Findings for Recovery Totaling $1,671.70 Issued Against Former Junction City Fiscal Officers over Late Fees and Penalties

Press Release •Ohio Auditor of State

COLUMBUS - Findings for recovery totaling $1,671.70 were issued Tuesday against former fiscal officers for the Village of Junction City in Perry County, who failed to remit payroll withholdings on time, resulting in late fees and penalties.

The findings for recovery against Belinda Rodgers and Tara Theado were included in an audit of the village's finances from Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2024.

The full report is available online at https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/search.aspx.

Auditors determined that Rodgers failed to submit withholdings to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) in a timely fashion between Oct. 30, 2023, and March 29, 2024, resulting in penalties and interest of $1,145.22. She also failed to timely remit federal payroll taxes in November and December 2023, resulting in $260.22 in penalties and interest.

Theado failed to submit OPERS withholdings on time between June 2021 and June 2023, resulting in late fees and penalties of $266.26 that were paid by the village in February 2024.

Auditors noted, "Late payment fees and related finance charges incurred through gross negligence are illegal expenditures (that) do not serve a proper public purpose. These charges would have been avoided had the funds been remitted by the required due dates."

Rodgers and the village's insurance company and Theado and her bonding company are jointly and severally liable for the findings.

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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 Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.