Columbus – The Village of Tiro has achieved financial stability after spending almost six years in a state of fiscal emergency, Auditor of State Dave Yost announced today.  

“Steadfast leadership and backing from the community are key to a financial recovery,” Auditor Yost said. “Congratulations to the citizens and officials of Tiro on this well-deserved accomplishment.”

The Crawford County village of 280 people was placed in fiscal emergency on Aug. 30, 2012, after it defaulted on debt owed to the Ohio Water Development Authority. 

The village has since renegotiated its debt, extending the repayment period by 10 years and reducing its interest rate to zero percent. The arrangement also cuts the village’s semi-annual payments by 54 percent for a new payment amount of $3,058.

To improve its financial condition, the village entered into an agreement with the Regional Income Tax Agency to provide income tax administration beginning in July 2013. At around the same time, the village implemented a 1 percent income tax that generates about $18,000 annually.

The village also had to satisfy the following requirements to be released from fiscal emergency:

1. Adopted and implemented an effective financial accounting and reporting system;
2. Corrected or eliminated all of the fiscal emergency conditions; no new conditions have occurred, and it appears that, based on the five-year forecast, the village will remain out of fiscal emergency during the forecast period,
3. Met the major objectives of the financial recovery plan; and
4. Prepared a five-year forecast in accordance with standards issued by the Auditor of State, and the opinion expressed by the Auditor of State is “nonadverse.”

A full copy of the fiscal emergency termination is available 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 6,000 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.

Contact:
Beth Gianforcaro
Press Secretary
614-644-1111