Ohio auditor developing new controls after rash of financial emergencies in state communities
5/5/2014DAYTON — Ohio’s state auditor says his office is developing new controls for helping protect local governments from potential fiscal emergencies in a state where eight local governments have gone into such emergencies in the past 20 months.
The Dayton Daily News reports that those recent emergencies represent less than 1 percent of Ohio’s more than 2,240 governments, but they are among 22 communities on the list.
Yost says the number of cities in an emergency is still relatively small but more could end up in financial trouble if state lawmakers further reduce local government revenues.
Kent Scarrett of the Ohio Municipal League says local governments are still feeling the effects of losing about $1 billion a year in state funding and elimination of the estate and other taxes.