News

Cleveland -

Auditor of State Mary Taylor today announced a fiscal emergency in the city of Garfield Heights.  The determination was made as a result of a fiscal analysis conducted by Auditor of State Local Government Services.  Garfield Heights Mayor Thomas J. Longo requested the fiscal analysis.

“Garfield Heights officials face some tough financial decisions in the weeks and months ahead,” Taylor said. “My office will continue to work with the city to identify potential cost savings and help to prevent future deficits.”

A fiscal emergency was declared because the analysis revealed that the city has deficit fund balances of $4,822,031 and $3,493,559 as of December 31, 2007 and July 31, 2008 respectively.

When a city is placed in fiscal emergency, a commission is appointed by the state to help the city regain financial stability.  The commission is responsible for approving a plan that details solutions for eliminating the specific areas of concern noted in the fiscal analysis.  The plan should also balance the budget and present strategies to avoid future deficits. 

The plan must be approved by the city and submitted the Auditor of State within 120 days of the commission’s first meeting.

A copy of the full fiscal analysis is available online at www.auditor.state.oh.us.

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