[ back ]
Employee given warning about lost water bill payments
(by Rick Palsgrove, Southeast Editor - March 10, 2010)
A batch of water bill fund payments that was misplaced in the Groveport Municipal Building for nearly four months resulted in a clerical employee receiving a written warning in her personnel file.
The written warning was issued Feb. 22. Village officials took no other disciplinary action regarding the incident.
From Oct. 21, 2009 until Feb. 12, 2010, the village of Groveport lost track of a batch of water bill payments that included $8,176 in checks and $80.96 in cash, according to village records.
According to Groveport Finance Director Ken Salak, normally the village deposits its water bill collections within 24 hours, but a batch of payments from Oct. 21 were compiled too late in the day for deposit and too late to be placed in the village's safe. According to Salak, the village clerical employee locked the batch of payments in a cabinet in her office with the intent of depositing the money the next day. However, this employee then went on an extended medical leave and the batch was forgotten.
Salak said November's accounting reconciliations and customers stating their checks had not been cashed alerted the village of a problem. Replacement checks were obtained from customers and deposited. Salak said it later came to officials' attention that the batch also included $80.96 in cash.
Salak said a search of the Groveport Municipal Building ensued on Feb. 12 and the batch, including all $8,176 in original checks and the $80.96 in cash, was found in the cabinet where it had been locked up since October.
Salak said all the money has since been deposited and no money was lost from the batch.
At Groveport Village Council's March 8 meeting, resident Scott Clinger questioned Salak as to whether any of the water bill customers were reimbursed for possible fees incurred for having to place stop payments on their checks while they were lost.
Salak said none of the customers has requested reimbursement for stop payment fees, but if they did the village would reimburse them. Salak said he contacted all of the customers involved and their misplaced checks, once found, were returned to them.
| Comments (1) |
On March 13, 2010 Carrie said:
Was the employee in a coma??? Who takes medical leave the very next day and when a deposit is missing no one calls and asks if they are aware of the missing deposit. Sounds fishy too me. Funny you "fire" someone for missing $88 dollars and pay them 7 months for administrative leave but you only put a letter in this employee's file. How long exactly was this employee on medical leave... What is going on at the Villlage with our money? This has been in the paper, it is embarrasing for our community. Who is really at fault here... Management??? |
| |
[ back ]
