In May, an inspection of Bridgeport, Ohio’s books showed that they were “unauditable.”

And now the village has apparently missed more than $90,000 in payments owed to two state agencies.

And now the bookkeeping will be out of their hands locally.

Bridgeport will be overseen by a financial planning and supervisory commission.

One Bridgeport business owner has been tentatively approached about serving on the commission.

He was already disturbed by their lack of record keeping.

“This makes me concerned as a businessman here in Bridgeport because you try to keep the best records you can,” said Gordie Longshaw. “And if you have a financial problem, you should know that. And there’s an alarm that goes off. And you’ve got to be accountable for everything you do.”

Longshaw said local officials often blame the Kasich administration and the loss of local government funds.

“But that’s been eight years ago so we know there’s a limit,” said Longshaw. “It’s how you handle the money you do have.”

Citizens appeared to be surprised by the news of their village being in fiscal emergency.

“I haven’t been here long, but if you compare Bridgeport to the other surrounding towns, it seems to be very solid,” said Jay Bond of Bridgeport.

“The record keeping–I have no idea what’s going on,” said Matthew Schmidt of Bridgeport. “But I have faith in Mayor Smith doing the right thing. I have no idea what’s going on with that, though.”

“I’ve never had a problem with the city,” said Gloria Barcalow, owner/operator of The Nugget. “The city’s been good to me. I’ve never tried to cause any problems for them. And my only hope is that they can get things worked out.”

According to the state auditor, Bridgeport’s records are “in such disarray it’s impossible to evaluate the village’s financial standing.”

It all comes at a time when citizens are upset about a lack of trash pickup.

“If you can’t pay the driver enough money, then you can’t get a driver,” noted Gordie Longshaw. “And if you don’t have the money in the budget, then you’re in a dilemma. And we seem to be in a big dilemma here in Bridgeport.”

According to an email from the Ohio Auditor’s office, the state of fiscal emergency will be the kick-start the village needs to help get their finances going in the right direction.