Findings for recovery totaling $3,175 issued against former Pike County Convention and Visitors Bureau officials
COLUMBUS – Findings for recovery totaling $3,175 were issued Tuesday, Dec. 26 against former officials of the Pike County Convention and Visitors Bureau over late fees and other improper expenditures, Auditor of State Keith Faber announced.
A finding totaling $2,518 was issued against Bruce Dailey, treasurer/acting director of the bureau, for business reimbursements issued without proper receipts or documentation, overdraft and late fees, and expenditures that could not be verified as serving a proper public purpose.
An additional finding of $657 was issued against former Executive Director Sharon Manson, mostly over credit card interest and late fees.
The two findings were among 14 issues noted by auditors in a review of the bureau’s finances from Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2021. A copy of the full report is available online (ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/search.aspx).
Trustees Barbara Patterson, Tom Patterson, and Roy Brown are jointly and several liable for $1,694, $1,143, and $772, respectively, of Tuesday’s findings for recovery, as they signed checks for the improper expenditures.
Auditors also noted that “the bureau should draft, approve, and implement policies and procedures requiring proper support for all transactions including original receipts for business expense reimbursements and proper public purpose documentation related to electronic transactions (including withdrawals and overdraft fees) and other transactions of the bureau.”
As noted in a special audit released on March 23, 2023, Manson pleaded guilty in May 2022 in Pike County Common Pleas Court to misdemeanor counts of attempted theft in office and soliciting or accepting improper compensation. She was sentenced to 30 hours of community service, fined $250, and ordered to make restitution of $6,805.54, which was based on the misappropriated expenditures identified in the special audit. A finding for recovery was issued for this amount, which was subsequently repaid by Manson.
The Auditor of State’s Office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.