From the Columbus Republic:
The top-ranking elected official for Columbus Township is under criminal investigation after acknowledging that he forged an email from The Republic in an effort to secure the state’s approval of the township’s $1.4 million 2013 budget.
Fred Barkes, who has served as township trustee for 10 years, admitted to representatives of The Republic on March 22 and March 26 that he created a phony email that was sent March 1 to the township’s budget consultant and forwarded to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, which oversees municipal budgets.
Barkes, 67, said he failed to properly publish the township’s annual budget notice in The Republic last August based on state guidelines and feared that state funding to the township might be at risk as a result of his administrative error. His “manufactured” email, as Barkes described it, said The Republic took responsibility for his error.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/Budget-notice-incident-launche_1365301716
