(8/27) It has been three years since Liberty Township began the investigation of past Secretary LeeEsta Shaffer, but the township has finally received word that they will be granted partial payment from the scandal.

In the fall of 2017 a forensic investigative report showed that the financial irregularities garnered from past Township Secretary Shaffer totaled close to $90,000, a number that at the time was more than triple the amount of the originally estimated $24,000. Karen Frey, PhD at Gettysburg College who conducted the investigation at the time found several examples showing misuse of the Township’s money during Shafer’s time employed by the Township. Money was misspent, misused and stolen over the course of a decade. Residents noted that this investigation was not comprehensive enough and wouldn’t serve as a solution to the problem.

In April 2018, the Township was advised to bring Zachary Mills on board as a special counselor to represent Liberty Township specifically in regards to the Shaffer investigation. The next month the Board voted to authorize Mills to finally move forward with the claim to the bond/insurance company and to prepare a complaint against Shaffer for losses she cost the township. Additionally, the motion allowed Mills to negotiate with the bonding company as appropriate. Liberty filed a claim to the Cincinnati Bond Company in the amount of $96,719.11, and filed a claim to the Travelers Bond Company for $181,272.07. Mills had discovered a grand total of $277,991.18 worth of missing funds, almost ten times the original estimate of $24,000.

During their August 7 meeting, Liberty Township Supervisors convened to an executive session and reemerged with news for residents. Partial payment was received from the Travelers Bond Company and Cincinnati Bond Company. A check for partial payment in the amount of $61,937.59 was received from the Travelers Bond Company, and a $5,503.64 check was received from the Cincinnati Bond Company. According to Township Solicitor John Lisko, Cincinnati Bond Company agreed to pay for undocumented mileage, improper credit card charges and credit card interest late fees. Although the Township only received a third of the Cincinnati Bond Company Claim and a minute fraction of the claim from the Travelers Bond Company, the Township reserves the right to continue to pursue the claim for additional amounts.

Earlier during the meeting, Supervisor Bob Jackson asked Solicitor John Lisko to consider opening up some of the records and files regarding the Shaffer matter to the public. "Every week I get calls from residents asking what we’re doing about this issue, are there any updates. As it stands right now members of the public don’t know what is going on. I think it may be time to open some of these files to the public," stated Jackson. In response Lisko simply noted that there would be an executive session at the end of the meeting, at which time action may be taken. No decision regarding opening up detailed information pertaining to any executive sessions was released during the meeting.