County Finance Manager Reports Sufficient Funds
for All Departmental Requests in 2026 Tax Budget
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - June 10, 2025
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 9:30 am for a meeting at the County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. Meetings can also be live streamed through the Geauga ADP Youtube channel. Recordings are available for the public. The June 10, 2025 meeting recording can be found here. As of the date of publication this video has been viewed 158 times. Notations in the report refer to the minute notation on the video for a particular section. An agenda is available in advance via request to the Commissioners’ Clerk and at the meeting. Items discussed at the meeting but not on the agenda, if any, are addressed at the end of this report.
Public Comment Policy: Permitted as outlined in the BOCC’s Public Comment Policy that was adopted on January 28, 2025 and revised on April 15, 2025. Observer Note: The above link to the Policy does not have the revision, which was simply to change the time allowed for public comment from two minutes to three minutes.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners Carolyn Brakey, James Dvorak and Ralph Spidalieri. Also present were Commissioners’ Clerk Christine Blair, County Administrator Amy Bevan, Assistant County Administrator Linda Burhenne and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton.
County Representatives: Shane Hajjar, Deputy Engineer, Engineer’s Office; Glen Vernick, Maintenance Department Director; Matt Granito, Dog Warden; Deborah Ashburn, Senior Financial Specialist; Craig Swenson, Executive Director, Job and Family Services (JFS); and Chuck Tkach, Program Manager, Maintenance
Others in Attendance: Sheriff Hildebrand and Chief Deputy Sheriff Rowan; Frank Antenucci, Chief Deputy Administrator, ADP; Walter (Skip) Claypool, member of the County Planning Commission; County residents Tom and Diane Jones, other members of the public and press, and this Observer.
3:25 Min The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and a prayer was offered by Commissioner Dvorak.
Minutes: No Minutes were submitted for approval. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for BOCC are available online through June 10, 2025 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through April 1, 2025.
Administrator’s Report - Ms. Bevan reported that she accepted the resignation of a full time transportation driver and authorized the advertisement of the position of full-time driver.
4:55 Min Financial Report - Mr. Gorton received approval for the following:
-
Cash transfer from the General Fund to the Department on Aging for a check from CORSA (County Risk Sharing Authority) for the ADA (Americans With Disabilities) van that was deposited into the general fund
-
Transfers to the Sheriff's 911 and 800 Communications Funds from the General Fund for the first half of 2025 budgeted commitments
-
Incumbrances - travel incumbrances from the Commissioners’ office and from Job and Family Services (JFS) to accompany a child in custody to a residential facility
-
Formal contract from Maintenance to Geauga Mechanical Company Incorporated for the Annex (Chardon) for HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning)
Vouchers:
-
$235,686 from the ADP Board to Tyler Technologies Incorporated for the 2025 licensing and support payments on the County's financial system plus cloud integration. Mr. Gorton reported that last year's total was $272,622.85.
Mrs. Brakey asked about a voucher to the Geauga Airport. Observer Note: Not all vouchers are highlighted by Mr. Gorton at the meeting, as the number of vouchers is substantial.
Mrs. Brakey had noted that there was an Agreement signed by Mr. Blamer (Airport Manager) on the line that stated “Authorized Agent of the Commissioners.” Mrs. Brakey said that Mr. Blamer should be informed that he should not sign as an Authorized Agent of the Commissioners. Ms. Bevan said she would speak with Mr. Blamer.
Mr. Gorton said this was a payment of $104.84 to Great Lakes Construction for power used before there was a signed contract.
The Commissioners’ Office received approval to advertise to hold a Public Hearing to discuss the Geauga County 2026 Tax Budget, to be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 10:00 am. Notice of this Public Hearing will be advertised on June 19, 2025, and on the County website.
Mrs. Brakey asked for a recap of how the budget process worked. Mr. Gorton said that they are required to have a public hearing no later than July 15 before the budget has to be delivered to the County Auditor on July 20.
10:20 Min. The County Engineer’s Office received approval for the following:
-
To execute Resolution #25-131 Authorizing Participation in the ODOT Cooperative Purchasing Program, pursuant to O.R.C. 5513.01(B), which authorizes the President of the Board, James W. Dvorak to participate in ODOT contracts for the purchase of machinery, materials, supplies and for the purchase of a Portable Salt Conveyor.
-
To acknowledge the recommendation and post load limits on Woodin Road for Structure #GEA-C0025-0080, in Chardon Township for a weight limit of a single unit as follows: 2 AXLE – 15T, 3 AXLE – 23T, 4AXLE – 27T, 5 AXLE – 31T, 6+ AXLE – 34T and Tractor Trailer – 40T, pursuant to O.R.C. 5577.071.
-
To acknowledge the recommendation and post load limits on Wisner Road for Structure #GEA-T0084-0156, in Chardon Township for a weight limit of a single unit as follows: 2 AXLE – 15T, 3 AXLE – 23T, 4AXLE – 27T, 5 AXLE – 31T, 6+ AXLE – 34T and Tractor Trailer – 40T, pursuant to O.R.C. 5577.071.
-
To acknowledge the recommendation and post load limits on Cedar Road for Structure #GEA-T0098-0161, in Newbury Township for an Emergency Vehicle weight limit as follows: 2 AXLE – 27T, 2 AXLE – 43T, pursuant to. O.R.C. 5577.071.
-
To acknowledge the recommendation and post load limits on Gem Road for Structure #GEA-T0064-0029, in Chester Township for a weight limit of a single unit as follows: 2 AXLE – 15T, 3 AXLE – 23T, 4AXLE – 27T, 5 AXLE – 31T, 6+ AXLE – 34T and Tractor Trailer – 40T, pursuant to O.R.C. 5577.071.
Mr. Hajjar explained that after their annual bridge inspection they identify which bridges can take loads over 108% and which can just take 100% load. He said that the bridges listed above are structurally sound but shouldn’t carry overloaded trucks.
-
To execute the Highway Easement between the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Alexander P. Becker and Kayleigh E. Becker (Parcel #02-053500) for roadway improvements to Riverview Drive (TR-0380) in Bainbridge Township in the amount of $920.00.
-
To execute the Highway Easement between the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Tedd W. Isham and Nancy C. Isham (Parcel #02-246100) for roadway improvements to Riverview Drive (TR-0380) in Bainbridge Township in the amount of $980.00.
-
To execute the Highway Easement between the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Elizabeth H. Falkenstein (Parcel #02-262700) for roadway improvements to Riverview Drive (TR-0380) in Bainbridge Township in the amount of $1,000.00.
-
To execute the Highway Easement between the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Eileen Bohinc, Trustee of Eileen Bohinc Trust (Parcel #02-033900) for roadway improvements to Riverview Drive (TR-0380) in Bainbridge Township in the amount of $820.00.
-
To execute the Highway Easement between the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Annette Apicella (Parcel #02-323500) for roadway improvements to Haskins Road (TR-0191) in Bainbridge Township in the amount of $550.00.
Mr. Hajjar explained that they come up with a market value through using comparative real estate values and then multiply by square foot to arrive at an offered price. He acknowledged that in some cases they have decided on a slightly higher value when property owners have registered their displeasure with the amount offered. He said there could be various reasons why the subject area is of more value to a property owner.
18:19 Min. The Dog Warden received approval to authorize Matt Granito, Dog Warden, to accept and execute the Waiver of Notice of Hearing on Inventory and other necessary documents related to a bequest from the Estate of Ingeborg Szohatzky to the Geauga County Dog Warden to help the dogs at the Dog Shelter and to deposit all funds received into the Dog and Kennel Fund.
Mr. Granito brought along a 5 month old puppy, Beau, from the shelter. He was a Pyrenees/Doodle mix.
Mr. Granito said that the property of Ms. Szohatzky has been sold and the proceeds should be available soon. He estimated the final bequest at $75,000 - $80,000.
23:38 Min. The Maintenance Department received approval to advertise for Bids for the County Home Next Step Building Wing Demolition Project, to be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 2:00 pm. Notice of this Bid Opening will be advertised on June 13, 2025, June 20, 2025 and on the County website. Mr. Tkach said that this demolition is for the back part of the property which hasn’t been used for some time. He said that an existing porch will have to be repaired or replaced.
25:47 Min. Executive Session At 9:52 am, The Department of Job and Family Services received approval to move into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the compensation of public employees.
Return from Executive Session at 10:02 am with the following action: JFS received approval to implement an across the board 3% raise, effective June 22, 2025.
37 Min. The Commissioners’ Office provided a recap of the 2026 Tax Budget Hearings.
Mr. Gorton said that he and Financial Specialist Debbie Ashburn had completed hearings with all departments. He said that this year they met with every department. He mentioned that overall departments use only about 90% of their budgeted General Fund money, and 80% from all other funds. These funds are then available for carryover at the end of the year. As a result, Mr. Gorton started the budgeting process with 90% of last year’s appropriations for the General Fund. Observer Note: Most departments receive the bulk of their money from the General Fund, but there are exceptions, such as the Engineer’s Office and others.
Mr. Gorton first reviewed the revenues as follows: “The Commissioners set the revenue budgets for the sales tax estimate.” Mr. Gorton said that revenues are going up, “most of that is from the sales tax, which was about a quarter of a million increase. In addition there was an extra $100,000 in cost allocation, about $100,000 in property tax and state reimbursement, $50,000 in refunds and reimbursements, $35,000 in fees, $13,000 in sheriff web check fees and $5,000 in insurance.” He pointed out that sales tax revenue is about 45-50% of the revenue in the General Fund. He said the next largest revenue source is Real Estate Taxes at about 25%, and interest income is projected to be 6% (the third highest now, in contrast to prior years when it was much smaller). Prisoner housing income and local government tax have also gone up. On one of his slides Mr. Gorton projected revenue at $47,773,121.00 (similar to 2025). Observer Note: Geauga County jail has an agreement with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) which creates income.
Payroll last year appears to dip across many departments, but Mr Gorton explained that was because a portion of payroll was paid from the ARPA account (American Rescue Plan Act). For most of the second half of the year, payroll was paid through the ARPA account, and the General Fund was used to pay for the Courthouse renovation. Observer Note: Although there is money left in the ARPA fund as noted below, there was no indication this Fund would be used for payroll next year.
General Fund Summary - Mr. Gorton presented a summary of the General Fund as follows:
“So you can see the $47.3 million plus what the unencumbered cash was at the beginning of the year which in this case was $22 million (as of January 2025). That's why I mentioned about the expenses dropping off drastically - the payroll being diverted to ARPA. So those two numbers combined gave us the $69 million for total calendar year certification. So that's the revenue we plan on getting, plus the cash that we carried over from the previous year. The current year appropriations were about $62.7 million, which gives us almost $6.7 (million) as an unappropriated balance. Now that becomes, when I do the budget, that becomes the beginning cash balance that I work with. So that is a true number.” This would be the projected General Fund revenue, expenses and 2025 carryover going into 2026. In this example, the entire amount of unencumbered cash would be available.
Anticipated 2025 General Fund Revenue $47,321,121.00
January 1 2025 Unencumbered Cash $22,018,281.59
Total 2025 Revenue $69,339,402.59
Current Year Appropriations $62,670,069.00
Total Unencumbered Cash 12/31/25 $ 6,669,333.59 (this is the anticipated amount)
Anticipated 2026 General Fund Revenue $47,773,121.00
Anticipated 2026 General Fund Expenses $50,540,158.00 (based on Dept. submissions)
Deficit based on 2026 Revenue and Expenses -$2,767,037.00
Unappropriated Balance +$6,669,333.59 (carryover from 2025)
Estimated Balance 12/31/2026 $3,902,296.59
Observer Note: In the discussion at the end of the presentation, Mr. Gorton addresses the fact that the Commissioners would need to approve of using the $6,669,333.59 to fulfill department requests.
Cash Balances - Mr. Gorton highlighted a few cash balances:
Commissioners $26,841,040.53 (not in the General Fund). Mr. Gorton said these funds are in Capital Funds (see below)
General Fund $17,502,924.14
JFS $13,275,873.26
DD (Developmental Disabilities) $12,541,278.02
Various County Funds - a few were highlighted by Mr. Gorton:
-
COMMISSIONERS CAPITAL RESERVE PHASE 2 (Two) $12,756,139.40
-
AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN $6,180,669.44 - Mr. Gorton said this fund has to be used by the end of year and that there are projects lined up for the use of this money. He did not elaborate further on this.
-
BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS $3,224,815.40 (all buildings except for the county office building and courthouse)
-
SENIOR CENTER CONSTRUCTION $2,651,249.49 (For the Senior Center Fund for construction/renovation of a new senior center.)
-
COMMISSIONERS CAPITAL RESERVE $816,678.27 - This will be used for a new parking lot at the new County Office Building and was left from building the new county office building.
-
OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUND $474,849.90
-
Strategic Community Investments $250,000.00
-
AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION $187,965.63
-
YOUTH CENTER IMPROVEMENTS $136,918.84
-
COURTHOUSE CONSTRUCTION $58,994.48
-
GEAUGA/PORTAGE JUVENILE $34,661.46
48:10 Min. Departments’ Expenses - Mr. Gorton reviewed trends for all departments and highlighted a few of the departments’ trends for expenses with explanatory comments as follows:
-
ADP and Auditor- Payroll for 2025 is lower in these departments due to ARPA payments
-
BOCC - This includes the Airport and Geauga Fair
-
Common Pleas Court - Their expenses have gone up due to having a new Judge, with some overlapping retirements. Their payroll was not paid out of ARPA.
-
Engineers (just in General Fund) - They have added personnel and have also added a high tech graphic scanner.
-
Juvenile/Probate Court - They do not participate in the budget process but they did submit a budget.
-
Prosecutor’s Office - This year they took over the Municipal Court resulting in higher expenses.
-
Maintenance - Costs for materials have gone up as reflected in their budget as well as the new county office building.
-
Sheriff’s - Payroll has gone up. This is the largest department in the County, and their budget is impacted by a collective bargaining agreement anticipated for this year.
In reviewing payroll requests for 2026, Mr. Gorton said that some departments have expanded over the 3% raise given across the board last year; some departments have new employees, some have given merit increases, and there are various other factors that impact payroll.
Contract Services and other requests: Mr. Gorton reviewed these briefly. He said that every department reported increases due to the rising cost of Office 365.
Equipment Requests: Mr. Gorton said that in the past they didn’t allow equipment requests, but this year they included these. There are a total of $1.8 Million in equipment requests, either from the General Fund or supported by the General Fund; $750,000 of this are the Sheriff’s Department’s requests for equipment and vehicles.
Conclusion:
General Fund Revenue $47,773,121.00
General Fund Expense $50,540,158.00
Deficit - $2,767,037.00
Unappropriated Balance + $6,669,333.59
Balance $3,902,296.59
Mr. Gorton then concluded: “Commissioners, please confirm this for me, that you are okay with utilizing that unappropriated balance in order to avoid having to make any cuts to the budget in order to balance it with what the calendar year revenue is scheduled to be.”
Mr. Gorton said it would give a $4 million balance at the end of the year. He also said that he expected that the general fund would have more at the end of next year because typically only 90% of the allocated amount is used. Due to this, he indicated that the ending balance likely would be closer to $5 million in unused appropriations. He also acknowledged that revenue could be higher. He said that they underestimated revenue last year by 19%. He said this was mainly due to property tax revenue increases.
Observer Note: The Commissioners could decide that they do not want to fund certain requests and that discussion would be reviewed at the July 1st Budget Hearing.
1:05 Min. Property Tax Relief - Mrs. Brakey asked a question about the Property Tax expected revenue. She said that in the past the Commissioners have suppressed levies, and she wondered about the time frame for this year. She stated that a lot of people are concerned about property taxes. Mr. Gorton talked about the JFS levy last year when they suppressed (or did not collect) on $1 Million and in 2024 they suppressed the JFS Children’s Services $2.4 Million levy. The Commissioners then replaced these funds from the General Fund, thus absorbing the loss. Mr. Gorton said that several departments have levies, but JFS has a number of levies. He concluded that, “So that is a way they have done it in the past to reduce the property tax burden.” Mr. Gorton said that if they reduce the levies, they would be using some of the unappropriated balance, and therefore would have to reduce expenses elsewhere.
Mrs. Brakey said that she wanted a proposal to take to the Budget Commission if they anticipate doing something like this again.
At this point, Mr. Claypool asked if he could ask a question. Mr. Gorton agreed. Mr. Claypool made a public information request for the tax budget. Mr. Gorton asked him to send an email request so that he had his information. Mr. Claypool continued that it looked to him “like a trend for some significant budget increases.” He mentioned the expenses in the ADP department in particular. He wanted to know if the Commissioners were concerned about that.
Mr. Gorton said that “granted expenses have gone up, but so have the things we pay for. At the same time, revenue is going up.” As far as ADP, he said, “I’m no expert. I believe I looked up at one time that an average organization should spend about 5-8% on IT related expenses.” He pointed out that the county spends 3%, and also that ADP supports other entities not in the General Fund, such as townships.
Mr. Claypool’s allotted public comment time of 3 minutes expired at this point.
1:13: 30 Min. Executive Session - At 10:40 am, the Commissioners’ Office received approval to move into Executive Session for the purpose of considering the purchase of property for public purposes, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest, pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22 (G)(2).
1:37:06 Min Return from Executive Session at 11:03 am - Mr. Dvorak announced that no action would be taken as a result of the Executive Session.
Mrs. Brakey said she is working on a letter regarding the Operation and Maintenance program and will have it for the next session.
Public Comment - None
Meeting adjourned at 1:38 Min. on the video, which would be roughly 11:04am.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.
Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next Regular Meeting of the BOCC will be on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 at 9:30 am at the County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Carol Benton
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: June 17, 2025
The League of Women Voters Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.