For years, Marion Watch Investigates has delivered one core truth about our city’s financial records:

The books are not dependable. We stated clearly and repeatedly that the city’s digital ledger was functionally unauditable because the essential digital safety features—like proper reconciliation methods and software safety controls—were either disabled and intentionally misconfigured.

Another important note, Marion Watch has been repeatedly advised by the current administration that no communications regarding findings shoule be disclosed before the Ohio Auditor of State releases them. This begs the question, where is the leak as the below document was released ahead of the AOS press release?

If the document was not yet a public record (e.g., a pre-final draft or an internal communication) and the official was explicitly advised not to disclose it (an embargo), the official’s action shifts from a simple policy breach to a willful and intentional violation of professional duty.

Policy and Ethical Consequences

Misuse of Office: This action could be deemed a misuse of public office or public resources for private/political gain, leading to findings of ethics violations by the Ohio Ethics Commission.

Willful Policy Violation: The official intentionally violated a direct instruction from a superior state authority (the AOS). This exposes the official to maximum internal administrative discipline and formal reprimand.

Breach of Public Trust: Releasing a draft or non-final document, especially if it contains inaccuracies or incomplete information, constitutes a severe breach of public trust. It suggests the information was released for personal or political timing rather than public welfare.

Finance Chair Twila Laing had harsh words regarding the premature release of the AOS documents.

“In reading the release by the state auditor’s office it clearly states that it is not to be released until November the 25th. In contacting Mark Russell to verify this information it is clear that whoever released this information is in violation of state law. In doing so the public was made aware of the situation before Council had even been informed. Someone will be held accountable for early release of information and there will be ramifications.”

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The Case for Intentional Sabotage

The silence surrounding these massive structural flaws was deliberate. The complete breakdown of controls, including the faulty reconciliation method and disabled safety switches, was not disclosed to the incoming Landon administration in 2020, nor was it disclosed to the subsequent Collins administration in 2024. It was admitted in 2023 and our predictions again reinforced in the 2021 audit when other safety conrols, the GL override was found.

This intentional concealment, paired with severe security breaches—such as granting unauthorized “super user” permissions with no business need, and mandating password sharing—builds a powerful case that the “sabotage” was not mere incompetence, but a systemic effort to shield the broken financial system from discovery and accountability.

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The Technical Truth

The truth they called a theory was a technical certainty. For four years, Marion Watch Investigates had long warned officials that legally mandated software controls were left off, stating that these were predictable outcomes to any competent IT professional.

The Digital Safety Switch (The GL Override): This critical flaw was the ultimate proof that the system was structurally flawed. Backed up by official audit findings and financial reports, the numbers point to a highly likely scenario that the GL override was always misconfigured from the moment of installation. This “predictable IT trajectory”—where unchecked, high-risk permissions inevitably lead to exploitation and abuse—was evident as appropriation violations immediately recurred and deficits soared. We revealed the existence of this specific software permission that allowed employees to post expenditures even when funds were empty, effectively forcing the accounts into the negative. This mechanism—which violates state law—was the ultimate proof that the system was structurally flawed. The GL override was recently hinted at in our emails to officials, including the Auditor of State (AOS), and other agencies,  as we suggested ongoing legally mandated software controls were still off.

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A System Rotten to the Core: What Veritas Found

Marion Watch Investigates, which has been looking into this situation since late 2017, had long speculated that key software controls were misconfigured. The 2023 investigation by consulting firm Veritas proved those suspicions were correct.

• Key Module Not Implemented: Veritas confirmed what the Auditor admitted in 2022: the bank reconciliation module was “underutilized” or “has not being fully used”. A November 2023 press release from the Auditor finally confessed it was “not implemented correctly” from the start. Vertas also stated that there is evidence of reconciliation and other issues prior to 2020.
• Misconfigured Settings: Consultant Greg Blate stated “some of the system settings in New World… are not accurate“.
• Data Corruption: Blate demonstrated the severity of this. By changing a single setting—with no financial data change—he created a $137,000 difference in a report total. He also found reports that should have been identical had “differences of upwards of $600,000”.
• Incorrect Automation: The system was found to “automate certain transactions, and it books them into cash for non-cash transactions“.
  

Example of Reconciliation Issues Cited in Ohio Auditor of State Reports
for Control and Reconciliation Failures (Pre-2020)

• 2008 (Systemic Inadequacy): Chronic problems with the newly implemented New World financial software were already “hindering essential operations like bank reconciliation” from the system’s inception.
• 2009 (Multiple Deficiencies Cited): The AOS issued 12 distinct findings, noting specific failures requiring immediate improvements in “bank reconciliations,” financial monitoring, and annual financial statements.
• 2010 (Specific Non-Performance): The AOS explicitly stated that “bank reconciliations [were] not… performed in a timely manner,” contributing to the year’s record 22 distinct audit findings.
• 2011 (Persistent Deficiencies): Auditors identified “significant, unresolved flaws” in performing timely and accurate bank reconciliations. This recurring failure was formally classified as a Material Weakness.
• 2011–2014 (Undetected Theft): The failure to reconcile accounts allowed a utility supervisor’s theft of over $34,000 to go undetected for over 3.5 years. The AOS directly attributed this to “broken internal controls.”
• Ongoing (2008–2024 – Disabled Module Admission): The critical reconciliation module was reported as functionally missing or deactivated for the entire period of the software’s use, rendering the General Ledger structurally unauditable.

The consistent failure to reconcile accounts—a basic financial safety check—created the risk environment for the eventual multi-million dollar errors.

Vindication and Conclusion

The ultimate proof came not from another website, but from the Official Action of the Auditor of State and the discovery of severe administrative consequences. The State Auditor’s office itself was eventually forced to intervene, again confirming our exact predictions about the system’s flaws and misconfiguration when the GL Override was finally disabled in late 2025. Furthermore, the official warnings issued by the Auditor of State (as shown in recent documents) reinforce the absolute urgency of the fiscal danger MWI exposed years ago.

The simple fact is this: when the Auditor of State has to step in and disable a software function because it is enabling illegal spending, that is definitive proof that the original claim—that the system was fundamentally broken—was the truth, regardless of the attacks we faced.

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Marion Watch Investigates: Confirmed Findings (The Undeniable Evidence)

The comprehensive review of city audits and internal documentation confirms the core arguments made by Marion Watch Investigates about the origins of the financial crisis:

Software & Control Sabotage

• The GL Override Flaw: For over 16 years (2009–2025), it is highly likely the New World financial software contained a misconfigured General Ledger (GL) Override permission that allowed transactions to post even when appropriations were exhausted, enabling the massive, illegal deficit spending (Violation of ORC § 5705.39).

• Disabled Reconciliation: The critical reconciliation module, necessary to catch discrepancies and ensure books are auditable, was functionally missing or deactivated for the entire period of the software’s use (2008–2024).
• Other Leagally Mandated Safety Controls Misconfigured: In eary and mid 2025 multiple Collins admnistration confirmed our suspicion that other safety controls, mandated by law, were misconfigured or missing.
• Council minutes from 3/20/2023 confirm: “We have a bank reconciliation module that has never been used prior to 2022.” This along with the misconfiguration of other legally mandated security controls led directly to the $1.28 million tax misremittance (2020) and associated penalties.
• Systemic Failure: State auditors explicitly cited “chronic, persistent, and well-documented problems” with the New World software, listing 22 distinct findings in the 2010 audit alone.

Examples of Administrative & Security Failures

• Destruction of Audit Trails: The alleged practice of Mandatory Password Sharing was adopted, making it “impossible to track who does what” and destroying the chain of accountability necessary for any audit.
• Inappropriate Permissions: Multiple “unauthorized personnel” across different departments allegedly held “unlimited administrative access” with no business need, violating globally accepted IT security policies and increasing risk of manipulation.
• Physical Security Breach: The City Server Room was used as an office, allowing non-IT personnel physical access to core systems, which is a severe breach of IT security and violates internal control principles.
• Uncorrected Deficits: The long-term failure to enforce controls allowed the structural financial deficit to grow from $2.3 million (1999) to over $9.9 million (2021), despite repeated warnings, culminating in the 8-to-1 Vote of No Confidence against the Auditor’s office in 2024.
  
  

Works Cited

Works Cited:
Council Minutes5/22/23
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z1kylLJBEcTeyRD-mgAXO4HGFB5wF48g/view

Council Minutes 3/20/23
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QR-9puD6ITC1q4y5ZlibS6ijYB0KX3MYA6YNEVO6DXU/edit?tab=t.0