A former fiscal officer of the Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District, James Barrett, has been hit with a finding for recovery in the amount of $943.90 for failing to make timely federal payroll tax payments, according to a report from the Ohio Auditor's Office. The office, detailing the oversight in an audit released yesterday, indicated the figure comes to $35,719.25 in restitution that Barrett was already sentenced to pay earlier this year.
The monies relate specifically to the period of July through September 2020, when Barrett, who served as the district's fiscal clerk, did not remit payroll taxes by their due dates. Consequently, penalties and interest accrued against the Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District. Through gross negligence resulting in late payment fees and related finance charges, auditors called out the expenditures as illegal, stating they "do not serve a proper public purpose."
This is not the fiscal officer's first brush with fiscal irresponsibility. Barrett pleaded guilty to misuse of a credit card and dereliction of duty in March 2025, as reported by the Highland County Common Pleas Court. Following his conviction on two criminal counts, he faced criminal penalties that were separate from his recent financial repercussions.
A trail of late fees and a slew of additional monetary missteps have been linked to Barrett's tenure, with prior audits noting a persistent lack of internal financial oversight. According to a statement from the Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber's office, the district's finances from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2024, were peppered with instances due to such supervisory lapses.
