Springfield Twp.’s fiscal officer resigns

2/26/2013

Paul Hoag has resigned as fiscal officer of Springfield Township because he said he did not have enough time for the position.

This was after he missed several deadlines by turning in documents related to a state audit in mid-February that had been due in September.

Trustees asked him about not submitting the documents and for not working enough hours for the part-time position, Mr. Hoag said in an interview after the meeting last week at which he resigned.

“We had some concerns with the ability of our financial officer with accounting and personally addressed issues with the audit,” said Leslie Kohli, Springfield Township administrator.

Mr. Hoag said he had to spend too much time on his consulting business. Miss Kohli said he also works in retail.

She said the previous fiscal officer, Lisa Chamberlain, began questioning Mr. Hoag at the meeting about “basic accounting” terms, and he struggled to answer.

Mr. Hoag, who has three years left in his term, said he would work until March 15 or until trustees name a replacement. He received $28,176 annually.

Mr. Hoag said he could do the job if he had enough time. “It is partially my fault, I did not have enough time, though,” he said in the interview. “With a [township] of this size, it is almost a full-time position.”

Items that Mr. Hoag said he submitted late included documents related to the 2011 state audit, township appropriations, and other documents for future audits.

Miss Kohli said the previous two part-time fiscal officers had no problem completing tasks. “In my opinion, time was not the problem,” she said. “I don’t think he understood the position.”

— Matt Thompson