Budget Commission Regular Meeting – December 4, 2023
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Regular Session on Monday, December 4, 2023 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. This meeting was in person with a virtual option via MS Teams.
Meeting Attendance: Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Treasurer Chris Hitchcock, and Auditor Chuck Walder.
Staff Attendance: Chief Deputy Auditor Ron Leyde, Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra, and Fiscal Office Manager Pam McMahan.
County Staff: Geauga County Budget and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton (virtual)
Others in Attendance: Chardon Township resident Kathy Johnson, Diane Jones (virtual), and this observer (virtual). Observer Note: Due to technical issues, this observer was unable to access this meeting until it was nearly concluded. A video of the full meeting was provided by the Auditor's Office staff, and this report is largely based on that recording.
Minutes: Minutes from the Special Meeting on November 1 and the Regular Meetings on November 6 and November 20 were all approved.
The following Revenue Certifications were approved:
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Berkshire Local Schools - Amendment #3. $22,815,132.75 in the general fund, $3,640,372.60 in special revenue funds, $1,438,469.49 in debt service funds, $1,032,836.59 in capital project funds, $849,134.62 in enterprise funds, $481,168.08 in internal service funds, and $178,821.32 in fiduciary funds for a total of $30,435,935.45. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Berkshire’s amendment certified an increase in their special revenue funds of $50,625.74.
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Montville Township - Amendment #3. $290,411.65 in the general fund, $1,733,640.19 in special revenue funds, $140,000.00 in capital project funds, and $214.61 in fiduciary funds for a total of $2,164,266.45. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Montville’s amendment certified moving $40,000 from their road and bridge special revenue fund to their OPWC (Ohio Public Works Commission) capital project fund.
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Geauga County - Amendment #16. $51,157,857.46 in the general fund, $131,112,141.83 in special revenue funds, $6,279,092.87 in debt service funds, $1,254,159.50 in special assessment funds, $28,273,104.47 in capital project funds, $18,206,131.25 in enterprise funds, $1,206,807.93 in internal service funds, and $3,757,550.66 in fiduciary funds for a total of $241,246,845.97. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Geauga County’s Amendment reflected an increase of $204,548.32 in special revenue funds and an increase of $16,267.43 in the water district enterprise fund.
Resolutions Reducing Taxes to Offset Inside Millage Windfalls
Mr. Walder noted that there was an overall good response to the Budget Commission’s request for all inside millage windfall beneficiaries (the County, local government entities, and school districts) to consider reducing levy tax collection to offset the increase in inside millage these entities will receive as a result of the approximately 30% state mandated increase in property valuations that has recently occurred. He summarized that 87.5% of Townships (14 out of 16), 66.7% of Municipalities (4 out of 6), and 10% of School Districts (1 out of 10) have agreed to reduce levy taxes to mitigate their inside millage windfalls; Geauga County is also reducing collection on two Job and Family Services levies to offset its increased inside millage. Mr. Walder explained that there has been a total unvoted tax increase of about $10 million due to inside millage increases and expressed that he was “very proud of Geauga” for mitigating over 50% of this amount. He stated that there is an additional unvoted tax increase of roughly $5 million for residents of the Berkshire and West Geauga School Districts in order to get those districts back up to the 20 mill floor; this tax increase is unmitigated, which Mr. Walder said may result in “some sticker shock” in the communities of those districts. Observer Note: The 20 mill floor means that all Ohio School Districts are guaranteed at least 20 mills of funding by law. If a school district’s funding level drops below the 20 mill floor, a property tax increase (i.e., increased collection of existing levies) is instituted by the State for residents of those districts to get funding back up to the required level. The 20 mill floor was discussed at the November 6 and November 20 Budget Commission meetings.
The Budget Commissioners noted that the process of providing tax relief has been a team effort among themselves, their staff, and all of the taxing authorities who have chosen to participate. They plan to send letters to each elected official of the participating entities to thank them for their hard work.
There was some discussion of what the final tax amounts and tax savings will be, but it was noted that the exact numbers won’t be known until the State finalizes the figures later this month. Of note, Mr. Walder said that State Senator Matt Dolan, who is a former Geauga County Chief Assistant Prosecutor, told him over the weekend that House Bill 187 is “dead” in the Senate and a new bill regarding property tax reform will be created later. Mr. Walder stated that this new bill was likely to target the Homestead Exemption.
Before the resolutions were voted upon, it was noted that Middlefield Village’s Resolution was the only one outstanding. The Auditor’s Office has not heard from Huntsburg Township, Chardon Township, or Hunting Valley about whether or not they will be offsetting their inside millage windfalls, so Auditor’s Office staff will be reaching out to them regarding this matter. The only local government entity that has officially stated that they will not be submitting a Resolution to reduce tax collection is Aquilla Village.
All Township Resolutions presented were approved by the Budget Commission and are listed below:
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Bainbridge Township - Two Resolutions were approved. The first shifted 0.22 mills of inside millage from the road fund (which decreased from 1.7 mills to 1.48 mills) to the general fund (which went from 1.3 mills to 1.52 mills). The second Resolution reduced road levy tax collection by a total of $424,576.95.
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Hambden Township - Two Resolutions were approved. The first reallocated 0.27 mills of inside millage from the road and bridge fund (which decreased from 1.7 mills to 1.43 mills) to the general fund (which increased from 1.3 mills to 1.57 mills). The second Resolution reduced fire levy tax collection by $79,615.01.
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Munson Township - Two Resolutions were approved. First, 1.0 mill of inside millage was shifted from the road and bridge fund to the general fund. The second Resolution reduced fire and EMS levy tax collection by $199,943.
All Municipality Resolutions presented were approved by the Budget Commission and are listed below:
Mr. Flaiz noted that South Russell’s Resolution will not take effect for 30 days because it only had the votes of four council members, not the five (of six total council members) required for Resolutions to have immediate effect.
The only School District Resolution was West Geauga’s suppression of $1 million of their emergency levy tax collection. This Resolution was approved by the Budget Commission.
After all Resolutions were approved, Mr. Hitchcock stated that “This work is the most important that we’ve done in years… the taxpayers are being extremely well served.”
It was noted that Auburn Township had no Resolution, but Auburn is not putting their road levy on the ballot in the spring in order to offset its inside millage windfall. This levy would have brought in $254,415 at 100% collection.
Other Business:
A Special Meeting was scheduled for December 28 at 10:00 am to conduct any needed end of the year business. The meetings scheduled for January 1 (New Year’s Day) and January 15 (Martin Luther King Day) were both canceled due to holidays. A Special Meeting was scheduled for January 3 at 10:00 am to reschedule the canceled January 1 meeting.
Public Comment:
This observer requested any available documents from the meeting and asked for and received confirmation that 1) the 20 mill floor tax increases are not being offset and 2) this tax increase only affects Berkshire and West Geauga residents. A meeting schedule for 2024 was requested, and Mr. Flaiz stated that Budget Commission meetings will continue to occur on the first and third Mondays of each month at 10:00 am.
Kathy Johnson of Chardon Township said she was impressed with the Budget Commission and all the entities who have come forward to reduce taxpayer burden. She encouraged “...whatever this Board, the press, and the informed citizens can do to fan the flames of integrity across Ohio and into the other 87 counties.” Mr. Walder expressed his appreciation for her comment and for the work of the League of the Women Voters as well, stating that “...the League of Women Voters has done a phenomenal job in the last 2 to 3 years I would say in raising the awareness of the general public of how government works.” He noted that this awareness is important because “...transparency gets better when you have more eyes on.”
The meeting was adjourned at 11:06 am.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available on Auditor website
Next Meeting: December 18, 2023 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio.
Observers: Sarah McGlone
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Submitted 12/5/23
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.