Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly's money managing skills are once again being called into question by the state.
A state audit report released this morning showed that Kelly and two employees improperly spent a total $5,738 last year on polo shirts, parties and meals.
The state said $5225 in expenditures should have been out of his furtherance of justice account, which sheriffs typically can use to their discretion.
"There is no money missing, it's just a matter of moving money from one account to the other," Kelly said. "The money is all accounted for, but that was never a question."
In another claim on the audit, Kelly and two employees illegally spent $512 on parties from a fund that was only supposed to be used for law enforcement efforts related to drugs. Kelly, in response to that claim, said new accounting practices will stop that from happening in the future.
Kelly said that he expects his office will run a clean ship this year.
"This year there should be no findings against my office," he said. "It's a matter of accounting."
Kelly was accused of misspending funds before, and last year's state audit showed that he had misspent more than $14,000 in public money.
jj360410@ohiou.edu
