Ohio's Auditor of State, Keith Faber, is calling for local government officials to strengthen their financial discipline after the state uncovered that a smattering of late bill payments, tax, and retirement remittances have racked up penalties amounting to $1.2 million since 2019. As observed in the fines, there's a rising trend of fiscal negligence, with 118 out of 652 findings for recovery pertaining to delay-induced fees, according to documents from the Auditor of State's Office.
Township and village officials, in particular, should heed the warning, as walking out late from the fiscal responsibility has led to them being hit harder in their wallets. With the state law bluntly categorizing such late fees as gross negligence and improper use of public funds, officials are expected to dip into their pockets to cover the penalties. "Those who are responsible for not paying bills on time will have to pay the penalties out of their own pockets," said Faber, signaling a no-nonsense stance on the misuse of taxpayer money.
Analyzing the data, the procrastination tax seems to be on the rise. In 2024 alone, delayed payments resulted in $307,231 in financial slap-on-the-wrist penalties, a hard jump from $63,086 six years earlier. Regional specifics are broken down in a spreadsheet listing late-fee findings, accessible to all eyes on the Auditor's official website. This year, the negligence benchmarker is not doing any better, with 13 out of 31 audit reports flagging more than $92,000 in fines due to tardiness with the paperwork.
When looking at specific cases, it becomes apparent how neglected due dates can snowball into fiscal avalanches. A former Mifflin Township fiscal officer is being called out to return $206,630 for tax payment delays spread over four years. Meanwhile, the City of Marion has its own share of missteps, with $176,899 in findings tying back to late and incorrect tax payments. Even educational institutions aren't exempt from scrutiny, as a school treasurer in Franklin County is on the hook for $70,195 after dropping the ball on quarterly tax withholdings for a year and a half. In a statement obtained by Ohio's Auditor of State, Keith Faber, Faber made his disappointment clear, "Mistakes happen, but failing to make tax payments or pay bills for months or years is unacceptable."
