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Townships could see higher audit expense
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - November 03, 2011)
Townships could see higher audit expense
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Townships could see a cost increase for state-mandated audits as the state looks to reduce its costs for the service.
Chardon Township Fiscal Officer Joan Windnagel informed the board of trustees two weeks ago of changes that are coming as a result of the state passing on charges it previously covered.
As the township prepares to undergo its audit for 2010 and 2011, Mrs. Windnagel said, it will deal with those changes.
The changes, she said, apply to communities that have had clean audits the past 10 years.
Mrs. Windnagel said it is unclear at this time whether the township will pay the state a higher fee than in the past or find an outside private firm that will provide the service at more cheaply.
In the past, she said, the state has billed townships at a rate of $20 to $25 an hour for the service, resulting in an average cost of about $4,500 for the bienniel service.
However, Mrs. Windnagel said, she was recently contacted by the Ohio Auditor's Office, which detailed the new costs for the service. Now, she said, the state will be charging townships $41 an hour.
She said she was told that certain costs, such as mileage, health care and pensions, will no longer be picked up by the state and will be passed on to townships. That accounts for the increased hourly rate, which could increase the township's cost by a "good 15 percent," she said.
Townships, however, do have another option, she said. Rather than accept the state's new rate, she said, townships can seek bids for the work from outside firms. If those bids provided a lower rate, townships can accept them over the state's offer, Mrs. Windnagel said.
She said there is hope that the township can secure a lower rate from an outside firm than that offered by the state and keep its costs closer to the previous costs.
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