Judge rules against community service hours of Montgomery County clerk

Mike Foley, Montgomery County Clerk of Courts

Mike Foley, Montgomery County Clerk of Courts

A visiting judge ruled that Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley’s community service hours weren’t compliant, ordering the clerk to serve more time at a nonprofit chosen by the probation department.

In a plea deal with the Ohio Auditor of State in December, Foley pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of soliciting campaign contributions from public employees. Visiting Judge Jonathan P. Hein suspended a 180-day jail sentence for Foley, but ordered him to serve 40 hours of community service, among other penalties.

Hein, in a January court filing, determined Foley was not finished with his community service hours.

Hein rejected two community service hours that were logged because the service organization, as well as the timeframe worked, were not listed. The date logged for these two hours was June 16 — the same day Foley accepted a plea deal with the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office that he withdrew the next day.

Hein also rejected two out of three volunteer shifts recorded with WeCareArts, which is a Kettering nonprofit. Hours calculated for the June 19 and 20 shifts were counted as 25 hours worked when only 6 or 7 hours were logged each day.

Hein ordered that the Adult Probation Department should determine where Foley should serve the remaining hours of his community service “because Defendant’s non-profit organization has proven itself incapable of accurate math calculation.”

Steve Harsman, Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Chief Administrator, said Foley was credited double-time for his hours worked, and he was also credited two hours for the orientation given to people on probation. The probation department recommended We Care Arts as a volunteer opportunity.

Foley completed an additional 14 hours of community service and resubmitted his paperwork, according to Harsman. The probation department recommended We Care Arts again for that service, and that paperwork is pending.

We Care Arts Executive Director Katie Neubert said a few other volunteers who worked at the same time as Foley were also credited double time for their community service hours. Foley and others helped the nonprofit ahead of the nonprofit’s summer picnic.

“For special events that are occurring, because they’re longer periods of time and we need people to be here the whole time, there is a history of giving opportunities where they get double their time for it,” she said. “And that’s based on the direction we received from the courts.”

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Administrator Steve Hollon said double-time credits are up to the discretion of the probation department — the practice isn’t common, but not prohibited, either.

“It is on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “On occasions where there’s extra hard work, like unloading a semi truck full of food at the foodbank for eight hours on a July day, they could get some kind of extra credit.”

The Ohio Auditor of State in December, two weeks after Foley’s criminal sentencing, asked the probation department to review if Foley violated his probation by allegedly drinking in public. Foley attended the Montgomery County GOP Christmas party, where photos posted on social media show him holding a brown glass bottle while talking to partygoers.

A spokesperson from that office told this news outlet that the complaint was sent to the Montgomery County Probation Department.

“We are not involved in monitoring community control or community service requirements,” said Press Secretary David Roorbach.

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