Should region’s tiniest village (Pop. 55) continue to exist? Voters may decide

The Village of Jacksonburg is at the intersection of Jacksonburg Road and Oxford Middletown Road in Wayne Township in Butler County. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

The Village of Jacksonburg is at the intersection of Jacksonburg Road and Oxford Middletown Road in Wayne Township in Butler County. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Editor’s note: This story is an excerpt from a Dayton Daily News investigation that found dozens of area villages face the threat of being dissolved under a new state law. Go here for the full story.

The tiny village of Jacksonburg in Butler County is barely more than a rural intersection. It houses Wayne Twp. offices, a church and a handful of buildings. With a population of 55 residents, it’s the smallest village in the region and fifth-smallest in Ohio.

Unlike dozens of other, much larger area villages, Jacksonburg has so far managed to field enough candidates to comply with part of the state of Ohio’s new test for villages to avoid a dissolution vote. The village has four certified write-in candidates for four council openings this November.

But it’s not clear if Jacksonburg can prove that it provides enough services to pass the other part of an audit created under the new state law.

This new audit will check whether villages are providing at least five out of the 10 following services: police protection, firefighting services, emergency medical services, garbage collection, water service, sewer service, road maintenance, parks or recreation services, human services, or a village-operated library.

It’s not clear what services Jacksonburg provides its residents.

The Ohio Auditor of State on Aug. 26 released its routine audit of the village’s finances in 2023 and 2024. The five-page audit is a list of “significant compliance or accounting issues,” including general fund disbursement of $12,035 exceeding appropriations of $0 in 2024.

No village official could be reached for this story. The state audit noted that the village didn’t have a way for people to know when and where their council meetings are held.