Ohio's auditor is placing Warren County's Hamilton Township under fiscal emergency.
The decision follows several years of alleged financial mismanagement by the township's former fiscal auditor. Auditor Dave Yost says township officials have 120 days to develop a financial plan.
Calling the township's books "a mess," Yost said the former fiscal officer, Jackie Terwilleger, was in over her head. She retired last month and is being investigated by the Warren County prosecutor.
Yost says, while serious, the township's issues aren't the worst he's seen. "I think they're well poised to recover quickly," say Yost.
Township officials say they are already formulating a financial plan.
Trustee Kurt Weber says police and fire services shouldn't be affected during the process, but department budgets township-wide will shrink. He says some park services and road resurfacing projects are already being scrapped to save money.
Hamilton Township is now one of 22 municipalities statewide in fiscal emergency.
