GALION – In a press conference today, Galion City Treasurer Paula Durbin accused the Galion mayor of bullying and orchestrating events to push her out of office. She also noted that it is impossible to do her job properly because she does not receive information in a timely manner from the Galion city auditor.
Present at the Galion press conference were Durbin, Roberta Wade, Don and Rosie Faulds and members of the media.
“I have been subjected to ongoing bullying and harassment,” said Durbin. “If you go to city council meetings, the lack of discussion regarding city business is noticeable. I have seen council members just ask a simple question with the mayor becoming enraged about responding.”
Durbin stated that the bullying began July 2013. She feels the mayor is orchestrating events that will push her out of office
“The mayor is a dictator. He likes to control everything,” she said.
At a request for a phone interview, Mayor Tom O’Leary declined comment.
Durbin said there are several issues that need to be fixed before the city can get out of fiscal emergency. The auditor must give her accurate information, she said. She also said that there are no policies in place, and that there needs to be an audit committee in place. Finally, she said there needs to be an asset inventory.
She feels she is being made the scapegoat for the city’s financial issues and calls that “political game playing.”
Durbin said that the October reconciliation was the first she had to do on her own. She stated that “the city auditor provided incorrect figures for Medicount, an incorrect figure for transfer of cost allocation and incorrect figures for county auditor/treasurer fees. Additionally, the city auditor failed to provide an additional $1.6 million in transactions relating to an ODOT grant, CDBG grant, and Cheshire debt, making reconciliation virtually impossible.”
She is still waiting for numbers from the city auditor’s office so that she can complete the reconciliation for November.
“I’d like to see the city get out of fiscal emergency, but I’m not the reason the city is not getting out of fiscal emergency. I’m not going to take the blame for this. There’s other factors involved.”
City Auditor Brian Treisch also declined comment at a request for an interview.
“I have been subjected to ongoing bullying and harassment,” said Paula Durbin. “If you go to city council meetings, the lack of discussion regarding city business is noticeable.”
