The village of DeGraff is on a fast track toward fiscal emergency, and that kind of intervention from state of Ohio auditors is the best thing for the fledgling municipality, local officials said Tuesday in a regular council meeting.
The village currently has more than $40,000 in unpaid, overdue bills owed to vendors dating back to November and December, fiscal officer Stephanie Knight confirmed during the meeting. If all those payments were made at one time, the village would go in the red, she said.
The state auditor’s office has been contacted, Mayor Jennifer Bowman said. Auditors there have advised how to trigger a declaration of fiscal watch or emergency, and offered preliminary advice on how to proceed.
“They can guide us through the process and offer advice on cost-savings options, but it will not be pretty,” Knight said.
For example, to save money, state auditors have advised the village it might consider disbanding its police department or doing away with its mayors court, the fiscal officer reported.
“They consider mayor’s court antiquated,” she said.
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