A recent State Board of Accounts audit of the town of Hebron’s finances assesses Clerk-Treasurer Alan Kirkpatrick more than $7,000 in accumulated fees for not paying employment and sales taxes in a timely manner, and it notes that he is responsible for subsequent penalties as well.

The report has been forwarded to the office of the Indiana attorney general.

Kirkpatrick did not return a call seeking comment, but in a response to the audit dated June 28 and included with the state’s report, he asked for the state agency’s patience.

“I am asking that you give me some additional time to address these matters. I walked into office with no knowledge of day-to-day operations, with no formal controls in place, and with little or no help from the former Clerk Treasurer or Deputy,” he said.

“I believe emails were deleted, and I was left with trying to hit the ground running, when I really did not know what I was doing or even what questions to ask. I should have asked for assistance in a timely manner and now realize my error in not doing so.”

The supplemental compliance report covers from Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2017, and was released publicly earlier this month. Kirkpatrick has served as the town’s clerk-treasurer since May 23, 2017.

Kirkpatrick “did not always file required forms or remit federal and state withholding taxes and state sales tax timely during 2017 and, subsequently, in 2018 to date,” the report states, noting that the town paid $7,170.97 in penalties and interest as a result.

Town Council member Kimberly Mouratides, R-at large, said Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, was selected for the post in a caucus after the previous clerk-treasurer stepped down because of illness. His term continues through the end of next year.

“To the best of my knowledge, he did not pay fiduciary taxes to the federal government and the state from roughly the time he took office to the time of the audit,” she said.

Mouratides, council liaison to the park department, noticed finances for that department didn’t add up, and other department heads reported the same.

Mouratides said she spotted an IRS notice about significant fees that had been in arrears and how fines for the late payments allegedly had been paid with town funds, prompting her to go to the State Board of Accounts.

“Once we find out he’s paid something he wasn’t supposed to pay with town funds, we have a duty to report it,” she said, adding that over time a former clerk-treasurer from another community and an accounting firm have been hired to straighten out the town’s finances. The report also notes that more penalties may be to come, as Kirkpatrick reportedly was not filing federal withholding taxes in a timely manner for the third quarter of last year.

“The Town had accumulated $11,415.37 in penalties and interest as computed from an Internal Revenue Service notice as of February 26, 2018,” the report states. “According to that IRS notice, the penalties and interest were due by March 19, 2018. As of May 30, 2018, the Town had not paid those charges. Town officials were in contact with the IRS regarding this notice.”

Additionally, the town was assessed an additional $1,800.42 in penalties and interest for the second quarter of last year for failure to make a proper federal tax deposit. The penalties and interest were due by June 25; the town had not paid those charges as of the date of the report, the report states.

“Kirkpatrick was informed that he would be liable for any penalties and interest paid subsequent to this report which were incurred during his term in office,” the report states.

Town officials are looking for ways to restructure the clerk-treasurer’s office so there aren’t problems in the future, but because the post is an elected one and its duties are defined by state statute, there isn’t much Hebron officials can do, Mouratides said.

“Some of the things he was doing weren’t so much of a problem and we could fix,” such as paying bills out of the wrong fund, though that wasn’t the case with fines paid with town funds, she said. “When you’re misusing taxpayer dollars, that’s a problem.”

Amy Lavalley is a freelancer.