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Audit: Former Muskingum Co. Engineer Used County Resources on Personal Property
By: WOUB News Team
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — A now-deceased, former Muskingum County Engineer and his bonding company have been ordered to pay back thousands of dollars after a state audit revealed he used public resources for personal use.
The Auditor of State’s fiscal year 2018 audit of Muskingum County, released Thursday, issued a finding for recovery for $18,517 against Doug Davis and Western Surety Company.
Investigators from the Auditor’s Special Investigations Unit examined the period between Jan. 1, 2012 and Apr. 30, 2018, and found instances where Davis authorized the use of county personnel, equipment and materials for improvements on his personal property.
Davis spent 229 employee hours, totaling $4,281 and 214 equipment hours, totaling $8,553 to make these personal improvements. Additionally, he purchased $1,173 of materials with public money used in the work completed.
Davis also during this period authorized and approved the purchase of $4,458 worth of items that did not appear to be for county purposes. Items included a new motor for a piece of rental equipment, a bumper for his personal vehicle, and fencing materials. He also charged $52 to his county credit card for a meal that was not county related.
Investigators also found that Rick Alexander, a Muskingum County Engineer employee, used his county credit card to purchase $459 of fencing staples that were used to build a fence on Davis’ property in October 2017.
The Auditor’s office issued a finding for recovery for $459 against Alexander. Davis was jointly and severally liable for directing and approving the purchase.
This investigation began after the Auditor’s office received a complaint in December 2017.
Davis passed away on April 18 last year.
A full copy of this report is available online.