The money was repaid to the village during the state audit.
“It was just a simple miscalculation in the math,” St. Paris Mayor Joe Reneer said. “It wasn’t anything malicious. It wasn’t done on purpose.”
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The audit also listed several instances of noncompliance and material weakness including, “failure to correctly classify financial activity in the accounting records,” and making payments from the incorrect fund.
“The village is working to improve our processes to help avoid errors and mistakes in the future,” the village responded in the audit.
Some changes have already been made, Reneer said, to fix some of the problems pointed out by the audit.
Now there’s an approval process for any purchases that aren’t reoccurring, he said, like equipment purchases. Plus all water and sewer adjustments will now be approved by council members, he said.
“We’re doing very well with the little amount of money that we have,” Reneer said.
The village's check book is also available online, he said, at stparis.ohiocheckbook.com so residents can view all the expenses the village makes.
A 4.9 mill levy for the village’s police department is on the ballot this November.
Residents can be assured that if the levy passes their money will be used wisely, Reneer said.
“We’re doing the most that we can,” he said.
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