had "no comment." We also called Bowman and Henderson, but have not received responses. We'll continue to follow this developing story and bring you updates as we learn more.
Jolly said he believes Henderson should not be writing checks and "needs to be removed" from the finance committee. He also suggested more be done.
"My personal feelings, I think she needs to resign immediately," he said.
WCPO will continue to investigate this situation and work to get answers from all officials involved. Watch our video report for more details on how this audit could impact Manchester residents and the village's fire services.
