County employee dismissed, accused of mishandling thousands
Kovack: ‘We do not believe Medina County has lost any funds’
MEDINA – A longtime employee of the Medina County Auditor’s Office was terminated Sept. 1 after an internal investigation was launched in August.
Former Deputy Auditor Kim Estes – who supervised property taxes and had worked for Medina County since 1977 – is alleged by Auditor Mike Kovack to have never processed a number of property tax-related transactions and to be in possession of several un-cashed checks.
In a press release, Kovack said his staff discovered transactions under Estes’ responsibility dating back more than three years had never been processed at the office.
She was placed on administrative leave shortly after in late August.
In a notice of allegations of misconduct from Kovack to Estes – included in a public records request sought by The Post – on or about Aug. 14 it was discovered paperwork for nine transfer transactions, including un-cashed checks and cash, were found on her desk, dated between April 2015 and May 2016 and totaling $5,042.89, that had been accepted from customers but were never processed to completion.
Upon further review of tax abatements under Estes’ authority, the notice goes on, it was allegedly discovered a tax abatement processed for Sandridge Foods, of Medina, for 2014 was processed on the wrong building, resulting in an under charge to the business for approximately $15,000 per year.
A member of Kovack’s staff allegedly uncovered the irregularity while looking for a transaction in Estes’ work space. Further investigation revealed 33 additional transactions that were never fully processed. Those unprocessed transactions totaled nearly $11,000, Kovack said.
“We do not believe Medina County has lost any funds,” Kovack said, adding the irregularities have since been corrected.
Kovack said he does not believe “theft” was involved, but he alerted the Medina County Prosecutor’s Office, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office and the State Auditor’s Office “out of an abundance of caution.”
No criminal charges had been filed against Estes as of press time.
“The public expects and deserves the highest level of public service from all of us in the auditor’s office, so this is tremendously disappointing to me,” Kovack said. “We have already reached out to all the parties involved in these transactions to inform them of this issue, and to assure them that their transactions are now being fully processed.”
Kovack said his office will provide updates, if any, as authorities’ investigation develops.
Former Deputy Auditor Kim Estes – who supervised property taxes and had worked for Medina County since 1977 – is alleged by Auditor Mike Kovack to have never processed a number of property tax-related transactions and to be in possession of several un-cashed checks.
In a press release, Kovack said his staff discovered transactions under Estes’ responsibility dating back more than three years had never been processed at the office.
She was placed on administrative leave shortly after in late August.
In a notice of allegations of misconduct from Kovack to Estes – included in a public records request sought by The Post – on or about Aug. 14 it was discovered paperwork for nine transfer transactions, including un-cashed checks and cash, were found on her desk, dated between April 2015 and May 2016 and totaling $5,042.89, that had been accepted from customers but were never processed to completion.
Upon further review of tax abatements under Estes’ authority, the notice goes on, it was allegedly discovered a tax abatement processed for Sandridge Foods, of Medina, for 2014 was processed on the wrong building, resulting in an under charge to the business for approximately $15,000 per year.
A member of Kovack’s staff allegedly uncovered the irregularity while looking for a transaction in Estes’ work space. Further investigation revealed 33 additional transactions that were never fully processed. Those unprocessed transactions totaled nearly $11,000, Kovack said.
“We do not believe Medina County has lost any funds,” Kovack said, adding the irregularities have since been corrected.
Kovack said he does not believe “theft” was involved, but he alerted the Medina County Prosecutor’s Office, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office and the State Auditor’s Office “out of an abundance of caution.”
No criminal charges had been filed against Estes as of press time.
“The public expects and deserves the highest level of public service from all of us in the auditor’s office, so this is tremendously disappointing to me,” Kovack said. “We have already reached out to all the parties involved in these transactions to inform them of this issue, and to assure them that their transactions are now being fully processed.”
Kovack said his office will provide updates, if any, as authorities’ investigation develops.
