Press Release: March 24, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT FROM RUSSELL TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE AMY HEUTMAKER REGARDING FINANCIAL REPORTING, INFORMATION ACCESS, AND THE MARCH 30, 2026 SPECIAL MEETING ON PERMANENT APPROPRIATIONS

RUSSELL TOWNSHIP, OHIO — Russell Township Trustee Amy Heutmaker today issued the following statement regarding financial reporting transparency and the upcoming March 30, 2026 special meeting on permanent appropriations.

I want to begin by thanking Fiscal Officer Karen Walder for the financial information she has provided to the Board of Trustees to date and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Susan Wieland for her continued guidance on the statutory framework within which I am operating as a Trustee.

Through my independent review of publicly available documents posted on the Russell Township website at russelltownship.us I identified six categories of financial reporting that I believed were missing from the public record. I formally requested those six categories from the Fiscal Officer today. I am pleased to report that following that request Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Wieland provided clarification confirming where each category of information can be accessed.

Specifically I have learned that:

Investment account information is contained in the monthly bank reconciliation reports I receive as a Trustee. As a new Trustee I was not previously aware this information was included in those reports and I look forward to reviewing it upon my return from vacation on March 28th.

Intrafund appropriation adjustments and interfund transfers are accessible through the township’s UAN accounting system. I will access this information through UAN upon my return on March 28th as I have previously been offered access by the Fiscal Office.

Monthly fund balance reporting is available on the township website under the Russell Checkbook. I will review this information upon my return.

The Certificate of Estimated Resources was sent to all Board members on February 20, 2026 with a certificate date of February 18, 2026. I have now confirmed receipt of this document and have acknowledged it publicly.

Prior audit reports are available through the Ohio Auditor of State website. I will access those reports upon my return. I also want to note that I have learned that a 2024-2025 audit of Russell Township is currently being conducted which I believe is an important development that residents should be aware of.

I want to be clear about what this means going forward. As a new Trustee I was still learning where all of this information lives within our systems and I am grateful for the clarification. I will access all of it through the appropriate channels upon my return on March 28th.

However I also want to be equally clear about what this does not resolve. The existence of this information in various systems and reports does not by itself address the core transparency question I have been raising on behalf of Russell Township residents. Information that exists in a UAN system that requires special access in monthly reports that are not clearly identified to new Trustees or on an external state website is not the same as information that is proactively and consistently presented to the full Board and published for residents on the township website.

I have identified through publicly posted documents that the Russell Township website contains financial records dating back to 2015 without ever including intrafund transfer detail investment account statements or complete monthly fund balance reporting in a format accessible to residents. The 2014-2015 Ohio Auditor of State audit report, the most recent audit publicly available on the township website, documented unspent Special Revenue Fund appropriations of more than $2.7 million across 2014 and 2015 alone. A consistent pattern of budget projections exceeding actual expenditures across multiple funds and multiple budget cycles is documented in publicly available financial records going back to at least 2014.

This is not about any individual. This is about a system of financial reporting that has left residents without the complete picture of their township’s finances and left this Board without the information necessary to fulfill its fiduciary duty under R.C. 505.01.

I am committed to accessing all available information before March 30th and to working collaboratively with my fellow Trustees toward a budget our residents can trust. My goal has never been obstruction. My goal has always been transparency.

The public records are the story. What has been missing from those records and why is the story our residents deserve to understand fully.

The views expressed in this statement are those of Trustee Amy Heutmaker individually and do not represent the official position of the Russell Township Board of Trustees. Decisions of the Russell Township Board of Trustees are made only during properly noticed public meetings. This statement is based entirely on publicly available documents and official correspondence.

Amy's Blog Note: This matter is not about me, and I have consistently made that clear. I hope that perspective is reflected in the news coverage expected this week. In preparation for a recent meeting, I conducted a thorough review of available information on the township website, asked questions, and followed up as needed. I am grateful to our Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for providing helpful guidance as I continue to learn in my role as a new trustee. That framework helped me better understand the issues and move closer to the answers our residents are seeking.

I also want to express my appreciation to our Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for taking the time to respond to my questions as I continue to learn in this role. My goal throughout this process has been to better understand where and how financial information is accessed so I can carry out my responsibilities effectively. With that clarity, I believe the Board is now in a position to move forward with the 2026 permanent appropriations process on a shared understanding of the available information. I am committed to working collaboratively with my fellow trustees to support transparency and ensure that, where appropriate and permitted by law, financial information is accessible to residents through existing channels and our township website.

The views expressed here are mine only and are intended to keep residents informed about township issues. Decisions of the Russell Township Board of Trustees are made only during public meetings.