The state auditor finds signs of fiscal stress continue for several cities his office first warned in December. The analysis indicates some of those cities, including Akron and Canton, could now be on the verge of a fiscal emergency.
Seven cities are under fiscal stress in Auditor Dave Yost’s financial health indicator report. They include Akron, Canton and one of the wealthiest communities in the state, Powell in Delaware County. Nine other cities are very close to being put in that category.
The report also found more than 100 cities are spending more than they’re taking in. While he agrees with the state’s original cuts to cities and counties, Yost believes it’s time to re-evaluate how Ohio funds local governments.
“A great deal of what the state government does is accomplished through cities and counties and villages. It’s a fair, moral position to say that the state ought to defray some of those costs,” he said.
Yost says this report shows a 33 percent increase in communities facing fiscal stress from his report late last year.
