Auditor To Oversee Brady Lake's Possible Absorption

Residents in Brady Lake, Portage County voted this week to dissolve their village and the likely outcome is that Brady Lake will become part of the township that surrounds it.

The Ohio auditor’s office will come in and oversee negotiations among local officials over details like levies passed by the village, employees, assets and the police department. Dave Thompson, from the auditor’s Local Government Services section, says meetings with local officials will start right after the vote is certified.

"These meetings will spell out that there will continue to be police protection and fire protection," says Thompson.

Village officials will surrender authority as part of a dissolution, but a village officials will still handle the transfer of assets, most likely to Franklin Township, which completely surrounds Brady Lake.

Franklin Township administrator Ken Penix says absorption by the township would benefit village residents.

"The only caution I would have though is that if Brady Lake village residents think that overnight they’re going to have better roads and better services, it’s probably going to take a little while until the better roads is actually going to happen," says Penix.

Thompson, from the auditor’s office, predicts that the dissolution process will be resolved in a matter of months. The state will also perform an audit of the village’s assets and debts before absorption by the township can happen.