UPDATE | Debra Drawl removed as Mecca Twp. fiscal officer

WARREN — Judge Andrew Logan has ruled that Deborah Drawl is removed as Mecca Township fiscal officer.

His ruling says Drawl is to return all township books, records and other documents to the township office within five days.

The Ohio Attorney General filed a removal action in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court and it resulted in a hearing during which assistant attorneys general detailed the poor condition of the township’s financial records.

Ohio Auditor Dave Yost issued a statement after the decision was rendered, saying it is rare for the auditor's office to take action to remove an elected fiscal officer, but "this fiscal officer was incapable of resolving the many issues that made Mecca Township’s books unauditable."

"The citizens of Mecca Township deserved competent leadership," the statement said. "We are pleased that the court agreed with our position and that of the Attorney General’s office, but we take no joy in this.”