TOLEDO, Ohio — Following a series of reports by 11 Investigates on issues with Toledo’s fire escrow account, city council member Nick Komives said that council could get involved in placing tighter safeguards on the fund.
“We have that legislating ability and there might be a way to lengthen the time before money can be transferred out or require that so many points of contact are made,” Komives said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Toledo City Council voted to transfer nearly $37,000 back into the fire escrow account to give refunds to seven property owners. In November, the money was transferred into the city’s demolition fund after council was assured that the money had been “abandoned.”
But after 11 Investigates received the list in January, it found not only multiple people on the November transfer list but also several others on the fire escrow list that the city posts on its financial transparency page.
Since our investigation aired in February, more than $500,000 has been returned to residents.
One of the residents included in Tuesday’s vote is Mary Terrell, a central Toledo woman who 11 Investigates notified that she had a refund owed to her. When she initially applied for it after 11 Investigates contacted her, the city denied the refund – until we sat down with city commissioner Dennis Kennedy.
Recently, 11 Investigates discovered that the city made a $1.1 million transfer out of the escrow account in late 2021, again saying the money had been abandoned. We have requested those property records, but the city has yet to respond to our request.
Komives said the city is focused on ensuring that residents receive any money owed to them.
“I think there is no doubt that right now the administration is working very hard to eliminate this news story. They are doing everything they can to reach out to folks before you (11 Investigates) do,” he said. “I do think the lens has been put on the administration to make sure that getting this money gets back in the hands of people it’s owed to.”
For several years, Komives has pushed administration officials hard to ensure they do all they can to locate people on the list. He said it is a priority of council to ensure fixes are made.
In Mary Terrell’s case, the city said it sent her a letter about the funds, but she said she did not see it. The city also posted notice of the funds in the Blade for four weeks in June. She also did not see that and said she had never heard of the escrow account.
“I think several members of council have been asking about the process, of how we reach out to these folks. Ultimately, it’s their money. We want to make sure it gets back to them,” Komives said. “I do have a concern that the city hasn’t been using its due diligence to reach out to these people in a robust way to make sure they get this money back.”