Budget Commission Special Meeting – January 3, 2024
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Special Session on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 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: Auditor Chuck Walder, Treasurer Chris Hitchcock, and Prosecutor Jim Flaiz.
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.
Others in Attendance: This observer (virtual).
The meeting was called to order at 10:03am.
Minutes: Minutes from the Special Meeting on December 28 were approved.
The following Revenue Certifications were approved:
-
Geauga County - Amendment #1. $54,612,226.17 in the general fund, $123,524,728.06 in special revenue funds, $5,572,596.38 in debt service funds, $1,256,502.32 in special assessment funds, $28,703,581.61 in capital project funds, $16,543,131.34 in enterprise funds, $1,439,886.67 in internal service funds, and $4,138,083.61 in fiduciary funds for a total of$235,790,736.16.
Geauga County’s Amendment certified an increase in the general fund of $3,449,891.19. Mr. Gorton explained that some of this money is the remainder of a grant from the State to tear down the Geauga Lake site, as well as another grant which Mr. Gorton described as an operational stipend from the State funding community corrections facilities.
Upon the request of Mr. Flaiz, the Auditor’s Office Staff provided a listing of the January 1, 2024 cash balances of all of Geauga County’s funds. This document is four pages long and lists each of the County’s approximately 200 funds. When all funds are summed, the County’s January 1, 2024 overall cash balance was $104,283,229.82 after all encumbrances known on December 31, 2023, were taken into account.
Observer Note: Due to a faulty microphone in the Auditor’s Conference Room, this observer was unable to hear the majority of the meeting from this point forward. This report is based on what was able to be heard, as well as on supporting documentation provided via email by the Auditor’s Office Staff.
-
Geauga Trumbull Solid Waste - Amendment #1. $5,598,885.59 in the general fund and $13,517.34 in special revenue funds for a total of $5,612,402.93.
-
Geauga County Health District - Amendment #1. $1,927,514.12 in the general fund and $4,819,884.74 in special revenue funds for a total of $6,747,398.86. Reviewer Note: The name used at present for this entity is Geauga Public Health, but Geauga County Health District is the entity name listed on the Revenue Certification.
Other Business:
-
The 2023 Property Tax Rates (collection year 2024) set by the State were certified by the Budget Commission. The tax rates for most entities were lower in 2023 relative to 2022, which an email from the Auditor’s Office Staff stated was due to the tax reductions many entities implemented to offset their inside millage increases. The highest 2023 tax rate is 167.490 mills for residents of Bainbridge Township - Chagrin Falls School District. The lowest 2023 tax rate is 77.980 mills for residents of Newbury Township - West Geauga School District.
-
The Budget Commission Meeting and School Budget Hearings scheduled for February 19, 2024, were canceled due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. This meeting was tentatively rescheduled to be spilt into two meetings on February 27 and 28 in order to better accommodate the School Budget Hearings. Each meeting will be from 9:00 - 11:00 and will take place in the Auditor’s Appraisal Conference Room. Cardinal, Chardon, and Kenston Schools will have their hearings on February 27, and Berkshire and West Geauga Schools will have their hearings on February 28.
-
The Budget Commissioners discussed the increase in Geauga property valuations that occurred in 2023. Mr. Hitchcock stated that in Florida by law, property values cannot increase by more than 3% in a year and opined that “Ohio needs to explore something along those lines.” Mr. Walder noted that the State Legislature was “back to square one” on property tax reform because the changes in Ohio House Bill 187 passed by the Ohio Senate in 2023 were not ratified by the Ohio House.
Public Comment:
-
This observer stated that the audio of the meeting had been difficult to understand. Mr. Walder discovered that the microphone they had been using was faulty, and the sound quality improved dramatically once another microphone was utilized. This observer asked several clarifying questions at this point regarding the scheduling of the School Budget Hearings and also requested copies of all documentation possible to help piece together what was unable to be heard.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:49 am.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available on Auditor website
Next Meeting: January 18, 2024 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio.
Observer: Sarah McGlone
Editor and Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Submitted 1/8/24
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.