State audit finds misuse of funds in Richland Township, state asks for $58,000 back

Several former Richland Township employees will have to pay back a total of $58,569.48 in misused taxpayer funds from the period of 2009-2010.

Richland Township includes Ellettsville and a tiny part of the western portion of Bloomington in Monroe County.

After conducting an audit for the previous two years, the State Board of Accounts, which is tasked with monitoring local government finances, found that several employees of the township, including two former township trustees, William Evans and Donald Lewis (now deceased), had improperly used taxpayer money.

The audit was requested by Marty Stephens, the newly elected township trustee, after he noticed irregularities in township finances.

Most of the money that will have to be repayed is from “grandfathered” vacation and sick leave time given to Bonnie Lake Justice, former Richland Township office manager, by William Evans, a former Trustee.

The State Board of Accounts could not account for why Lake Justice was paid for 1,392 of the 1,396 hours she received compensation for. The board is requesting that Lake Justice and Evans jointly repay $26,030.40 for this grandfathered pay.

State law requires documentation to support such pay, and none could be found, nor was any provided when the township board voted to authorize the pay.

The board also could not find any documentation to support 664 of the 920.75 hours that Le Ann Freeman, former Richland Township investigator, was paid for in grandfathered time.

The board asked Freeman and Evans to jointly repay $3,516.61.

Also, Vickie Lewis, the daughter of former township trustee Donald Lewis (now deceased), must repay $1,929.94 for several checks that she cashed in her father’s name after he had died.

The board also noted several instances of improper use of office funds for non-government purposes but did not request reimbursement for these costs.

$1,000 dollars were donated to “support local troops overseas,” $219 was spent on flowers and several donations were made to local sports leagues.

William Evans and Eileen Goss, the Richland Township Board Secretary, filed official responses contesting the findings, which were included in the official report.

— Zach Ammerman