MADISON TOWNSHIP, Ind. -- A new state audit shows financial disarray and "excessive" expenditures in one Morgan County community.

The audit by the State Board of Accounts details issues within Madison Township, a rural area of roughly 10,000 people near the Morgan-Marion county line, 6News' Kara Kenney reported.

Auditors said township officials overspent the budget by nearly $500,000, didn't balance the township's checkbook and had outstanding checks dating back two years.

The audit also outlines instances of employees being overpaid and underpaid, officials not paying bills on time, hiring for services without requiring written contracts and paying a private accounting firm more than $33,000, sometimes up to $150 an hour.

The SBOA also pointed out that many of the issues appeared in the previous audit, filed in April of 2009.

Township Trustee James Bolin, who took office in January of 2007, said the audit isn't entirely accurate, and blamed the previous administration for many of the issues.

"I didn't get the accountant. My accountants and attorneys I have were here prior to my arrival. The previous administration got it," he said. "We do pay them for the services … This is my first term. I've never done this before."

Bolin said the accounting firm, Reedy Financial, has done a "wonderful job," but former board member Virginia Perry is critical.

"The accountant, of course, should be more frugal in watching taxpayer dollars. That's what we hire him for," said Perry, who said she tried to address many of the issues with little success. "I'm still concerned the people and where their money is going. It's very much a concern to me."

Dave Reddick, a candidate for Madison Township trustee, said he wants the community to read the audit and demand accountability from their public officials.

"Well, I was shocked," he said. "Of the 11 things that the State Board of Accounts noted, eight of them were things that were in the previous report. So, obviously, he (Bolin) hadn't done anything, in my opinion, to correct these problems, and some of those are pretty major."

6News left messages for the accountant and township board members, but did not receive a response Tuesday night.