ThisWeek Community Newspapers West Side
March 20, 2011
Page A5
Grove City says $235,311 missing in IRS case Continued from page A5 The law firm Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, working on behalf of the city, is asking the IRS to abate some of the penalties and interest. “We have until the end of the month to outline our reasonable grounds for the abatement with the revenue officer, and the revenue officer has indicated that she
will render a decision within one to two weeks of receiving our request,” city law director Stephen Smith Jr. said on March 14. “Hopefully, by the end of April we’ll have a better understanding of where we are in this process.” If the revenue officer denies the city’s request, legal counsel is prepared to appeal the decision, Smith said.
“The total damage to the city adds up to over $1.4-million under this worst-case scenario, so to speak,” Turner said at the March 7 city council meeting. “If we do suffer the worst-case scenario, over $1.1-million will have been paid to the Internal Revenue Service in penalties and interest.” In addition, the city might spend $105,000 in legal fees and has hired an
Local government cuts ‘drastic,’ coalition says Continued from page A1
lyn Brown, a Franklin County commissioner. “We can do more,” she said. “We need to do more.” The recession has affected local governments for many years. Gary Lee, a Union County commissioner, said commissioners have cut the budget by 10 percent over the past two years. For example, 18 people from the Department of Job and Family Services and 10 sheriff’s deputies have been laid off. “Every department we have has shrunk,” he said. In his proposal, the governor met his pledge to balance the budget, which is facing an $8billion hole, without tax increases. State Rep. John Carney, a Democrat from Clintonville, said he shares the coalition’s concerns about local-government funding. “Services cost money,” Carney said. “The population demands services. The question is, how do we pay for them?” Matt Mayer, president of the Buckeye Institute of Public Policy Solutions, a free-market think tank based in Columbus, said it’s “gutcheck time” for all Ohio agencies that need to look at things they can live without. “I agree they shouldn’t bear the brunt of balancing the budget,” Mayer said of local governments. “But there are going to be cuts. Everyone’s going to have to make concessions. We’ve grown government to a level we can’t afford, so we have to separate the wants from the needs.”
lion this year, helps pay for a wide range of local services, including safety forces, parks and recreation, public health clinics, homeland security and natural disaster response. The state allocates money from the fund to Ohio’s counties, which reserve some of it for their own general funds and divide the rest among local municipalities. Franklin County gets $84.3-million from the fund. The coalition will next voice its concerns to the legislature, which will take up the budget negotiations. “We always have hope,” Cave said. “We have to look at the fact that the legislators represent much smaller areas. And some areas of the state will feel this a lot more than others.” In interviews last week, representatives of the coalition said sizeable cuts to the fund could have drastic consequences. Matthew DeTemple, executive director of the Ohio Township Association, said Gov. Kasich had indicated that cost-saving actions in the budget would help ease local budgetary shortfalls. “We haven’t seen those, so we can’t know what those are going to be like,” DeTemple said. “But it’s hard to believe that cost-saving measures that are part of the budget are going to offset a 50-percent cut.” Many state municipalities have already shared services and created more efficient operations A version of this story appeared on www. to help offset budgetary shortfalls, said Mari- ThisWeekNews.com earlier this week.
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outside consulting firm at a cost of up to $20,000 to investigate the causes behind the tax errors. In early December, the Internal Revenue Service told the city it owed about $685,905 in unpaid payroll withholding taxes. An initial investigation identified more unpaid quarterly tax returns totaling about $370,000, with discrepancies in the city’s
books beginning in 1999. On Dec. 10, the city placed payroll specialist Jackie Kincade, 61, on paid leave. She submitted her retirement effective Jan. 7 and has denied any wrongdoing. Earlier this month, police spokesman Capt. Steve Robinette said police had not yet confirmed if a theft took place in connection with the IRS debt.
Cason retires as longtime ThisWeek executive editor Continued from page A1 “No one checks more facts than Ben. Ben’s legacy will be that his brand of journalism will live on through our staff because Ben showed them the way as he coached, mentored and nurtured them. Ben leaves us in good hands.” Two of Cason’s first hires after he arrived at ThisWeek were Lee Cochran, now assistant managing editor and sports editor, and Sandy Wallace, news editor. “I came to ThisWeek from a small daily, and it took some time for me to get used to the different pace and schedule of weekly papers,” Wallace said. “But Ben’s vision for the papers was very clear. It was all about better reporting, better editing, better writing. For Ben, content is key, regardless of whether it’s in print or online. “It will be very strange to walk in the newsroom on March 21 and know Ben won’t be there,” she
said. “We’re losing a wealth of experience and institutional knowledge — but I think I can safely say that Ben’s influence will continue to be felt for a long time.” “Ben came to ThisWeek three months before me,” Cochran said. “Soon after I started, he explained his plan for improving the papers, and it’s a vision he has followed ever since and one that will continue. The success we’ve had at ThisWeek is a credit to Ben and his vision. He knew what it took to be a successful newspaper and led us there. “He is a leader, a mentor and, most importantly, a friend. He will be missed by our readers and our newsroom.” After graduating from the University of Florida, Cason took a job at The St. Petersburg Times, where he met his wife, Carol. Cason was news editor at The Washington Post during the Watergate scandal that eventually toppled President Richard Nixon. He said the Watergate episode was
one of the most interesting times in his career. As news editor of The Post during that era, he put together many of the paper’s historic front pages. Cason said working for newspapers that were family-owned has been important to him. “I feel fortunate to have worked for family-run operations almost my entire career — the Wolfe family in Columbus, the Graham family at The Washington Post and Nelson Poynter at The St. Petersburg Times,” Cason said. “Journalism is almost always better when it’s run by families who live in the communities than by faceless large newspaper chains.” Cason said he remains a proponent of community journalism. “I think community journalism is the future of journalism,” he said. The Casons are the parents of two sons:Alexander lives in Charlotte, N.C.; David, his wife, Julie, and their two sons live in Worthington.
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Name of Artist: ___________________________________________________________________ Age:___________________ Parent or Guardian: _______________________________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ City _______________________ State ________________________________________________ Zip Code_______________ Phone Number: ( ____ ) ______________________________________Email: _______________________________________
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Disclaimer: All pictures become the property of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. We cannot be responsible for lost or illegible entry forms, so please write neatly!
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Date_____________ Parent/Guardian Signature ____________________________________ 5239