Village of Rutland Audit Finds Discrepancies under Former Mayor

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A state audit of the Village of Rutland in Meigs County discovered checks written by a former mayor during 2016 that were unsupported and paid out of the wrong account.

The audit holds former Mayor April Burke responsible for seven checks totaling $645 that lacked supporting documentation and evidence of approval from village council.

According to Burke’s check register, five of the payments were $100 Christmas bonuses she issued to employees in December 2016. Burke, who resigned this past December, wrote the other two checks to automotive repair shops and listed “tow for traffic stop” as the reason for both payments.

Without supporting documentation, such as an invoice, auditors could not determine whether the payments served a proper public purpose. Auditors issued a $645 finding for recovery against Burke.

The seven checks were among a total of 15 that Burke improperly paid from the mayor’s court checking account when she should have made the payments from the general fund. Auditors adjusted the general fund balance to offset the errors. The 15 checks totaled $2,273.

A full copy of this report is available here.

The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.