Columbus – Defaulting on a debt obligation prompted Auditor of State Dave Yost today to place the village of Smithfield (Jefferson County) in a state of fiscal emergency. 

“Failing to pay debt means it’s time to take serious action,” Auditor Yost said. “Today’s declaration gives Smithfield the extra financial oversight needed to get its finances back in line.”  

A fiscal analysis determined the village was unable to make its January 1, 2015 payment – totaling $63,825 – to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Sanitary Sewer Mortgage Revenue Bond.   

Since the village’s population is less than one thousand as of the most recent census, the Auditor of State’s office will serve as the financial supervisor and have all the powers and responsibilities of a Financial Planning and Supervision Commission.

A local government is placed in fiscal emergency if any one of the six conditions described in Section 118.03 of the Ohio Revised Code exists. The six conditions are: 1) default on a debt obligation; 2) failure to make payment of all payroll; 3) an increase in the minimum levy which results in the reduction in the minimum levy of another subdivision; 4) significant past due accounts payable; 5) substantial deficit balances in funds; and 6) a sizeable deficiency when the treasury balance is compared to the positive cash balances of funds. 

The Auditor of State’s office placed the village in fiscal caution on October 2, 2014 for failing to bring its financial records into an auditable condition. A full copy of this fiscal emergency declaration may be accessed online.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,800 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.