Spencer Twp. audit reveals inefficiencies

An audit completed in January revealed the Spencer Township (Frenchtown) Community Center Fund was overdrawn in 2011 and 2012 by amounts of $2,115 and $3,252 respectively.
The State Board of Accounts audit states that the cash balance of any fund may not be reduced below zero. Routinely overdrawn funds could be an indicator of serious financial problems which should be investigated by the governmental unit, it said.
The community center used to be home to the LifeSpan Resources senior meals program until it was terminated last October.
A petition to substantiate the fact that Spencer Township Trustee Donald Satterfield is incapable of performing the duties of township trustee was filed by Phyllis M. Patterson and Belinda K. Smith in October with the Harrison County Circuit Court.
A bench trial date was set last month for April 17, allotting a three-hour window for witnesses, concerning the case of the People of Spencer Township vs. Spencer Township Trustee Donald Satterfield. It will begin at 9 a.m.
While the audit shows a number of inefficiencies, no criminal/illegal activity was found.
Other audit findings concluded: transactions were not always posted timely; there were a considerable number of posting errors; checks and receipts were not always recorded in the proper amounts; interest was not always posted; and ledger balances were not properly totaled and balances not properly carried forward.
Monthly depository reconciliations of the fund balances to the bank account balances for the period Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2012, were not performed until November 2013.
The annual reports for 2010, 2011 and 2012 contained errors in the reporting of receipts, disbursements and cash and investment balances.
Also, the township board meeting minutes for 2012 were also missing.