ROSELAND – A former Roseland town treasurer is under fire again.
Sue Hammons stepped down in September after the state discovered some inconsistencies in an audit of the town's expenses. That audit, which caused Hammons to resign, outlined some accounting mistakes that put her in the hot seat.
"There were some issues with expenses and those are being investigated,” said South Bend Attorney Pete Agostino.
Augistino said it is likely Hammons made some honest accounting mistakes, not that she was trying to cheat the town out money.
But another complication recently surfaced. Hammons was re-elected to office in November.
"She was already on the ballot by the time she did resign," Agostino said.
And she was running unopposed, so by default she was back in the game.
"She came and got the keys from the Town Hall, wanted to be put back on the bank account," said Elizabeth McCombs, Roseland Town Council president.
But Hammons had not completed the most crucial part of the election process.
"She was unable to post a bond prior to the beginning of the term of her office, which started at noon on January 1," Agostino said.
Indiana law says a clerk treasurer must show a proof of bond before they take office – Hammons had not done that as of Monday.
So attorney Pete Agostino filed an action on Friday to show she's not qualified to be in office. Moments after he filed it, Hammons resigned from office.
WSBT tried to get her side of the story and spoke to someone at her home in Roseland who said she was not there and was not doing interviews.
Hammons’ attorney has not returned our calls.
McCombs said the resignation was a good move on Hammons' part. She said the rules are clear, and they weren't followed this time around.
"This is not going to be like the old days,” McCombs said. “We are going to do things by the book, by the law for the betterment of the town and everyone."
McCombs appointed Robin Ackerson clerk treasurer until the next election.
The Roseland Town Council is still reviewing state audits from the investigation we told you about that started in September.
When that's complete, they'll turn their findings in to state police, who will decide if criminal charges will be filed against Hammons.
