City of Hillsboro notified of proposed finding for recovery related to $46,266 payment to former Municipal Court clerk

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

The city of Hillsboro has been notified of a proposed finding for recovery by Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber related to the 2021 collective payout to former Hillsboro Municipal Court clerk Diane Seeling.

In a letter dated Nov. 30, the state auditor's office said the city paid Seeling on Sept. 16, 2021 a total of $46,266 upon separation of employment. The payout included $8,097 for unused sick time, $6,167 for unused personal leave and $32,002 for unused vacation time.

The state cited both the Ohio Revised Code and Hillsboro city ordinances in its proposed finding for recovery. 

"Ohio Revised Code 1901.31(C)(1) provides a municipal court judge the authority to set the compensation for the clerk, unless the court is running a deficit. Financial records of the court going back to 2018 indicate that the court has run a deficit," the auditor's office said. 

"As such, city policy would dictate the clerk only be paid for the vacation time she accrued and did not use that year," Faber's office said. "The sick leave payout is appropriate under city policy, but city policy requires employees to use vacation and personal time in a 12-month period or lose the vacation and personal time. Under city policy, Seeling should have been paid $20,909 for her unused leave balances, which resulted in an overpayment in the amount of $25,357."

The state auditor's office noted that the Highland County Board of Commissioners initially disagreed with the city's Sept. 17, 2021 request for $18,506 for the county's portion of Seeling's severance payout.

On Friday, Dec. 8, Hillsboro City Law Director Randalyn Worley issued the city's response. 

Worley noted that the city acted on legal opinions from former City Law Director Fred Beery and a court order by former Hillsboro Municipal Court Judge David McKenna. 

Worley provided a copy of McKenna's Oct. 13, 2021 order to the county commissioners, noting "the county is under a statutory obligation to pay its full share for Seeling's may (sic) years of service to this community."

Former county auditor Bill Fawley and former city auditor Alex Butler were copied on the former judge's orders.

"Upon Judge McKenna's order, the city of Hillsboro, under the guidance of former City Law Director Fred Beery, executed the payment of $46,266.53 to Ms. Diane Seeling," Worley wrote to the state auditor's office on Dec. 8. 

"Mr. Beery advised city officials that the court order was lawful and instructed them to comply with the order. The city, in reliance on the legal counsel's recommendation and in adherence to the court order, fulfilled its obligation by compensating Ms. Seeling accordingly.

"In light of these circumstances, we kindly request that the Auditor of State refrain from making a Finding for Recovery against the city of Hillsboro. The decision to make the payment was based on legal advice, and the city acted in good faith under the belief that it was following a lawful court order."

According to the state, "If a Finding for Recovery were to be issued, the auditor of state shall, pursuant to ORC 117.27, forward a copy of the audit report containing this Finding for Recovery to the statutorily designated legal counsel for the public office, who then may, under ORC 117.28, institute legal proceedings to collect the amount due to the public office. 

"In addition, pursuant to ORC 117.30, a copy of the audit report will be certified to the Attorney General of the State of Ohio. If the statutory legal counsel does not collect the amount due or pursue legal proceedings within 120 days after the release of the audit report, the Ohio attorney general may bring legal action to collect."