An audit conducted by the office of Ohio Auditor Of State Keith Faber found that $20,652.63 from the Village of Manchester Fire Levy Fund was improperly used to pay the final installment of a private loan that was used for improvements made to the Fire Station located at 204 W 4th Street in Manchester. (Photo by Ryan Applegate)
By Ryan Applegate
People’s Defender
The Village of Manchester is the subject of proposed findings from the Office of the Ohio Auditor of State, Keith Faber, concerning the misuse of over $20,000 in public funds related to a private loan repayment. According to letters sent by the Auditor’s office and reviewed during a recent Village Council meeting, the proposed findings relate to expenditures made during the audit period of January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2022. These proposed findings, while not yet final, may result in the issuance of formal Findings for Recovery against village officials, including current employees and council members.
In a certified letter addressed to Council Member Christine Henderson and Fire Chief James R. Bowman III, the Auditor’s Office states its intent to issue a Finding for Recovery in the amount of $20,652.63. This amount corresponds to a payment made from the Manchester Fire Levy Fund to a bank to satisfy the final installment of a private loan originally taken out by the Manchester Fireman’s Benefit Association, a nonprofit organization. The loan, totaling $60,280, was used to make improvements to the fire station, which is owned by the Village of Manchester.
The letter, issued under the authority of Ohio Revised Code Section 117.24, explains that the Auditor of State is responsible for determining whether public money has been illegally expended, not accounted for, or misappropriated. Findings for Recovery are issued when such illegal expenditures or irregularities are identified during an audit. The document also references ORC Section 9.24(H)(3) and ORC Section 117.28 as statutory grounds for issuing a Finding for Recovery.
According to the Auditor’s office, the payment was made without statutory authority and absent any official approval by Village Council. The check, which was signed by Fiscal Officer Robin Taylor and Council Member Christine Henderson, was issued after Fire Chief Bowman indicated to the Fiscal Officer that the Village was obligated to make the payment. The Auditor’s office states, however, that no legal obligation for the Village to assume or pay any portion of the Fireman’s Benefit Association’s debt was found. Additionally, no council action or authorization was documented to approve the disbursement of public funds for this purpose.
As stated in the letter, “The Village could not provide any evidence that the Village had a legal obligation or had legal authority to pay a portion of the Association’s debt. In addition, there was no council approval of the payment.” The Auditor further explains that this resulted in a proposed Finding for Recovery against Taylor, Henderson, and Bowman jointly, in the amount of $20,652.63, payable to the Village of Manchester’s fire levy fund.
In a separate letter addressed to Fiscal Officer Taylor, the Auditor’s office also indicated a proposed Finding for Recovery in the amount of $22,108.32. This amount includes late fees, finance charges, and service charges incurred by the Village due to the untimely remittance of required payments. These include late payments to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) and utility bills to American Electric Power. The Auditor cited Ohio Administrative Code Section 145-1-27(B)(2) and 145-1-28(B) as governing the timeliness of employer and employee contributions to OPERS.
The Auditor’s office stated that the Village was assessed and paid late charges totaling $1,455.69 due to failures in timely remittance, which were attributed to insufficient internal policies and gross negligence. The breakdown includes $1,327.63 in late fees to OPERS across 2022, 2023, and 2024, and $128.06 in finance charges to American Electric Power in 2023 and 2024. These charges, the Auditor’s office said, constituted illegal expenditures of public funds because they were avoidable and resulted from negligence.
Council Member Troy Jolly, speaking publicly during an interview, confirmed receipt of the Auditor’s proposed findings by council members via certified mail. He stated that the issue was discussed at the most recent council meeting and described how the unauthorized check payment was discovered during the ongoing audit.
According to Jolly, the process that would typically be followed for bill payments—involving discussion by the finance committee and subsequent council approval—was not observed in this case. “That process was never done. The check came into the building, the clerk printed out the check, had signed it, and called Christine to come down and sign the check,” Jolly said. “She has been the longest tenured council member… her of all people should have known you can’t do that.”
He emphasized that while employees may not have had sufficient training, long-serving officials like Henderson should have recognized the procedural error. “It’s obvious it happened because the finding is there, the check was written, the check was cashed, and the loan was paid off,” he stated.
Jolly said he believes immediate administrative changes are necessary, including the removal of Henderson as finance committee chair and the removal of her name from the village bank account. While the mayor has the authority to remove a committee chair directly, Jolly noted that a vote of council would be required to change banking authorizations.
He also expressed concern about the implications of the finding under Ohio Revised Code Section 9.24, which states that individuals with unresolved Findings for Recovery are barred from receiving contracts for goods, services, or construction funded by state money. “It was a construction project, and it was paid by state funds. And you know, I know that it’s a firehouse. I get it that it’s owned by the village, but it was a Fireman’s Benefit Association loan, private loan, and tax dollars paid for it, and you just can’t mix money in that direction,” he said.
Jolly further addressed questions regarding Michelle Taylor’s role, noting that she was only a few months into the job when the check was issued and that she had received little or no training from her predecessor. He characterized her actions as those of someone inexperienced rather than intentionally negligent. “She was young, naive, inexperienced at the job at the time and didn’t have the training to know the difference. But Christine Henderson did, is the unfortunate part,” he said.
Jolly stopped short of demanding Henderson’s resignation from council, though he acknowledged that he had said in a separate interview that resignation would be “in her best interest at the moment.”
Efforts to contact Christine Henderson and Robin Taylor for comment were unsuccessful. Both declined to comment when reached. A call to Manchester Mayor Billie Jo Goodwin was not returned at the time of publication.
The Auditor of State’s office also declined to comment, citing that the findings are preliminary and have not yet been made public through the official audit report. According to the letter, individuals named in the proposed findings have five business days from the date of receipt to submit additional information or responses. If a Finding for Recovery is officially issued, it will be included in the audit report and submitted to the Village’s legal counsel, and if necessary, to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for collection proceedings under ORC Section 117.27 and ORC Section 117.28.
The audit report, once finalized and released, will determine whether the proposed Findings for Recovery are upheld and what, if any, further action will be taken.
