MINSTER — A finding by the Ohio Auditor of State office discovered credit card charges that were unsupported or prohibited by village policy in the village of Minster.

The audit revealed Dale Dues, former fire chief of the Minster-Jackson Township Fire Department, made credit card purchases for alcohol and paid for meals of guests — who were not village employees — while attending conferences in Indianapolis and Columbus. Village policy and state law prohibit the use of public funds to buy alcohol. The credit card was provided to Dues to pay for expenses related to those conferences.

Auditors issued a $980 finding for recovery against Dues, who repaid the village in November.

There was a separate finding against Fiscal Officer John Stechschulte who authorized $530 in alcohol purchases for the village’s 2016 Christmas party. He repaid the amount in November.

“The village should implement policies and procedures to verify that all purchases serve a proper public purpose and that no village funds are used for the purchase of alcohol,” auditors wrote.

House Bill 312, introduced in July by State Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, 48th Dist., and Rep. Dave Grenspan R-Westlake, 16th Dist., with the support of Ohio Auditor Dave Yost, would require local governments to establish credit card policies to protect tax dollars.