Budget Commission Upholds Its Decision to Reduce Geauga Park District’s
2022 Revenue by Approximately $1.9 Million

Budget Commission Special Meeting

September 29, 2025

What You Need to Know: The Budget Commission reduced the Geauga Park District's 2022 tax revenue by approximately $1.9 million at the original budget hearing in 2021 because these funds were erroneously not included in the Park District’s budget submission. On remand from the Board of Tax Appeals, the Budget Commission considered the Geauga Park District's 2022 tax budget in a continued hearing on September 29, 2025. No one from the Park District was present for this hearing despite Prosecutor Flaiz's assertion that the Budget Commission "bent over backwards" to accommodate the Park District in scheduling the hearing before the October 1 deadline for tax rate resolutions. The October 1 deadline was a consideration because if the Budget Commission were to restore any or all of the $1.9 million to the Park District, it would come from present-day taxpayers. Auditor Walder noted that the Park District's actual general fund expenses in 2022 were over $1 million more than the Park District had estimated in its budget. Despite these increased expenses and the Budget Commission's reduction of the Park District's revenue, Mr. Walder said that the Park District's actual 2022 cash carryover was about 64%, well above the 25-30% carryover rate recommended to all county entities. The Budget Commissioners determined that the Park District did not demonstrate a need for the approximately $1.9 million in revenue it lost, and if anything the Budget Commission should have taken more revenue away from the Park District than it did at the original hearing. Ultimately, the Budget Commissioners voted to uphold their decision to reduce the Park District's revenue by the same amount, roughly $1.9 million.

Read the September 29 Budget Commission Report Here