CLEVELAND, OH – Ahmed Abdullah El-Kwafi Abonamah was required to have taken six hours of initial fiscal education courses from the Ohio Auditor of State before he began inflating the budget of the mayor’s office from $1.6 million to $3.7 million during Mayor Justin Bibb’s first two years in office. Bibb is more than halfway through his four-year term in office as mayor, and so is Abonamah as his fiscal officer. The mayor’s handpicked fiscal officer is required to take another 18 hours of continuing education courts before his boss’ term ends. Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber’s fiscal officer training and certification portal does not show Abonamah meeting any training requirements.
Fiscal officer training is a requirement of the Fiscal Integrity Act the Ohio General Assembly enacted that took effect on March 23, 2015. Every fiscal officer managing the state, counties, cities, school districts, libraries and other taxing entities must undergo fiscal training from the Ohio Auditor of State.
SEE full article: