Budget Commission Cautions Against Replacement of Qualified Levies
Due to Loss of 12.5% Funding Contribution from the State
Budget Commission Meeting – July 21, 2025
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Regular Session on Monday, July 21, 2025 at 10:00 am in the Auditor's Conference Room, 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. The meeting was
in person with a virtual attendance option via MS Teams. To attend Budget Commission meetings virtually via MS Teams, email an invitation request to Pam McMahan at pmcmahan@gcauditor.com.
Meeting Attendance: Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Auditor Chuck Walder, and Treasurer Chris Hitchcock.
Staff Attendance: Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Rine (virtual), Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra, and Chief Operations Officer Pam McMahan.
County Staff: Budget and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton (virtual) and Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Department of Advanced Technology and Applications Director Tracy Rahimi (virtual).
Members of the Public: This LWV Geauga Observer (virtual).
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am.
Minutes: Minutes from the Special Meeting on June 30, 2025 were approved. The minutes will be posted here when available.
The following Revenue Certifications were approved:
Reviewer Note: An explanation of the different types of funds in revenue certifications can be found
here.
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West Geauga Local Schools - Amendment #1 - First Amendment for FY (Fiscal Year) 2025-26. Observer Note: Schools operate on a July-June fiscal year, whereas most County entities operate on the January-December calendar year. $49,775,724.57 in the general fund, $3,771,776.80 in special revenue funds, $20,557,777.11 in capital project funds, $1,554,446.68 in enterprise funds, and $330,921.46 in internal service funds for a total of $75,990,646.62.
West Geauga’s amendment represents an overall net decrease in revenue of $3,527,048.38. Ms. Sinatra clarified that this decrease was the difference between projected versus actual revenue and noted that the district had said that it would have to spend emergency levy money to complete planned projects, such as the new well. She stated West Geauga’s emergency levy money has been moved into the general fund. Observer Note: Please see the LWVG Observer Report from the June 30, 2025 Budget Commission Meeting for more information on West Geauga’s movement of emergency levy money to the general fund. Mr. Flaiz hypothesized that West Geauga was now spending these relocated emergency levy funds to pay for projects out of the general fund. Mr. Walder questioned whether emergency levy funds could be used for capital expenses, saying his understanding was that it had to be used for district operational expenses. Mr. Flaiz said that what constitutes an emergency is not clearly defined in the law and it’s possible that capital expenses like the well could reflect an emergency.
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Berkshire Local Schools - Amendment #1 - First Amendment for FY 2025-26. $25,081,391.81 in the general fund, $4,375,497.36 in special revenue funds, $1,609,211.37 in debt service funds, $442,166.48 in capital project funds, $882,491.27 in enterprise funds, $460,181.82 in internal service funds, and $197,472.01 in fiduciary funds for a total of $33,048,412.12.
Berkshire’s amendment reflects an overall net increase in revenue of $1,672,676.93.
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Kenston Local School District - Amendment #3 - Final Amendment for FY 2024-25. Observer Note: It is standard practice for the schools to certify their revenue at the end of their fiscal year. All Geauga school districts except Kenston did so for FY 2024-25 at the June 30, 2025 Budget Commission Meeting. The delay was due to Kenston’s Board of Education meeting not being held until the evening of June 30. $50,920,576.21 in the general fund, $2,338,335.63 in special revenue funds, $5,326,347.35 in debt service funds, $2,099,344.40 in capital project funds, $2,415,825.47 in enterprise funds, $9,559,600.61 in internal service funds, and $87,712.23 in fiduciary funds for a total of $72,747,741.90.
Kenston’s amendment is its final revenue certification for fiscal year 2024-25.
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Geauga County - Amendment #8. $69,339,402.59 in the general fund, $126,232,376.83 in special revenue funds, $5,172,649.58 in debt service funds, $1,143,702.06 in special assessment funds, $30,295,528.76 in capital project funds, $52,169,898.85 in enterprise funds, $1,739,600.37 in internal service funds, and $4,706,706.85 in fiduciary funds for a total of $290,799,865.89.
Geauga County’s amendment reflected an increase in the Aging special revenue fund of $91,035.33.
Supplemental Appropriation:
A Geauga Trumbull Solid Waste (GTSW) Supplemental Appropriation reflecting an increase of $30,600 in contract services was acknowledged. The Budget Commissioners remarked on how well run GTSW is.
Discussion:
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Discussion of Levies on the November 2025 Ballot: Mr. Walder said that there were several replacement levies on the November 2025 ballot, and some of them were replacements of qualified levies. Observer Note: Qualified levies are levies that were passed pre-2013 in Ohio. They get 12.5% of their funding from the State, meaning local taxpayers are actually only paying 87.5% of the full levy amounts for qualified levies. If a qualified levy is simply renewed, it will continue to receive 12.5% of funding from the State. However, if a qualified levy is converted to a replacement levy, 12.5% of funding will no longer be provided by the State, which means taxpayers must pay 100% of the levy amount. Importantly, in email communication with this Observer after the meeting, Mr. Walder stated that, after doing additional research, it actually is not certain yet what types of levies entities are placing on the November ballot (e.g., whether a given levy will be a renewal, a renewal and increase/decrease or a replacement). He said that “... we do not have any confirmation of what has or has not been submitted to the Board of Elections. The Board of Elections will typically post a listing closer to the filing deadline (August 6) and a final list that they certify for the ballot.” Given the uncertainty, this Observer has elected not to list which levies were stated to be replacements of qualified levies at this Budget Commission meeting in order to prevent the inadvertent spread of misinformation. Mr. Walder expressed dismay about replacing qualified levies, because they will “... cost the taxpayers 12 and a half percent more on top of the increase of the replacement.” He said better alternatives would be 1) a “renewal and add (increase)” levy or 2) renewal of the existing levy and a separate levy for the additional needed amount. He noted that Geauga Park District’s levy on the November Ballot will more than triple in value if approved, going from $1,030,000 to $3,300,000 per year. Observer Note: It is currently unclear whether Geauga Park’s levy on the November ballot will be a renewal and increase or a replacement levy. Mr. Walder stated: “What bothers me is, clearly certain people haven't listened to what's been going on in the paper and the screaming by taxpayers. They're just spitting in their face, and what's going to happen is, the taxpayers are going to revolt, and they're going to pass a constitutional amendment to get rid of all (property) taxes, and then they're all going to be crying poor again, which, this is all preventable.” Observer Note: For more information on the possible amendment to the Ohio Constitution eliminating property taxes, please see the July 9, 2025 Geauga County Township Association Observer Report.
Mr. Hitchcock suggested that the Budget Commission send a letter to entities seeking to replace qualified levies to point out that this would be “a tax increase on a tax increase (due to the loss of 12.5% of levy revenue from the State).” Mr. Flaiz agreed, saying “You're just handing 12 and a half to the State. Yeah, here you go. No, we don't want your money.” Mr. Walder said he was considering writing “... op-eds to the paper saying this (replacing qualified levies) is an irresponsible action of government.” Mr. Hitchcock expressed that it would be better for the Budget Commission to communicate their concerns with entities replacing qualified levies via letter before going to the newspapers. The Budget Commissioners voted unanimously to send letters discouraging the replacement of qualified levies to all entities planning to do so. Observer Note: In email communication with this Observer after the meeting, Mr. Walder indicated that these letters will be sent once it is known for certain which entities are planning to place replacement levies on the November ballot.
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Upcoming Budget Commission Meeting Schedule: Mr. Hitchcock noted that the next Budget Commission meeting is August 4, and Ms. Sinatra pointed out that this is the Annual Reorganizational Meeting. Mr. Hitchcock confirmed that the Budget Hearings will be August 18, 9:00 am-3:00 pm and August 19, 9:00 am-12:00 pm and that there will not be a Budget Commission meeting on September 1 due to the Labor Day holiday. Observer Note: The full Budget Hearing schedule is available in the June 2, 2025 Budget Commission Observer Report. The Budget Commissioners voted to schedule a Special Meeting on August 27 at 10:00 am as a placeholder in case any business needs to be taken care of before the next Regular Meeting on September 15.
Public Comment:
This Observer shared with the Budget Commissioners that 1) Geauga Public Health is taking action to create a Fiscal Officer position as discussed at the previous Budget Commission meeting and 2) the League of Women Voters of Geauga has published an Observer Report on the recent Geauga County Township Association meeting at which all the Budget Commissioners spoke about property tax reform. Observer Note: See the July 16, 2025 Geauga Public Health Observer Report and the July 9, 2025 Geauga County Township Association Observer Report for more information.
This observer asked what happens to existing replacement and emergency levies if the Legislature does away with them via overriding the Governor’s veto of certain budget items. Mr. Walder said that existing replacement levies would continue to exist but no new ones could be created after January 1, 2026. Observer Note: The House voted to override the Governor’s veto of this budget item on July 21; the Senate’s vote on the potential veto override has not been scheduled yet. More information is available here.
This Observer also requested 1) all documentation from the meeting, which was received via email on July 22, 2025, and 2) to be notified when submitted budgets are made available to the public online.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:34 am.
Next Meeting: The next Budget Commission meeting is the Annual Reorganizational Meeting on August 4, 2025 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room, 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. Virtual attendance for all Budget Commission meetings is available via Microsoft Teams by emailing an invitation request to Ms. McMahan at pmcmahan@gcauditor.com.
Observer: Sarah McGlone
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Submitted: July 22, 2025
The League of Women Voters of 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.