Auditor declares fiscal emergency in Marion

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(The Center Square) – Ohio’s state auditor on Tuesday declared a “fiscal emergency” in the city of Marion after an analysis confirmed “deficits that exceeded what is allowed under state law.”

The city will now be under the oversight of a state financial planning and supervision commission "serving as financial supervisor,” according to the office of Auditor Keith Faber. The commission will help Marion develop a plan to eliminate fiscal emergencies, Faber said.

“Auditors identified a budget deficit of about $2.4 million,” Faber’s release said. “The city has been operating under a fiscal caution declaration since November 2025 and was unable to develop an acceptable plan to address the issues involved as of April 2026.”

Including Marion, there are 14 Ohio communities under fiscal emergency declarations: four cities, seven villages, and three townships, Faber said.

According to an analysis on the city’s website, the “root causes” of Marion’s fiscal problems are:

• Unreconciled books from at least 2019.

• Falling behind on completing audits for multiple years.

• Rising expenses exceeding projected revenues.

• Deficit fund balances exceeding general fund balance.

Marion is a city of about 35,000 people located about 50 miles north of Columbus.

In a letter to citizens in February, Mayor Bill Collins blamed the budget deficits on “multiple years of overspending.”

“The deficits represent longstanding structural imbalances that must now be corrected,” he wrote.

Among the fixes under consideration were adjusting utility rates “due to years of rising operating costs and the lack of scheduled evaluations,” the mayor wrote.

The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from Collins.