The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1912-10-10
Examiners Report.
To the Honorable William W. Teegarden
Judge OF the Court of Common Pleas OF
Darka Comfy. Ohio. -s-f

II
County Commissioners report and voucher
| for the year commencing September |. l9l
and ending August 81, 1912, has been In ses
sion eight days and we think we have cor
sumed all the time necessary to make n proI
er report ms TO just how the affairs of IN
county have been conducted during the yea
Just closed, and also to show TO you hoy
| closely the various officials have fo'iowel
the recommendations of the 1911 committe
appointed by this court
| We have called no witnesses except a
times we called the Auditor or his assistant
| to explain various items in vouchers.
We have carefully examined and checked
| all the vouchers and find none of them miss
| ing and substantially correct In form anC
/ That they practically correspond to thos'
figures set out in the said commissioners re
| port
The vouchers and records have been neatly
2 kept and after carefully checking them. We
| think the fact that no vouchers are missn!
/ Is wonderfully good showing, considering
| the fact that during the last wear these
vouchers~-have been handled by so many
| different persons in making an investigation
| OF the affairs OF Darke County. We also find
| in listing the vouchers in the Commission
ars' report only eight (S) have been over.
looked and omitted from the said report
These eight vouchers have all been checked
found regular and authorized by law.
Your Committee finds that the first eigh-
teen days covered by this report was under
the administration OF eX-Comm1SSioners
william IL. Townsend, n. ID. Sippel and D.
IT.
edge of the fact that the transactions of said
eighteen days were thoroughly gone into by
the Prosecuting Attorney and his assistants,
and the irregular TRANSACTIONS LOT said elgh,
teen days have been thoroughly Investigated
by two grand juries of Darke County, and In
dictments have been returned and convic-
tionS have been made on transactions cover
ed in said eighteen days. Your Committee
has been advised that the state authorities
have also made close Investigation of said
Is days and as we are informed Will soon
give TO the County report OF their nndings.
We therefore did not deem 1t necessary to go
into detail covering this eighteen days. And
we express the hope that all OF said investi-
cations will be productive of much good, and
be of permanent benefit to the taxpayers of
Darke County. The present Board OF County
Commissioners nave been ever since, and
still are, surrounded by examining commit
tees, and the County Auditor and Commits
sioners have fully availeG themselves OF the
exceptional opportunity afforded by the
presence of these examiners and the prose-
cutting attorney for obtaining advice con-
cerning the legality depending and proposed
transactions.
We note that your Examining Committee
OF September and October, 1911, recommends
that ''some action be taken to remedy the
evils that exist" And we think the report
of your said former committee pointed out
the same evils and laid the facts before the
prosecuting attorney as no other committee
ever did. And tie prosecuting attorney who
is by virtue Of his office, n member OF all
his actions have borne results that have
heretofore been made public, and we are of
the opinion that the taxpayers As well as all
public officials have been benefited by these
results.
We find that section 29l7 of the General
Code which provides that the prosecuting
attorney shall be the legal advisor OF the
county commissioners has been strictly ad-
hcred TO, at least the vouchers and record
bears out this presumption.
We find that section 24O6 General Code,
which provides that the Clerk shall keep
full record of the proceedings Of the board of
county commissioners and roll call by yea
and nay vote etc, has been strictly adhered
to since the new board of commissioners
have held office.
Section 2i07 General Code, provides tHat
Immediately upon the opening of each days
session of the board. the records of the pro.
ceedings OF the previous day shall be read by
the Clerk, and II correct, approved and sign
ed by the commissioners, etc. This section
Of the Code we find has been closely followed
by the present Auditor and board of commits
sionerS, and by this action all members of
the board are informed as to what the record
contains.
Section 24l5 General Code provides that the
may delegate authority to
the county auditor to make certain repairs
on public buildings not to exceed $1,000 We
find that not even this authority was dele
gated and that by reason of close observance
of the law, the large and extravagant ex.
penditures in the past have been Abandoned.
by JulS ClOS6 ODS6INduC6 Vi Ll6 law DO IdlS6
and fraudulent vouchers have been discov-
cred Your Committee finds that the former
abuse OF delegating authority to the janltOrs
to purchase materials and supplies, and to
make renairS has been discontinued.
Your Committee finds the former practice
of making contracts with "dummyS" or "go
betweens" has been discontinued. The au-
ditor of the county has acted as CommiS-
SiOners' Clerk since the beginning OF his
term, and still acts as such clerk, thereby
saving the county ninety to one hundred
dollars per month, and the auditor as such
clerk and the board of commissioners joint
Iy, have instituted a reform whereby all
contracts no matter how small. must be in
writing, and state exactly when and where
the labor is to be performed and the n aler-
al is to be furnished, and there can be no
covering up of bridge and other repair WORK.
Heretofore no memoranda was kept of 10.
cations etc, and when committee attemp-
ted TO locate work, 1t could not be DONE
The present system makes it easy to locate
such work.
The practice of paying money without an
order has been discontinued. The plan now
Is to have written order and this written
order is attached to the voucher, and there
can be no shifting of responsibility, as was
the case in the year previous.
Your Committee finds the recommended
tiOns of the last former committee has had
wholesome effect on material men, and
the impOSitions of these men in the past are
no longer tolerated in Darke County.
Your Committee finds that all bills now
presented for pay mt ent are checked by the
auditor and are properly docketed, and
must necessarily remain on file five days
before allowance, and when allowed are
again docketed and must remain with the
auditor five days before same can be paid.
Fhis eliminates any back dating of bills or
If the same is attempted, the guilty party
can be discovered.
The former report of the old Board of
commissioners containe ed an item of S23OO.OO
TO The Gallon Iron Works Company for II
steam road roller. This item was never
paid hy the county, for the reason that the
Prosecuting Attorney eDjoined the payment
of the same. Your Committee finds that the
Common Pleas Court has granted perma-
nent Injunction against the purchase of
this steam roller on this contract and that
the Gallon Company has retaken possession
of the same ana that the county mas been
saved the price of said road roller
Your Committee finds that the purchase
of supplies, plumbing, ETC., have been much
more economically made.
Your Committee believes that economy"
has been the watchword for the year in
nearly every department OF the admintstra-
tlon of county affairs, with the possible ex
ceptiOn of the office of the County Engineer.
We are inclined to the opinion that greater
economy could be practiced here III the mat
ter OF automobile and livery hire, special
fees, ETC., and we recommend that an at
tempt be made TO administer the affairs OF
this Office on q basis OF stricter economy.
Your Committee believes that greater eco
nomy should be practiced by the County
Supervisors of Elections. The extravaganza
seems to be in extra cIerk hire and eXOrbit-
ant prices. Your Comm ittee is OF the iurth-
er opinion that the lightaDd telephone bills
could be reduced very considerably il all OF
the county officials and deputies would see
TO it that needl less messages are not resorted
to, and that the county be not compelled to
furnish light for private enterprise.
| Thele is q decided improvement in the af.
| fairs of the County, and we recommend
| that the county commissioners and other
Il fn nc q m
| able to detect and correct extlayagant prac'
| tices.
| 1t is not the purpose of this Committee tc
| ask the commissioners and public Officials
| to deny the tax payers the Improvement,
/ for the money they pay in tax, and this
| Committee is of the opinion that If the mo
ney is not used it is useless to levy greater
tax on the people. Darke county mas ne
| use for a surplus in the Treasury.
| We desire to express our thanks to thi
| Auditor and his deputies for courtesies ant