Municipal Court of Clark County, Ohio: Criminal Domestic Relations Court
Ohio Revised Code
Section 117.11 Annual, biennial, and early audits.
Effective: April 12, 2021
Legislation: House Bill 450 - 133rd General Assembly
(A) Except as otherwise provided in this division and in sections 117.112 and 117.113 of the Revised Code, the auditor of state shall audit each public office at least once every two fiscal years. The auditor of state shall audit a public office each fiscal year if that public office is required to be audited on an annual basis pursuant to "The Single Audit Act of 1984," 98 Stat. 2327, 31 U.S.C.A.7501 et seq., as amended. In the annual or biennial audit, inquiry shall be made into the methods, accuracy, and legality of the accounts, financial reports, records, files, and reports of the office, whether the laws, rules, ordinances, and orders pertaining to the office have been observed, and whether the requirements and rules of the auditor of state have been complied with. Except as otherwise provided in this division or where auditing standards or procedures dictate otherwise, each audit shall cover at least one fiscal year. If a public office is audited only once every two fiscal years, The audit shall cover both fiscal years.
We have reviewed the Clark County Municipal Court, Clark County, for the period January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2023. Based upon this review, SDVC has found the following:
Deficiency in internal control
This occurs when the existing controls (either through their design or how they're implemented) don't allow the court's staff to prevent, detect, or fix errors in financial reporting in a timely manner. In essence, it's a flaw in the system that could lead to mistakes.
Material weakness
There is a severe deficiency and a significant risk of a substantial error (a "material misstatement") in the court's financial statements that has gone unnoticed or uncorrected. We have found misleading financial reports, which can have serious consequences for decision-making and accountability.
SDVC has found there is little if any importance in the City of Springfield’s Municipal Court internal controls. This lack of critical importance in robust internal controls within the Municipal Courts allows for fraud and deceit. Transparency of controls are essential for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of financial reporting, which is crucial for public trust and sound financial management.
SDVC found a lack of focus on prevention and detection of misappropriated funds. The City of Springfield has exhibited a lack of controls that not only prevent errors from happening in the first place but also allow for timely detection and correction if errors do occur. The City of Springfield has no proactive approach that is essential for minimizing financial risks.
SDVC finds the severity of material weaknesses profound to the point it has undermined the integrity of the court's financial reporting. The City of Springfield needs to be clear and transparent in identifying and addressing these weaknesses in public and needs to make this a priority for the court's management.
2021 to 2023 Criminal and Domestic Relations Court Disbursements, (excluding Traffic Court)
Receipts (By Year 2021 to 2023)
Sundries +/- Bond Amt $
Local Court Costs $
State Court Costs $
Fines Collected $
Fees Collected $
Total Receipts $
Disbursements (By Year 2021 to 2023)
City of Springfield $
Other Cities (New Carilse, Medway, Enon, etc..) $
State of Ohio & State Agencies $
Clark County & County Agencies $
Miscellaneous Agencies & Sheriff Fees $
Bond Refunds, Transfers & Overpayments $
Total Disbursements $
Domestic Relations Cases and Distribution
There is no public data for the following
Year Total Cases # # of Charges Total Distributions($) Paid to City of Springfield General Fund ($)
2021 x x x x
2022 x x x x
2023 x x x x
The below data reflects per capita case load based on all 88 Ohio Counties.
The data reflects Ohio counties with over 100K population and their population and domestic violence (DV) caseloads. Given that Clark County population is roughly 134,000, based on calculations of the DV caseload per capita for each year and then compare Clark County to the distribution of all counties. We will assume that the population has grown linearly from 2020 to 2024 to estimate the population for each year. Clark County's domestic violence (DV) caseload per capita is significantly higher than the average across Ohio counties for all years in the dataset. This is evident in both the raw numbers and the z-scores:
DV Caseload per Capita 2021 - 883.56
DV Caseload per Capita 2022 - 1252.38
DV Caseload per Capita 2023 - 1018.6
Based on the z-scores, which measure how many standard deviations away from the mean Clark County's values are, further emphasize this:
Z-Score 2021 - 3.11
Z-Score 2022 - 4.4
Z-Score 2023 - 3.59
A z-score above 2 is generally considered unusual. Clark County's z-scores are all substantially higher than this, indicating that its DV caseload per capita is not only higher than average but exceptionally so. This finding suggests that Clark County may have unique factors contributing to a higher rate of domestic violence incidents compared to other counties in Ohio. Further investigation would be needed to understand the underlying causes of this discrepancy.
We have reviewed the Clark County Municipal Court, Clark County, for the period January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2023. Based upon this review, we have based on the estimated DV caseloads for each year to calculate the total estimated value of DV cases for each county. We found the difference between the total estimated value for Clark County and the average total estimated value for all other counties.
The estimated value of domestic violence cases in Clark County is significantly higher than in other Ohio counties. The estimated difference in value for each year, assuming a (very conservative) $1,000 value per case:
2021 Difference in Total Estimated Value $535,560
2022 Difference in Total Estimated Value $994,920
2023 Difference in Total Estimated Value $662,160
Thorough investigation into the City of Springfields finances, businesses operations and Clark County Municipal Court financial records obtained. SDVC was able to track Disbursements and Receipts. This involves expenses and reported disbursements to reveal discrepancies. Any unexplained increase could be considered evidence of public deceit.
Simply put, based on the amount of cases which exceeds all 88 counties, and the under-reporting of Domestic Violence cases recorded by law enforcement, there is a huge discrepancy.
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