By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Winona Lake Park Director Holly Hummitch’s job appears to be hanging in the balance following a highly critical audit from the state that highlighted a wide range of deficiencies.
The town’s park board met Monday night and issued a statement about the audit from the state board of accounts that echoed similar expressions of regret and concern conveyed by other town officials shortly after the findings were released on June 24.
The audit showed Hummitch improperly used a town credit card for several years to cover the cost of monthly phone rentals for two devices, one of which could not be explained.
New policies involving credit card use, purchase approvals, and cell phone usage were outlined Monday in the statement.
Use of the credit card was never formally approved by town leaders.
Park Board President Kristie Maiers read the statement and said they take the audit report very seriously and that a corrective action plan will be verified at monthly compliance meetings.
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See the full statement at the end of this story.
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Hummitch did not attend Monday’s meeting
Maiers said the park director serves at the pleasure of the park board.
Maiers said circumstances involving the audit are still being reviewed by the town attorney and another individual whom she declined to identify, saying she believed she was not at liberty to identify that person.
Some people on social media have called for resignations over the scandal and for money to be returned to the town coffers.
“Many people have inquired … with regards to the actions that will be taken in response to the points brought forward by the state auditors,” Maiers said. “These decisions have not been made and will not be made until information is reviewed.”
The Town Council meets at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and is expected to address some of the issues.
The park board outlined three moves aimed at improving internal controls. Those include:
- Credit cards will no longer be held by employees and will be controlled by the clerk-treasurer. Requests to use the card will be required by the clerk-treasurer beforehand.
- All purchases made by the parks director will need to be approved by the parks board beforehand.
- The only park employee approved for a cell phone stipend is the park director, who has declined the option.
Monday’s meeting took on a somber and cautious tone as board members reviewed updates and projects currently underway.
At one point, the board declined to approve a $42 expenditure until they received further guidance.
The 88-page report, which had been in the works for more than a year and spans four years of town practices, highlighted a wide range of deficiencies across the town government, including numerous unapproved expenditures, credit card misuse and extensive shoddy recordkeeping.
