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Fixing the Finances: Audits and Accountability
In a series of intensive committee meetings held on February 2, 2026, Marion City Council members and local officials addressed a range of pressing issues, from the city’s ongoing financial struggles and IT failures to concerns over public water quality and high-tech police surveillance.
The Finance Committee spent significant time discussing the city’s efforts to exit “fiscal caution.” Mayor Bill Collins proposed hiring a specialized consultant to tackle a massive backlog of bank reconciliations dating back to 2022. Better, a CPA with extensive experience in the city’s “New World” accounting software, is expected to help the city meet state-mandated financial standards.
The city has also brought in a third-party expert to fix critical errors in its ADP payroll system. While the team successfully got W-2s mailed out, they discovered the system was “doomed to fail” from the start due to incorrect initial setup. Corrected W-2s are now being issued to employees to fix healthcare reporting errors. In a rare bit of positive news, the Mayor noted that by auditing software contracts, they identified roughly $50,000 to $150,000 in potential annual savings by cutting modules the city pays for but does not use.
MARION WATCH NOTE: The discovery of up to $150,000 in annual waste for unused software modules is a staggering admission of the “Silent Sabotage” we have tracked for years. Under Ohio Revised Code § 117.103 and § 4113.52, the “misuse of public money” is defined as the use of public funds in a manner not authorized by law. Paying for non-existent services is, by definition, a failure to ensure public money is expended for a “legal, proper public purpose”—a standard public officials are strictly liable for under Ohio law.
This was yet another issue predicted by Marion Watch for quite some time, now verified.
The IT Crisis and New World’s Legacy
A major highlight of the session was the IT Oversight Committee, now led by Chairman Ralph Smith, a us military veteran who specialized in IT and later owned a computer focused business. In his new role, Smith presided over a candid discussion regarding the Information Systems department, which currently operates as a one-man shop under Director Jacob Boldin.
Ralph Smith speaking towards implementing stricter IT policies, “We’ve got a department of one. And that department of one is responsible for every piece of technology, every server, every network connection in this city. If that one person is out, we’re dead in the water. We have to look at how we’re structured because the current path is unsustainable.”
Central to these struggles is the New World software by Tyler Technologies, which has been a source of systemic failure since its installation nearly 15 years ago. While the council focused on the 2022 backlog, our investigations at Marion Watch have documented that these issues have been present since the system’s installation. This failure to maintain accurate books is a direct violation of ORC § 733.11, which legally requires the city auditor to keep accurate statements of all moneys received and expended.
During the meeting, it was mentioned that Tyler Technologies has suddenly become “forthcoming,” wanting to help diagnose the issues. However, this “sudden” cooperation after 15 years of non-disclosure regarding module failures is a major ethical breach. Tyler Technologies has a documented history of litigation over system defects and budget overruns. Withholding knowledge of $150,000 in “ghost” modules until caught in an audit constitutes a massive conflict of interest and a violation of the transparency required for taxpayer-funded contracts.
New World was ordered replaced by the Auditor of State due to the (now known) issues dating back to it’s installation.
Questioning Competency and IT Standards
Our team at Marion Watch, alongside independent IT experts, has repeatedly questioned the competency of Director Jacob Boldin. Shortcomings in basic IT protocols—most notably the failure to perform rigorous testing and validation logs prior to the “catastrophic” ADP transition, lack of oversight of the New World system—reveal a significant lack of understanding of industry standards. Under Ohio Revised Code § 9.64, local governments are now legally required to adopt cybersecurity programs consistent with frameworks like NIST or CIS. Boldin’s inability to provide clear documentation or a cohesive strategy for these transitions until it was mandated by law, suggests the city is not only operating inefficiently but has been doing so for many years.
There was also significant discussion between the committee and Boldin regarding how IT will report to council without jeopardizing security by divulging too much sensitive data.
Bridging the Oversight Gap
Addressing these security concerns can be done briefly and effectively through the use of Executive Sessions and high-level functional reporting. By law, the Council can move into private session to discuss specific vulnerabilities that could jeopardize public infrastructure. Meanwhile, public reporting can remain transparent by focusing on project milestones, budget adherence, and system health “grades” rather than specific server configurations or access protocols. This ensures the public remains informed on the performance of the department without handing over the “keys to the kingdom.”
Water Quality: “Safe” Does Not Mean “Healthy”
Residents and council members expressed frustration over recurring issues with the city’s water supply provided by Aqua Ohio. For the second time since December, residents have reported water that smells and tastes “organic” or like a swimming pool. Mayor Collins reported that the EPA considers the water safe, attributing the smell to a natural “overturning” of the river.
Councilman Ralph Smith on the Aqua water situation.
However, Marion Watch has gathered over 1,000 comments and complaints from residents across the city and other areas nearby serviced by the company. These reports include claims of Aqua’s water making people and pets sick, damaging household appliances, causing skin irritation, and possessing an intolerable smell and taste. This community data stands in stark contrast to the “all clear” issued by Aqua Ohio. We have also obtained independent tests showing issues.
Councilwoman Pam Larkin on the Aqua Water Situation.
Furthermore, it is critical to note that meeting EPA standards does not inherently mean the water is “healthy.” The EPA regulates only about 90 contaminants, while hundreds of other substances often go unregulated or are subject only to non-enforceable “Secondary Standards.” Chronic exposure to “legal” levels of chlorine and disinfection byproducts has been linked by health organizations to digestive issues, skin conditions, and even organ damage in pets.
Relying on 40-year-old regulatory baselines ignores the actual physical toll being reported by our neighbors.
Public Safety and the “Private Company” Loophole
The meeting concluded with a debate over Flock Safety cameras—high-tech license plate readers used by the Police Department. Resident Kimberly Hecker raised alarms about privacy risks, warning that the system creates a centralized database that tracks movement without warrants. With grant funding for the 34 local cameras expiring soon, the council faces a looming decision on whether to use city funds to maintain a program that many residents view as an overreach of surveillance.
A critical issue raised by our reporting at Marion Watch is that private companies like Aqua Ohio and Flock Safety are not bound by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the Ohio Public Records Act (ORC § 149.43) in the same way public offices are. While a city-owned water plant or police-owned server is subject to transparency laws, private entities can often shield their data, internal communications, and proprietary algorithms from public scrutiny by claiming “trade secrets.”
This creates a dangerous “transparency gap” where essential public services and surveillance data are managed by corporations that operate apart from the laws designed to hold government accountable. When a private company controls the data, “the people’s records” effectively become corporate property, leaving taxpayers in the dark.