COOLVILLE, Ohio — In an emergency meeting Thursday, Sept. 24, Coolville Village Council relieved village Fiscal Officer Tim Clegg of his duties.
According to a recording of the meeting, Mayor Tiffany Rife Oman said that she was looking for a copy of an ordinance to respond to a public records request when she found “20 to 25” uncashed checks, a stack of unopened mail, and about $1,130 in cash in Clegg’s desk.
Both the desk and the office window were unlocked, “so anybody that could get into the village hall could also get into that office,” Oman said.
After showing the desk and window to Chief of Police Troy Smith and village solicitor Jonathan Robe, Oman called the emergency meeting for 6:30 p.m.
Once Oman explained the reason for the meeting, the floor was opened to members of council to add information. Council member John Lazear noted that Clegg had not reconciled the village books since April.
“So it appears there’s bills with late fees that have not been paid since almost a year ago, is that correct?” asked council member Eric Barnhouse.
The mayor confirmed that was the case. The unopened mail included “a couple of checks that were made out to the village, as well as quite a few bills that were not paid with late fees, racking up a couple thousand dollars not just in late fees, but in the bills themselves,” Oman said.
Robe said the Ohio Revised Code allows village fiscal officers to be removed without cause, either by the mayor with a majority council vote or by a three-fourths vote of the council without the mayor’s consent.
However, Robe noted, “I think there are some very serious issues raised about multiple causes.”
The council unanimously approved a motion to fire Clegg. Council member Cheryl Rymer was absent.
Oman noted that Clegg would need to return keys to the village hall and provide his computer passwords — including one to unlock a tablet used to record meetings — and PINs for village accounts.
In addition, Oman said, Clegg had created a billing system for the village that includes “all of our residents’ account numbers, their bank, like the bank numbers, their payments, their late fees.”
“Does there need to be something in writing stating that he can’t delete [the program],” as soon as he’s notified of his termination, Oman asked.
“It’s probably best to have that,” Robe replied.
Because Clegg lives in Meigs County, Chief of Police Smith said he would coordinate with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office in notifying Ford of the decision later Thursday evening.
Disclosure: Jonathan Robe is the statutory agent for Southeast Ohio Independent News, the nonprofit that publishes the Athens County Independent. He also provides legal counsel to the Independent.
“Tim was removed from office as fiscal officer, and it is under investigation at this time,” Oman told the Independent Monday afternoon. “That’s really all I can say, legally, at this time.”
Chief of Police Smith told the Independent Monday afternoon that a third party will be investigating the situation — potentially the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office or the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Smith could not speculate on whether Clegg’s conduct possibly constitutes criminal charges; “That’s to be determined,” he said.
Keri Johnson contributed reporting to this story.
