State audits, investigations best left in Columbus

There's an old axiom that suggests "Nothing is against the law until someone … er (complains)."

There's also an old newsroom standard that goes like this: "People will tell you they want the truth, until the truth lands at their doorstep."

In other words, we all pretend to appreciate our state and federal statutes – right up to the minute someone finds us in violation of one or two of them. At that point, it's always a convenient alibi of "I don't know how that happened."

Of course you don't.

Last week, I heard a public official of the same political party (GOP) as Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost say, "He (Yost) sure likes to see his name in the paper."

Maybe he does. I don't know.

But I do know that Auditor Yost has an admirable record of sharing what should be valuable information with Ohio taxpayers, especially in those instances where public officials are found to be in violation of the law.

I've often said that when it comes to seeking public records on the local and state levels, my office of preference is the auditor's. Whether it's the city auditor, county auditor or state auditor – and regardless of party affiliation – this is where the proverbial rubber meets the road.

If things "don't add up" in the auditor's office, more often than not, the auditor will track down the miscalculations.

As much as the Ohio auditor does to adhere to this policy on behalf of the taxpayers, I'm not so sure the Ohio Ethics Commission follows suit. Maybe it does. I don't know.

But I do know this. As of this writing, the Ohio Ethics Commission had 19 news releases posted on its taxpayer-funded website for calendar year 2012.

Of these 19 OEC news releases,

• Nine announced upcoming commission meetings;

• Five announced advisory opinions; and,

• Five announced criminal or ethical wrongdoings, embezzlements and indictments.

In other words, the OEC posted five news releases of real substance in 2012.

By comparison, the Ohio Auditor of State has issued 10 news releases this week alone, and 29 in the month of January 2013.

The cynics might say that's because Auditor Yost "sure likes to see his name in the paper."

It also might be because a good number of public officials are not living up to the standards of their respective office.

My money's on the latter.

This should not be misinterpreted, either. Simple arithmetic tells us that the vast majority of Ohio's public officials understands both the ethical canons and the legal obligations of the office.

But simple arithmetic also tells us that the state auditor's office does a better job of exposing wrongdoing than does the Ohio Ethics Commission.

This week, Auditor Yost reported that Marietta City Schools is out more than $145,000 due to a former assistant treasurer – Barbara Mincks – who allegedly wrote 213 illegal checks to herself.

“A theft of this magnitude is appalling,” Auditor Yost said.

“While the controls should have been in place to prevent this, the legal and moral obligations to keep your fingers off of taxpayer dollars should have prevailed. I look to the court system to apply the full weight of the law in this case.”

Will the court system take this theft as seriously as Yost?

Time will tell.

Auditor Yost also reported that former McClure, Ohio Police Chief Miguel Trevino used taxpayer dollars to pay for his daughter’s cell phone, and now owes that money to the Village of McClure (in Henry County).

“The public purse is not a family affair,” Auditor Yost said. “Every public official knows you can’t use public funds for private purposes. It’s nearly your first duty to keep that distinction.”

That's worth repeating: It’s nearly your first duty to keep that distinction.

Now, we've already heard from those who would suggest that the $145,000 in alleged wrongdoing by the former assistant school treasurer far outweighs the alleged infraction of some $445 by the former police chief for improper cell phone use by a family member. But does it matter?

In either case, taxpayers were being gouged by public officials entrusted with their hard-earned dollars.

We've seen similar infractions on the local level over the years. Some have been investigated, others have not. (The politics of convenience often enters into the would-be investigations.)

According to Yost, audits with findings of missing or improperly expended public funds are referred to the county prosecutor.

In a more perfect world, maybe that's not the appropriate course of action.

Ohio's 88 county prosecutors typically work very closely with many of those in public office. They also – typically – rely on the same political party support of many of those in public office.

The state might be doing county prosecutors – and all taxpayers – a favor by keeping these investigations in Columbus.

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press.