A recent audit report unveiled findings for recovery totaling $40,634.10 against Jennifer McCombs, the past fiscal officer of the Village of North Lewisburg, Champaign County. The audit, covering the period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, pointed out two distinct areas of financial mismanagement.
In the report released by Ohio's Office of the Auditor of State, auditors discovered that not only did McCombs incur late payment fees and penalties on state and federal tax and pension system withholdings to the tune of $29,384.10, it was found that the penalties were a result of failing to remit the withholdings promptly over multiple years. The report sharply criticizes these fees and penalties stating, "Late payment fees, interest, and related charges incurred through gross negligence are unnecessary expenditures that do not serve a proper public purpose and could have been avoided had the former fiscal officer remitted the tax withholdings and employee and employer contributions by the required due dates."
The troubles didn't stop at late fees. The same audit exposed that McCombs pocketed monthly stipends totaling $11,250 for extra billing clerk duties—tasks she no longer executed. As cited in the audit findings, these amounts were received in the years 2022, 2023, and 2024.
