The Office of the State Comptroller released the results Tuesday of an investigation into waste at the Mercer County Finance Department between 2018 and 2021. It found that taxpayers ended up paying millions for mistakes made; the county incurred $4.48 million in penalties because of delinquent tax filings and payments at both the federal and state levels. 

“During that time period, the Mercer County Finance Department (MCFD) consistently made insufficient and untimely payroll tax payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the New Jersey Division of Taxation (Division of Taxation). For each delinquent filing, Mercer County was assessed penalties and interest that could have been avoided,” according to the report. The OSC concluded with six recommendations, including increased oversight and creating a committee to oversee the county finance department’s operations.