DEAR EDITOR:
As a longtime Liberty Township resident I want to commend Trustee Stan Nudell for his determination in talking to the postal authorities in returning postal services to our community.
However as the former clerk in charge of the contract post office in our administration building, I cringe every time an article appears in the newspaper, mentioning money missing or merchandise being stolen. I would like it known first and foremost, that my fellow employees and I took great pride in serving our residents.
I was hired upon the opening of the contract station in 1979 and ran this post office for 28 years, exactly the way we were taught, and perhaps most importantly, according to the postal guidelines established by the U.S. Post Office.
In a letter dated July 21, 2009, from the Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray's office, the Forensic Accountant Leo Fernandez specifically states, "there were problems with the post office's IRT machine which acts as a central processing unit for the post office and it provides accountability for the sales and collection of monies from stamps and supplies inventories."
Repeatedly I had made requests and suggestions to the investigators that they look into the entire reporting process - to ascertain if incorrect figures had been transposed between the Liberty location - to downtown Youngstown and then to the Cleveland postal authorities.
Mr. Fernandez later states that because the IRT tapes did not itemize the sales of specific stamps sold, he was unable to reconstruct a perpetual inventory to identify any shortage. And while his report goes on to say that the township did not have a policy and procedure manual in place, the township should have required personnel to perform monthly physical inventories in order to reconcile and variances.
May I repeat again, that our post office was run exactly and specifically according to the postal guidelines established by the U.S. Post Office.
Recent reports in the media cited township officials stating our post office cost Liberty residents approximately $200,000 over a six- year period. That is about $34,000 a year. When our contract station originated, it was never intended to be a money maker, but rather, a service to our residents.
The bottom line is the Liberty Township Contract post office closed under an ugly cloud of suspicion. It is important to me that my name be cleared and my reputation be maintained.
Virginia Elliott
Liberty