MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP — Fines of $206,630 were issued by the state auditor’s office against former fiscal officer Robyn Gast and her bonding company Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, according to a press release issued Tuesday afternoon.
Gast pleaded no contest in March 2022 to five misdemeanor counts in the second degree in Mansfield Municipal Court. No contest means she admitted no guilt but was still convicted. Gast was sentenced to six months of diversion in March.
The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit determined Gast failed to pay the township’s tax bills for multiple quarters between 2015 and 2019.Â
Gast was the Mifflin Township fiscal officer for about 18 years and resigned in May 2019. Mifflin Township Trustees Chairman John Jaholnycky said trustees and the assistant fiscal officer didn’t know about the tax situation until after Gast resigned.
“Anytime you’re not paying your taxes, the federal government lets you know,” Jaholnycky said. “But trustees never had an inkling this was happening because we weren’t getting the mail. So someone knew about this and we were just never hearing about it.
“We’ve taken precaution that this will never happen again. Everyone has to sign off on balances that banks send us now.”
The township’s financial audit, released Tuesday, details a corrective action plan that Fiscal Officer Karen Cline is leading.Â
The Mifflin Township’s financial audit, released Dec. 6, is available online through Audit Search.
Cline was appointed fiscal officer in June 2019. Her term of office ends December 2023.
“Only a week or so into this, I realized something was really wrong here,” Cline said. “I started getting letters from the IRS dating back to 2015 and it just got overwhelming, so I called the Richland County Prosecuting Attorney’s office for help.”
Cline said local accounting firms helped Mifflin Township catch up with audits and taxes.
“The whole thing has just been a massive learning process, but we’re balanced and back on track,” Cline said. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but everything is current for the first time in many years.”
Cline said she wants Mifflin Township residents and trustees to know they are welcome to ask for any records she has. Her office is inside the Mifflin Township Fire Department at 2326 Park Ave. East.
“Their tax dollars are being cautiously watched now and accurately reported,” Cline said. “If anyone wants to see my records, I’m very open and transparent.”
The township was issued penalties and interest on late payments, resulting in fines of $203,581 to the Internal Revenue Service, $1,333 to the Ohio Department of Taxation and $1,716 to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Jaholnycky said the township will recuperate most of those fines from Gast and her bonding company.