Fewer Geauga Entities Enact Property Tax Mitigation Measures for 2025
Budget Commission Meeting – December 30, 2024
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Special Session on Monday, December 30, 2024 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.
Meeting Attendance: Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Treasurer Chris Hitchcock (arriving at 10:18 am), and Auditor Chuck Walder.
Staff Attendance: Chief Deputy Auditor Ron Leyde, Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra, Chief Operations Officer Pam McMahan, and Chief Compliance Officer Kate Jacob (virtual).
County Staff: Budget and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton (virtual).
Members of the Public: This LWV Geauga Observer (virtual) and one other member of the public (virtual).
The meeting was called to order at 10:07 am.
Minutes: Minutes from the Regular Meeting on December 16, 2024 were approved and are available here.
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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Cardinal Local Schools - Amendment #3. $20,627,208.52 in the general fund, $2,272,767.39 in special revenue funds, $1,988,356.83 in debt service funds, $735,199.28 in capital project funds, $666,280.32 in enterprise funds, $100,000.00 in internal service funds, and $78,144.46 in fiduciary funds for a total of $26,467,956.80.
Cardinal’s amendment reflected increases in the general fund, special revenue funds, and enterprise funds as well as a decrease in debt service funds.
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Berkshire Local Schools - Amendment #4. $25,219,527.21 in the general fund, $4,313,317.41 in special revenue funds, $1,613,391.28 in debt service funds, $1,801,804.33 in capital project funds, $882,819.29 in enterprise funds, $428,653.33 in internal service funds, and $191,173.66 in fiduciary funds for a total of $34,450,686.51.
Berkshire’s amendment reflected an increase in special revenue funds.
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Middlefield Village - Amendment #2. $3,572,338.09 in the general fund, $10,779,853.56 in special revenue funds, $1,764,840.96 in capital project funds, $7,202,408.14 in enterprise funds, and $171,194.04 in fiduciary funds for a total of $23,490,634.79.
Middlefield Village’s amendment certified increases in all of the following: the general fund, special revenue funds, capital project funds, and enterprise funds.
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Troy Township - Amendment #2. $435,344.24 in the general fund and $2,306,664.61 in special revenue funds for a total of $2,742,008.85.
Troy’s amendment certified an increase in special revenue funds.
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Geauga Public Health - Amendment #5. $3,068,800.74 in the general fund and $5,095,184.74 in special revenue funds for a total of $8,163,985.48.
Geauga Public Health’s amendment reflected increases in both the general fund and special revenue funds.
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Geauga County - Amendment #13. $54,612,226.17 in the general fund, $128,377,966.47 in special revenue funds, $5,572,596.38 in debt service funds, $1,256,502.32 in special assessment funds, $29,133,410.77 in capital project funds, $15,158,318.93 in enterprise funds, $1,445,078.56 in internal service funds, and $4,130,882.52 in fiduciary funds for a total of $239,686,982.12.
Geauga County’s amendment certified decreases in both special revenue funds and enterprise funds.
Appropriation Transfers
The Budget Commissioners voted to acknowledge year-end Geauga Public Health appropriations transfers.
Discussion on Property Tax Mitigation:
The Budget Commission noted that the following entities have approved property tax mitigation measures to take effect in 2025:
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Bainbridge Township
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South Russell Village
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Burton Township
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Russell Township
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Chester Township
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Munson Township
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Middlefield Village
The Budget Commissioners agreed to send a letter of thanks to these entities. A draft letter will be put together for the next Budget Commission meeting. It was noted that fewer entities are engaging in property tax mitigation in 2025 compared to 2024. Observer Note: In late 2023, 13 townships, 4 municipalities, and 1 school district passed resolutions to mitigate property taxes; these resolutions took effect in 2024. Additionally, following a County Commissioners’ Resolution in late 2023, Geauga County mitigated property taxes by reducing collection of two Job and Family Services (JFS) levies in 2024. At the Budget Hearings in August 2024, it was determined that the collection of one JFS levy will be reduced to mitigate property taxes in 2025. Please see the December 4, 2023 Budget Commission Observer Report and the December 18, 2023 Budget Commission Observer Report for information on last year’s property tax mitigation by County entities. Also see the October 24, 2023 Budget Commission Observer Report and the August 30, 2024 Budget Commission Observer Report for information on the suspension of JFS levy collection for 2024 and 2025.
Public Comment
This observer requested a copy of all documents from this meeting, which were provided via email on December 30, 2024.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:22 am.
Next Meeting: The next meeting will be a Regular Meeting on Monday, January 6, 2025 at 10:00 am in the Auditor's Conference Room, 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio.
Observer: Sarah McGlone
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Submitted: 01/03/2025
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