Newspaper: Many Ohio governments under fiscal watch

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A newspaper analysis shows that 24 Ohio governments and six school districts are under state supervision to try to help them avoid financial ruin.

Some of the governments are under “fiscal emergency.” That’s a declaration created by a 1978 Ohio law enacted when Cleveland defaulted on $15.5 million in loans and teetered on the brink of financial ruin.

The Dayton Daily News reports that two villages in northern Ohio have defaulted on a combined $500,000 in debt. The largest government in fiscal emergency is the city of Mansfield with more than 39,000 residents.

Many of Ohio’s struggling communities are small villages.

Under fiscal emergency, a state-appointed commission forces the government to come up with a plan to right its finances.