First, in response to the Carroll County Comet Editorial in the Aug. 25 issue. Part of the responsibility of the trustee position is to assist in ensuring funds are spent in our county for the areas that will best serve our taxpayers.

As the minutes of the township board meeting Jan. 11, 1977, state - this road was built around 1977 and Deer Creek Township did assist in payment for this road. As many county residents remember, this road was built to give access to emergency services such as fire and ambulance to allow them to bypass the trains when they came to a complete stop for hours at a time. The township board was only trying to do their job and protect the taxpayers in Deer Creek Township.

Due to all the discussion of eliminating township government, the township board wants to make sure that our township money stays in Deer Creek Township. They felt this was a worthwhile project that would benefit the township.

Secondly, in regards to the State Board of Accounts audit, let me give a clearer explanation of this and other areas.

Interest on investments and investment activity - In the beginning, I was not receiving the interest checks directly. This problem was corrected in the middle of 2009. On some occasions when the CD rolled over the numbers changed and that was not indicated. The SBOA has advised me on how to correct this.

Contracts – I did have a contract with the Historical Society but they called and asked if I could send a check to the Gray Mill for cabinets they purchased; so I did. The remainder of the allocated money was then sent to the Historical Society.

The SBOA said that once we decide to give the money to an organization, it is up to the organization to spend it wisely.

The penalties were late charges of $24.49 for the first quarter of 2007. Since I had just taken on this responsibility in Jan. 1, 2007, I did not receive the forms nor was I aware that I had to file a report at this time.

Records – What the report did not say was that my financial record and the bank are in balance. On the annual reports there was information that was in the incorrect columns but the report did balance. SBOA said the reports do not need to be corrected at this time.

Outstanding checks – Once it was explained to me that I was suppose to receipt outstanding checks back into the account after two years, this was corrected.

My understanding of an audit is that it is also used as a learning tool, so we know if we are following the correct procedures. As for not contacting the SBOA for clarification, this was an oversight on my part; lesson learned.

I felt that after the article was published in the newspaper, it was incumbent on me, as the trustee, to provide all of the facts so the taxpayers have the full story.

Neda K. Duff, Deer Creek Twp. Trustee