Madison County beefs up background checks after incident

Until about six months ago, Madison County didn’t check the backgrounds of those it hired, relying instead on tips from neighbors and county employees who could vouch for applicants.

Then county officials learned that Aaron Taylor, a trainee in the sewer department, had used a county credit card to purchase almost $4,000 worth of equipment to pawn for drugs. He was caught after crashing a Madison County pickup in Pickaway County.

Taylor, 30, of Circleville, was sentenced Tuesday to three years community control after pleading guilty to a fifth-degree felony theft charge.

When he was hired by commissioners in January 2016, Taylor already was a felon, convicted of drug abuse and trafficking in Pickaway County four years ago.

“I’ll admit, we should have dug deeper ... we were lax in the past,” Commissioner Mark Forrest said. “We’re probably lucky that something worse hadn’t happened.”

The county hired its first-ever county administrator, Rob Slane, six months ago. He’s responsible for personnel issues, screening applicants and preventing nepotism.

Taylor was selected for the job in part because his father, Tom Taylor, is superintendent of the sewer department.

Forrest said there were just a few applicants for the job, and Aaron Taylor was certified. Both his grandfather and father had similar jobs and certification.

Tom Taylor never told commissioners about his son’s drug habit or previous conviction. And questions about nepotism never came up.

Slane said he’s since told Tom Taylor that his son would not have been hired under the county’s new policies.

Forrest, in his ninth year as commissioner, said that Tom Taylor should have disclosed more to commissioners. Taylor, who couldn’t be reached for comment, told Forrest that he had not had much contact with his son prior to the hiring.

“I’m not sure that he was necessarily aware that this stuff was taking place,” Forrest said.