Girard facing $400K deficit in general fund after state order

GIRARD

City officials are staring down a deficit of more than $400,000 in the general fund.

Sam Zirafi, city auditor, broke the news to city council during a finance committee meeting this week.

A state auditor has informed the city that it will need to transfer $210,000 from the general fund to the municipal court fund, Zirafi said. In effect, the city is returning the money to the court.

Girard Judge Jeffrey Adler had approved the transfer of the $210,000 from the municipal court fund to the general fund in 2014 and 2015, because the court is partly subsidized from the general fund.

While completing a two-year audit of the city for 2014 and 2015, however, state auditors concluded the $210,000 belonged to restricted funds that could not be legally transferred from the municipal court to the general fund.

“That’s their interpretation,” Zirafi said, adding that the city has been making such transfers for years. “We disagree with their interpretation, but we have to comply.”

Ben Marrison, communications director for the Ohio Auditor’s Office, said the state’s audit of Girard for 2014 and 2015 is not yet available for release.

Read more about the situation in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.