ProgressOhio

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Thursday asked State Auditor Mary Taylor to find that $80,185.52 in bonuses awarded by previous Secretary J. Kenneth Blackwell to various employees constituted an illegal expenditure of public money.

The state auditor already has commenced a special financial audit for the time period in question at the request of Secretary Brunner.

Such a finding would pave the way for recovery of the funds by state Attorney General Marc Dann, who on May 23, 2007 issued an opinion that the bonuses paid mainly to departing staff members were not legal in that they:

• Were not appropriate payment of compensation.
• Were not appropriate severance payments.
• Were not made through a lawfully-established bonus program.
• Were not allowable fringe benefits.

"In our stewardship of public funds, we were concerned that we had an obligation to learn if these payments were legal, and if not, if we should try to recover these taxpayer funds," said Brunner, who first learned of the bonuses after she took office in January. "We sought an opinion from the attorney general who informed us that they are not legal, and now I am seeking the assistance of the state auditor to make a finding in her audit report so that these funds can be recovered," continued Brunner.

According to the secretary of state's office, 18 outgoing employees and one employee whom the Blackwell administration attempted to move into classified service after the November election received bonuses in December 2006 ranging from $1,043 to $7,923.

The attorney general's opinion says, in part, that the bonuses were "in essence a gift or gratuity to employees, who were planning to leave the Office, for the past performance of their duties - duties for which they already had been compensated."

"The employees provided nothing in return for the payments, and thus, it cannot be said that the bonuses were for the primary benefit of the public or to further the efficient operation and management of the Office," the attorney general's opinion said.

Brunner is notifying the employees who received the payments and asking for the voluntary return of these public funds. Six employees who received bonuses also filed for and received unemployment compensation.

Click here to read the Attorney General's finding. (pdf)
Click here to read Secretary Brunner's letter to Auditor Taylor. (pdf)

The memo detailing Blackwell's farewell bonuses was signed by his former chief financial officer, Dilip Mehta, who approved $7,765 --- a full extra month's pay --- for himself in the bargain. LoParo's payment of $1,702, one of the lowest amounts listed, was added in what appears to be a handwriting other than Mehta's. That payment is earmarked, according to the memo, for "Carlo."