BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (AP) — The FBI and Indiana State Police are reviewing a southern Indiana town's records after an audit found that an employee had received paychecks totaling about $60,000 more than her annual salary.
Town records show clerk-treasurer Rebeckah "Becky" Fee, 54, was paid $102,894.54 through the Oct. 8 pay period. The town's 2009 salary ordinance states the clerk-treasurer should be paid about $1,565 bi-weekly, or just under $41,000 annually, The Tribune of Seymour reported.
Brownstown Town Council President Leroy Warren confirmed that state police and the FBI are investigating.
Fee, who did not return messages seeking comment, has not been at work since mid-October. She is still listed as clerk-treasurer, but town officials have named deputy clerk-treasurer Cathy Roberts to the job on an interim basis.
State law says elected office holders are responsible for seeing that the duties of the office are carried out. It does not specify that they must appear at work or perform any duties.
Records show Fee's last paycheck, dated Oct. 8, included her $1,564.98 gross pay plus an unexplained $3,500, The Tribune reported.
The investigation into the town's financial records began after the Indiana Board of Accounts started a routine two-year audit of town records in October. The agency audits various arms of local government on a two-year rotation.
Auditors contacted state police after finding irregularities.
Town Councilman Jim Phillips said that since the audit, the council has learned that it did not receive a detailed payroll report each month. Instead, he said, Fee provided a report that included the total payroll figure each month and that the amount was what it should have been.
"We weren't being told the truth about things," he said.
Fee was appointed to the job in 2000 and was unopposed in the 2003 election. She was re-elected in November 2007.
State News
FBI, state review Brownstown financial records
- State News
-
-
Official: States get No Child Left Behind waiver
President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students, The Associated Press has learned.
-
Indiana GOP governor hopeful lacks enough signatures
Republican candidate for governor Jim Wallace is fighting to make it on the ballot after election officials said Wednesday he came up short in his effort.
-
Santorum files for Indiana ballot despite dispute
Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum filed Wednesday to get on Indiana's primary ballot even though he has not been certified by local election officials.
-
Measles cases pop up after Super Bowl
On Wednesday, the Indiana State Department of Health alerted public health officials in Massachusetts and New York that some of their residents may have come in contact with the rare but highly contagious measles virus when visiting the crowded Super Bowl Village in downtown Indianapolis.
-
Ban on Sunday motorcycle sales targeted
While advocates for Sunday carry-out alcohol sales have had a hard time making their case to legislators, opponents of another “blue law” may be on an easier road to success.
-
Fair, Stagehand union, stage company cited in fair stage collapse
Poor planning and an indifference to safety requirements led to the death of two workers during the collapse at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 13. the Indiana Department of Labor said on Wednesday.
-
Indiana Democrats help to put GOP underdog on ballot
Republican Jim Wallace is relying on the kindness of Democrats to get on the ballot in his run for governor.
-
Chemical company fine related to Ohio, Indiana plants
The Justice Department says a chemical company has agreed to pay $1.4 million in civil penalties for the unauthorized manufacturing of certain substances at plants in Ohio and Indiana.
-
Statehouse action resumes after Super Bowl break
After a timeout to accommodate out-of-town Super Bowl visitors, the Indiana General Assembly is back in session to tackle legislation that had been bottlenecked by a contentious labor bill.
-
Southern Indiana caver killed self in treacherous cave
An Iraq war veteran and carving enthusiast who was reported missing four months ago died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a treacherous cave in southern Indiana, authorities said Tuesday.
- More State News Headlines
-
Official: States get No Child Left Behind waiver
