NILES For over a year now, Vienna Township has been struggling with its finances after it was found that the township's Fiscal Officer had misappropriated over $116,000 worth of taxpayer funds.

Now, the Cafaro Foundation stepped in to help the township get back on track in the form of a $250,000 donation. This donation was announced at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

At the press conference, the Cafaro family said that they have ties to the Vienna area, having some family members who live there, so the cause is important to them and they want to see the community succeed.

Vienna Township Trustees told 21 News this won't get them completely out of fiscal emergency, but it is a big step to help them get to that point.

"This is going to help us bring three part-timers back and get our guys back on the road for our residents," Trustee Richard Dascenzi Jr. said. 

Trustees say the donation will be used to get the township's ambulance service back up and running and the township is looking for at least three part-time medics.

Once the ambulance service is back up and running, trustees say it will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. Trustees say this will be sustainable thanks to a recent levy that was passed.

Vienna's financial woes began in February of 2024 when trustees discovered the township's bank account was overdrawn and that over $1 million was transferred from the township's money market account to the checking account and that many required payments were not made, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding bills.

This resulted in several cuts made to township services, including the firing of several police officers and firefighters. 

Former Township Fiscal Officer Linda McCullough has since been convicted in connection with these financial difficulties after pleading guilty to all charges against her earlier in June, including theft in office, telecommunications fraud and tampering with records.

While this money won't erase the township's fiscal emergency status, trustees said it will save lives.

"It's detrimental," Trustee Michael Haddle said, "The longer you have to wait, especially if you're a family member, watching someone suffer in front of you, every minute counts."

The township's been relying on mutual aid for over a year, and Fire Chief Gus Birch said residents deserve faster response times.

"Definitely desperately needed," Birch said, "The residents of this township have been paying taxes, and they're paying for something of service that they're not getting."

The Cafaros said they're donating because family lives there they don't want to see the township fail.

"We are part of the community," William Cafaro, Cafaro Foundation Trustee Chairman said, " We have our roots in Vienna, and i think it's imperative to make sure that fire, safety, police are all there for the community."

Trustees said this money, combined with a recently passed levy, will make it possible to sustain the ambulance from morning to evening.

The ambulance team is expected to be up and running sometime this summer, in August, or sooner, depending on how quickly the township can hire new medics. 

Trustees said they're looking to hire three to six part-time medics, and Birch said at some point, he hopes to have 10 full-time medics on staff.