For being a supposed sleepy little county, Brown County has a couple of serious issues going on.
Clerk of Courts Office Being Investigated for Criminal Conduct?
From the Brown County Press and the News Democrat
In a press release issued on April 10, Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor announced her Office is conducting a special investigation into accusations of theft in the Brown County Clerk of Courts Office.
Taylor stated she was unable to disclose details of an ongoing investigation, but mentioned investigators from the Ohio Auditor of State's Office are working with "local" (Brown County) authorities to determine if a crime occurred.
"I take allegations of theft and fraud of public funds very seriously," Taylor said. "My office is in the process of investigating this issue and working with local officials to determine if anyone has breached the public trust. If we find that public funds are missing, we will work to bring those responsible to justice."
The state auditor also mentioned she was releasing that day the annual single audit of Brown County (the one for 2005). A copy of the full audit is available online at www.audi tor.state.oh.us.
Taylor, a Republican, is investigating a fellow Republican's office, that of Clerk of Courts Tina Meranda.
In an April 11 telephone interview, OASO Deputy Press Secretary Steve Faulkner said the single audit overall looks pretty good. It doesn't touch upon the investigation, but Faulkner said a released audit generally doesn't include too many findings of what an Ohio county allegedly did improperly with money.
He said the investigation into allegations is a combination of what OASO personnel who conducted the annual audit discovered over the course of their work along with allegations OASO auditors were made aware of by Brown County prosecutors.
Faulkner said he was unable to determine a date when the results of the investigation could be released.
In another April 11 interview, Brown County Prosecutor Thomas Grennan said the County Prosecutor's Office couldn't make comments concerning the investigation.
In an April 10 interview, Brown County Auditor Doug Green said he understood the reported allegations were part of the reason the county's audit had been held up.
Green said he was aware OASO was investigating and hadn't been given any information other than that, mentioning how the state office won't release further information.
"We're just awaiting the results of the investigation at this point," the county auditor said.
So, apparently, there was some issue with the audit for 2005 or something. Ms. Meranda issued a press release:
As a result of a routine annual audit that occurred over the course of the past few months, I became aware of certain accounting deficiencies in the Office of the Clerk of Courts. In fact, during this audit, I asked that the state auditors pay special attention to certain accounts that the clerk of courts handles.
"The problem arose, in part, due to the accounting system that was in place prior to the time that I took office. Suffice it to say, upon learning of the deficiencies, I took the steps necessary to remedy the situation including initiating changes in the accounting system of the clerk of courts as that system is provided through Henschen and Associates and changing the process by which money is handled in all of the offices of the clerk of courts.
"I accept as fact that I am ultimately responsible for all operations within the Office of the Clerk of Courts. With that stated, on a personal level, I have not undertaken any illegal or improper conduct as the clerk of courts.
"I have taken and passed a polygraph with regard to the financial errors that were raised by the audit. I cooperated with the audit process and I have nothing to hide either personally or as clerk of courts."
I applaud Ms. Meranda for being so willing to cooperate, but just as an aside, doesn't it seem to cast more aspersions, not less, when you make declarations about polygraphs and 'nothing to hide'?
Ms. Meranda also noted to the News Democrat:
Although no specific details are available, Meranda said the office's accounting system provided by Henschen and Associates could be partly to blame. The system was in place before Meranda took office in 2004, she said, and changes to the system were initiated as soon as the "deficiencies" were discovered.
Meranda's statement also indicated that changes would also be made in the "process by which money is handled in all of the offices of the Clerk of Courts."
Meranda reaffirmed that public monies are now secure.
"The people of this county can rest assured that their money is all accounted for by this office," Meranda said.
Meranda noted she has done nothing personally wrong or illegal, but is correct in saying that the ultimate responsibility is hers. Stay tuned, as the investigation is ongoing.
Sheriff Wenninger Strikes Back on Other Paper's Reporting of School Watch
Again, from the Brown County Press from the pen of Sheriff Dwayne Wenninger:
I would like to comment on a recent article that was published in a local Georgetown paper(The News Democrat is the paper I believe the sheriff is talking about, as the BC Press is published in Mt. Orab and the only other major paper published in Georgetown is the Democrat--Mark)
on April 8, 2007 in the "Our Opinion" section concerning the "secrecy over a 'school watch' program" and the uproar in which a Channel 12 News interview has created.
First of all, the idea of a "School Watch" program is just that....an idea in the beginning stages.
It had been discussed at a recent "Citizens on Patrol" meeting and received positive response. Debra Dixon of Channel 12 News heard about the program from a fellow colleague and called wanting to do an interview to help get the word out about the program. It has been unbelievable that the idea of a program, which was intended to do nothing more than to help ensure the safety of our children at school, has gathered so much bad publicity from a local paper in Georgetown, which made ludicrous innuendos about the program in their opinion article and from a Brown County Commissioner.
After doing the interview with Channel 12, Chief Dunn was contacted by one of the Brown County Commissioners the next morning. You would think the Commissioner would have wanted to know more about the program. Instead, the first question was "Where do you think you are going to get the money for this project?" I am not trying to get money out of anyone, especially the Commissioners.
It is worth noting that Sheriff Wenninger had the class not to say which commissioner it was. There are three county commissioners. Two Republicans and One Democrat. The Democrat was elected last fall on a promise to pinch pennies. However, our county commissioners have a bad history of poor allocations and budget decisions. They chose to build an overpriced tribute to inefficiency with the allocation of funds to the Garage Mahal, the HQ of the County Highway Department, formerly headed by County Engineer Jim Beasley, now head of ODOT. Beasley was a big booster for the project, and benefitted personally by getting the deal done as he got a bigger office and a plush setup. The people of the county got nil except a reminder of the waste of government. The current commissioners are Republicans Perry Ogden and Dale Reynolds, as well as Democrat Margery Paeltz. Back to the sheriff:
In other words, sounds like a good idea that the commissioners are upset they didn't think of. The commissioners have sucked money from law enforcement for years, funding the Garage Mahals, land purchases, social programs, even while drug crime and serious crime grows. A neighbor of mine told me a story where they talked to a deputy who said the commissioners ordered the sheriff to lay off of picking up felons as it costs too much money to house them. The sheriff's departments funds have been cut consistently even as crime has risen and the population has risen. The commissioners blame the sheriff for not doing his job, even though the county jail and equipment is antiquated. Sheriff Wenninger is in a no win situation. Back to his comments:
Since our Road Patrol situation has not improved from the initial cutbacks made in 2005, I have been trying to implement volunteer programs for the public to help deter some of the crime issues that have been facing Brown County citizens.
The idea of a "School Watch" program is simple. The Brown County Sheriff's Office already has a neighborhood watch training program that takes volunteers about eleven weeks to complete. The program is provided to the public by Deputies from the Brown County Sheriff's Office who volunteer their time to instruct the program.The "School Watch" program would be tailored from this training for volunteers to patrol the outside of the schools on a daily basis. Just like the Citizens on Patrol...this would provide law enforcement with an extra set of eyes...and the would be predator(s) would also be aware of the extra school patrols.
We are aware that most of the schools are located inside village corporation limits. We are not trying to take over the jobs of the local police and/or school officials who are currently monitoring school grounds. We are trying to provide them with additional help. Some of the schools already have School Resource Officers stationed at the school every day. Most of them, however, do not because it costs money. Many of the village police departments only provide "part time" patrol services for their village and don't have the manpower to provide full-time service for their schools.
The only cost for the program would be paid by the volunteer. Since they would be in an environment involving children, all volunteers would be subject to a background investigation, costing $20, which would be processed by the Brown County Sheriff's Office through the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification. This is a process that all school personnel, volunteers and/or chaperons have to complete in the State of Ohio.
Yes, unlike our commissioners (Republican AND Democrat) the sheriff is trying to fix the problem, not just throw money at it or wipe it under the rug. The sheriff concludes:
The hope is that these volunteers will be mostly retired individuals that have the time to give to their community while performing a great service for the safety of our children. There never were plans to place anyone on busses. Imagine the amount of volunteers that would take. If we received an overwhelming amount of volunteers, I guess it would be possible to do that, but realistically we will focus our main attention on the schools.
Most of all, I want the public to be aware that as far as comments being made about this being part of a continuing battle with the Brown County Commissioners over funding issues...it is not. I am simply trying alternative programs to help with safety issues in Brown County. I do not have anything up my sleeve...I am just trying to do my job with what I have been given.
I like the comment that the Western Brown School Superintendent Jeff Royalty made to Chief Dunn when he said, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." The program will ultimately live or die on the response of the public volunteers.
For more information or to volunteer (that means...no pay) please contact Chief Deputy John Dunn at 937-378-4435 ext. 106.
