State audit flags Washington County for multiple "noncompliance" findings
- Jacob Dufour | Publisher
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
The Indiana State Board of Accounts has released a new audit identifying multiple instances of "noncompliance" in Washington County involving public bidding, contracts, financial reporting, and internal controls.
The supplemental compliance report, released by the state and covering Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025, outlined a series of findings tied primarily to county purchasing procedures and the county highway garage project, as well as financial reporting and internal controls.
You can download both files below:
Among the most significant findings, auditors said Washington County made multiple purchases connected to the highway garage project outside the terms of existing agreements or without following required bidding procedures.
According to the report, the county paid $181,486 to Temple & Temple Excavating and Paving for stone used on the project even though the original agreement required the county itself to furnish the stone. Auditors said the purchase fell outside the agreement and did not follow required bidding procedures.
The audit also found the county paid $113,238 to Miller Heating and Cooling for HVAC equipment and installation work that auditors said was the responsibility of Temple & Temple under the existing agreement. The report further noted the payment was made before the work had been completed.
In another finding, auditors said the county paid $312,968 to Hinderliter Construction for fuel tanks related to the highway garage project. Although this was the responsibility of the county under the Temple & Temple agreement, auditors say the county did this without following the required bidding process or awarding a formal contract.
The report additionally cited issues involving a nearly $2 million Community Crossings paving project that was a hot topic last summer, in which the Washington County Board of Commissioners approved a $1,977,853 bid by Temple & Temple Excavating and Paving on May 6, 2025, but state auditors said meeting minutes did not document why a lower bidder, C&R Construction, was not considered the “lowest responsive and responsible bidder,” as required under Indiana public works law.
The original award was later rescinded, and on June 10, 2025, the project was re-awarded to the lower bidder, C&R Construction, for $1,899,757.
The State Board of Accounts also identified multiple Annual Financial Report reporting errors.
According to the audit, the county’s Highway Department Building Loan fund receipts and disbursements were each understated by $1,793,276 in the county’s Annual Financial Report before adjustments were made.
Auditors further found multiple grant reporting errors, including overstated and understated expenditures across several state and federal programs, as well as omitted grant programs totaling $68,670 in expenditures.
The report also stated the county failed to properly maintain its capital asset records. Auditors found that two pieces of equipment, three computers, eight license plate reader cameras, and four vehicles totaling $329,090 had not been properly added to the county’s capital asset listing. The audit additionally noted that a full physical inventory of county assets had not been completed within the last two years.
In another finding, auditors said two of 13 payroll claims tested lacked evidence showing approval by the governing board.
The audit also noted that similar internal control findings had appeared in prior state audit reports.
The state documents conclude by saying a conference discussing the report was held April 21 with County Auditor Kyra Stephenson, Board of Commissioners President Phillip Marshall, Commissioners Todd Ewen and Tony Cardwell, Deputy County Auditor Michele Fleenor, recently-appointed County Council President Brad Gilbert, County Council members Andrew Davisson, Preston Shell, and Mark Abbott, and county attorney Steven Langdon.
On Saturday evening, we emailed County Commissioners Marshall, Ewen, and Cardwell, County Auditor Stephenson, and County Council President Brad Gilbert for comments or statements to include in this article.
“The things over the BOT [Build-Operate-Transfer, referring to the highway garage] project and the Community Crossings paving job were things that I had brought up in meetings and told them it was wrong, which in return they actually called me stupid and that I was fabricating things,” Commissioner Tony Cardwell said in his response. “I guess we see who is stupid now. I'd just want people to know I had nothing to do with any of this, but I actually advocated against it.”
“I have reached out to the SBAO for further guidance on what steps we, as a council, need to take in the future since we are the fiscal body,” said Council President Brad Gilbert. “The council will be involved with future projects in our official capacity and continue to ask questions and demand transparency and accountability in what we are doing. I hope people continue to come to meetings, be involved, ask questions, and demand transparency from all of us elected officials. It's important to be willing to answer questions as an elected official and be willing to be transparent and remember the taxpayers are the ones paying the bills.”
Cardwell and Gilbert have been the only officials to respond, although we will remind our readers that this article was published on a holiday weekend. The article will be updated with any additional responses we receive.
