From the Bloomington Herald-Times:
...
Monroe County badly needs some form of closure on issues involving auditor Amy Gerstman. She’s been front-page news for almost six months since it was learned she charged county-issued credit cards for thousands of dollars in personal purchases she later paid back.
The most questionable expenditures were claims in January 2011 for travel expenses she never booked. She was quizzed about the the expenses in November 2011 and repaid the county at that time for the $2,500 she had been paid for her claim. After that, the commissioners asked for the state audit for which the results are still weeks away.
In the meantime, Gerstman’s effectiveness as auditor has been sorely compromised. She admitted recently her office was responsible for an error related to property tax billing that will result in collecting about $1 million less from taxpayers than governmental units were anticipating — which could affect the operation of those units and the services they provide.
It’s difficult to be patient about these results when such a key office holder in the county is under such a cloud. The sun needs to shine through soon on what the state board has learned so all can move forward.
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2012/05/01/digitalcity.taxpayers-need-state-report-on-monroe-county-auditor.sto
