Finding for Recovery of $3,409.70 Issued Against Former Village of Cloverdale Fiscal Officer Over Penalties from Late Payments

COLUMBUS — A finding for recovery of $3,409.70 was issued Tuesday against the former fiscal officer for the Village of Cloverdale in Putnam County over penalties from late tax and pension system payments.

Gwen Spencer and her bonding company are jointly and severally liable for the total, which was included in an audit of the village’s financial activities from Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2024.

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

Auditors identified multiple late payments while Spencer was fiscal officer, resulting in $3,095.52 in penalties and interest to the Internal Revenue Service, $309.61 in penalties and interest to the Ohio Department of Taxation, and $4.57 in penalties to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.

Auditors noted, “Village Council should establish procedures to verify withholdings and payments are made in a timely manner to avoid interest and penalties for delinquent submissions. Failure to do so could result in potential findings for recovery being issued in future audits.”

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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.

Public Affairs
Contact: Marc Kovac
press@ohioauditor.gov