Pictured, left to right, are Winona Lake Town Manager Pamela Howard and Town Council Members Ashley McGinnis, Austin Reynolds and Jim Lancaster. Photo by Jackie Gorski, Times-Union.

By Jackie Gorski
Times-Union

WINONA LAKE – Winona Lake Town Council updated the public Tuesday, Sept. 16, on what the town is doing after July’s State Board of Accounts compliance report.

The audit, released July 19, found numerous issues with the town from Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2022, ranging from poor record keeping to misuse of town credit cards and town funds paying for employees’ personal items.

During the council’s Aug. 19 meeting, they approved sending certified letters to all the individuals that had a list of expenses in the audit. The individuals were given 14 days to respond to the letter.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Council President Ashley McGinnis read a statement, which read: “Over the past few weeks, we have been working carefully and deliberately to address the findings and move our town forward with accountability and transparency. As addressed last month, certified letters have been sent to the individuals identified in the report. These letters request that individuals provide supporting documents and/or information related to purchases identified as unallowable in the audit report. We have had difficulty delivering one of those letters. Therefore, we are providing additional time to ensure it is received and that person has the opportunity to reply.

“Tonight, the council has adopted the updated employee handbook. We have worked closely with New Focus HR throughout this process to ensure the handbook is professionally reviewed, compliant with current laws and tailored to meet the town’s operational needs. This is a significant step forward in strengthening our policies and procedures. Now, we focus on addressing transition details so that the handbook is fully effective as of Jan. 1. 

“Following this, we will also transition our focus to updating all town job descriptions. This work will again be supported by New Focus HR, ensuring that every role is clearly defined, aligned with best practices and consistent with the expectations of both state standards and our local operations.”

The statement also said the town council continues to move forward with the audit report in mind, working diligently to restore respect to taxpayer dollars while also ensuring employees are treated with fairness and clarity.

There were no public comments Tuesday pertaining to the statement or audit.