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Budget Commission Approves Kenston, Cardinal and Chardon Budgets 

Budget Commission Meeting – February 19, 2025

Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Special Session on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 9:00 am in the Auditor's Appraisal Conference Room, 231 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. The meeting was in person with a virtual attendance option via MS Teams.  

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: Joshua Holtz, ADP Information Technology Technician

School District Representatives:

• Dr. Bruce Willingham, Kenston Local School District (LSD) Superintendent

• Seth Cales, Kenston LSD Treasurer

• Matt Hosler, Kenston LSD Assistant Treasurer

• Tom Manning, Kenston LSD School Board President

• Jack Cunningham, Cardinal LSD Superintendent

• Terry Armstrong, Cardinal LSD Treasurer

• Barb Rayburn, Cardinal School Board Vice President

• Dr. Michael Hanlon, Chardon LSD Superintendent

• Deb Armbruster, Chardon LSD Treasurer

• Crystal-King Morrison, Chardon LSD Assistant Treasurer

• Karen Blankenship, Chardon LSD School Board President

Members of the Public: Beth McCaffrey, Berkshire LSD Treasurer, attended in-person. Several members of the public, Geauga Times Courier Journalist Anastasia Nicholas, and this LWV Geauga Observer all attended virtually.

The meeting was called to order at 9:02 am.

Geauga County 2025-2026 School Budget Hearings - Day 1

Observer Note: The Budget Commission conducted the School Budget Hearings on two separate days. This report summarizes the hearings conducted on February 19, 2025, which were for Kenston, Cardinal, and Chardon Schools. Berkshire and West Geauga Schools had their hearings on February 20, 2025, and they are detailed in a separate Observer Report.

1. Kenston Local School District Budget Hearing

Auditor Walder provided a presentation on Kenston and its budget. Highlights include:

• Property values in the Kenston School District increased by 30.7% on average as a result of the 2023 property revaluation (reval). 

• 18.1% of all property valuation complaints heard by the Geauga County Board of Revision (BoR) in 2024 came from Kenston residents. Mr. Walder said this percentage is an indicator of the temperament of taxpayers regarding the amount of property taxes they have to pay. He indicated that, with five school districts in Geauga County, he would expect about 20% of BoR complaints to come from each district, and Kenston’s 18% aligns with that. Observer Note: More information about the BoR is available here.    

• Kenston ranks first in the County in effective school taxation rate at 31.3 mills. Observer Note: Effective taxation rate, or effective millage, refers to converting the total tax millage to today’s dollars. The value of a mill generally increases over time, but, for any given tax levy, Ohio House Bill 920 requires the value of a mill to be fixed at whatever it was when the levy was originally approved by voters. 

• At 100% collection, the value of 1 mill in Kenston is $1.21 million.

• Using general fund numbers to be certified in the 2025-2026 budget:

  • The projected beginning balance is $8,068,841

  • The projected ending balance is $6,784,521

  • The projected revenue amount is $42,291,210

  • The projected expenses amount is $43,654,575

  • The estimated amount of cash as a percentage of expenses is 15.5%, which is well below the State average of 46.1%. Observer Note: Cash as a percentage of expenses is calculated by dividing the estimated ending balance by the estimated expenses.

  • There is $16,829 in revenue per student

  • There is $17,371 in expenses per student 

  • There is $2,700 in cash carryover per student 

• There were 2,513 Kenston students in 2023-24; enrollment is down 2.5% over the last five years. The County average is an enrollment decline of 3.2% over the same time period.

General Discussion

• Kenston Treasurer Seth Cales noted that the district is managing their right sizing plan to reduce expenditures, which included the closure of Kenston Intermediate School at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. He said that “we're trying to take action now, as we speak, to do things to just kind of extend that need to go out for the (new) operating levy.”

• Mr. Hitchcock said that his office will continue to estimate tax collection at 98% and stressed that “we are very lucky to be in the County” because the tax collection rate is so good. Mr. Cales agreed.

• Mr. Flaiz said he didn’t have any problems with Kenston’s budget. He noted that the passage of Kenston’s Permanent Improvement (PI) levy in November 2024 should cause the district’s expenses to normalize and stay flat, which he thought would help with Kenston’s cash balance problems.
  

Budget Approval

The Budget Commissioners unanimously voted to approve Kenston’s 2025-2026 budget. Estimated 2025-2026 resources were certified as: $50,360,051.00 in the general fund, $1,455,700.00 in special revenue funds, $4,966,717.00 in debt service funds, $1,876,999.00 in capital project funds, $1,225,000.00 in enterprise funds, $10,135,000.00 in internal service funds, and $55,000.00 in fiduciary funds for a total of $70,074,467.00.

2.  Cardinal Local School District Budget Hearing

Auditor Walder provided a presentation on Cardinal and its budget. Highlights include:

• Property values in the Cardinal School District increased by 29.0% on average as a result of the 2023 property revaluation (reval). 

• Only 4.5% of all property valuation complaints heard by the Geauga County Board of Revision (BoR) in 2024 came from Cardinal residents. Mr. Walder said this is  “... far below the average for what I would have expected. But that means, that tells me the taxpayers are not anxious right now with their values and their taxes they're paying, especially with schools, because that's the dominant recipient of tax.”

• Cardinal ranks fifth (lowest) in the County in effective school taxation rate at 21.3 mills. This places them close to (but not below) the 20 mill floor. 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.

• At 100% collection, the value of 1 mill in Cardinal is $463,000.

• Cardinal has shifted 1 mill of its inside millage to its Permanent Improvement (PI) fund. Mr. Walder recommended reducing the amount shifted to PI to 0.5 mills because 1) the district is close to the 20 mill floor (PI money isn’t counted in the 20 mill floor calculation) and 2) the submitted budget shows a lack of need for a full mill to be shifted to PI. This action would reduce PI fund revenue by $226,923; this amount would be added back into the general fund. Observer Note: More information about how inside millage works is available here. 

• Using the general fund numbers to be certified in the 2025-2026 budget:

  • The projected beginning balance is $5,624,987

  • The projected ending balance is $4,467,351

  • The projected revenue amount is $14,742,364

  • The projected expenses amount is $15,900,000

  • The estimated amount of cash as a percentage of expenses is 28.1%, which is below the State average of 46.1%.

  • There is $20,391 in revenue per student

  • There is $21,992 in expenses per student 

  • There is $6,179 in cash carryover per student 

• There were 723 Cardinal students in 2023-24; enrollment is down 17.3% over the last five years. The County average is an enrollment decline of 3.2% over the same time period. Observer Note: See General Discussion section below for further discussion about Cardinal’s declining enrollment.

General Discussion

• Cardinal Treasurer Terry Armstrong talked about the importance of increasing enrollment in Cardinal Schools. He noted that there are some new subdivisions coming to the district that might help. He said that there are many homeschooled students in Cardinal and they are working on outreach to that community about what Cardinal has to offer. 

• Mr. Flaiz asked if Cardinal will lose revenue if the inside millage shift to PI is reduced from 1.0 to 0.5 mills. Mr. Walder explained that they won’t lose revenue; the reduction is to prevent a potential 20 mill floor adjustment, which the district has never received before. Mr. Hitchcock added that “the tax bill will be the same” for Cardinal residents by preventing a 20 mill floor adjustment. 

• Mr. Hitchcock noted that in the past Cardinal’s estimated fund balances tended to be much lower than the actual cash balances ended up being, which he called “bad budgeting.” Mr. Hitchcock said he was aware that Mr. Armstrong hadn’t been in the Treasurer position for long (he’s in his second year) and expressed the hope that Mr. Armstrong would “quickly clean that up.” Mr. Hitchcock observed that declining enrollment is the district’s biggest challenge. He expressed consternation that no one from the district was present other than Mr. Armstrong, but then it was revealed that the Superintendent and School Board Vice President were present and there had been a miscommunication about the hearing start time. Mr. Hitchcock said he was glad they were there.  

• Mr. Walder asked what the “bottom line” is on Cardinal’s enrollment “before you have some very hard decisions to make.” He confirmed with Mr. Armstrong that the enrollment is below 700 now. Superintendent Cunningham said there wasn’t a set number. 

• Mr. Flaiz asked if there were at least enough students for a couple of classes per grade. Mr. Armstrong said that was the case and noted that they went from two to three kindergarten classes this year. 

• Mr. Flaiz asked Mr. Armstrong what he thought about reducing the amount of inside millage shifted to PI. Mr. Armstrong noted that PI expenses are already funded through both the PI fund and the general fund. He also said that the district has more than $1 million in capital expenditures planned in the next five years that are “underfunded beyond what we get in PI.” Mr. Armstrong said that he would prefer to keep the full mill shifted to PI. 

• Mr. Walder said “if, in fact, you needed that extra $226,000, I would have expected to see that in a budget submission, where we're going to burn (use) it all, and then we're going to need even more of the general fund. And then I would not have the same position I'm taking. But absent that, I have to go off of what I've got, and I think that just holds people accountable for the numbers they present.” 

• Mr. Hitchcock asked if the district anticipates putting on any levies in the next 3-5 years. Mr. Armstrong said no. Mr. Hitchcock then pointed out that, should the district drop below the 20 mill floor, there would be an automatic tax increase by way of a 20 mill floor adjustment. He noted that this would be an unvoted tax increase, and said they were trying to avoid that.

Budget Approval

Mr. Walder moved to rescind 0.5 mills of Cardinal’s general fund money currently being directed to PI. The motion passed, with Mr. Hitchcock and Mr. Walder voting yes and Mr. Flaiz voting no. The Budget Commissioners then unanimously voted to approve Cardinal’s 2025-2026 budget, including the change in inside millage. Estimated 2025-2026 resources were certified as: $20,367,351.00 in the general fund, $2,272,767.35 in special revenue funds, $1,390,725.58 in debt service funds, $574,656.00 in capital project funds, $666,280.32 in enterprise funds, $100,000.00 in internal service funds, and $79,144.46 in fiduciary funds for a total of $25,450,924.71.

3. Chardon Local School District Budget Hearing

 Auditor Walder provided a presentation on Chardon and its budget. Highlights include:

• Property values in the Chardon School District increased by 26.4% on average as a result of the 2023 property revaluation (reval). 

• 14.4% of all property valuation complaints heard by the Geauga County Board of Revision (BoR) in 2024 came from Chardon residents. Mr. Walder said this percentage is lower than expected and indicates “a very supportive base.”

• Chardon ranks second in the County in effective school taxation rate at 30.7 mills. 

• At 100% collection, the value of 1 mill in Chardon is $963,000.

• Using the general fund numbers to be certified in the 2025-2026 budget:

  • The projected beginning balance is $18,085,455

  • The projected ending balance is $13,504,313

  • The projected revenue amount is $39,435,081

  • The projected expenses amount is $44,016,223

  • The estimated amount of cash as a percentage of expenses is 30.7%, which is below the State average of 46.1%. 

  • There is $15,850 in revenue per student

  • There is $17,691 in expenses per student 

  • There is $5,428 in cash carryover per student 

• There were 2,488 Chardon students in 2023-24; enrollment is down 9.5% over the last five years. The County average is an enrollment decline of 3.2% over the same time period.

General Discussion

• Mr. Walder expressed the opinion that Chardon has done a good job using its excess cash on meaningful projects.

• Mr. Walder stated that he received a call from a member of the Ohio House regarding a grant for $250,000 for one of Chardon’s facilities. Superintendent Hanlon explained that the district did not receive that money and in fact it was a private group that approached Representative Fowler Arthur about this grant for restrooms and concessions at one of Chardon’s sports facilities. He said that the overall project was going to cost $1.1-2 million to complete and the district did not have the capital projects funds available to complete the project even with the $250,000 grant. Dr. Hanlon said that the community group was charged with reaching certain additional fundraising targets to make the amount the district had to provide lower, but they were unable to reach those targets. He said that the grant money was not in the district’s possession and the community group would be the one to receive the grant. Mr. Walder said he would clarify the situation with Rep. Fowler Arther. Dr. Hanlon added that the community group has an idea about renovating the press box at Memorial Field instead, but he doesn’t know if the grant money can be transferred to another project. He said he will be talking to Rep. Fowler Arther about the matter.

• Dr. Hanlon explained that there have been timing issues with the construction of Chardon’s new transportation compound that have delayed the project, including having to wait for approvals from the City of Chardon and then bad weather this winter.  Mr. Flaiz expressed understanding that these delays were outside of the district’s control and said it’s a nice project. 

• Mr. Flaiz praised Chardon for spending down their high cash balances on needed projects, including the transportation compound and safety and security projects. 
  

Budget Approval

The Budget Commissioners unanimously voted to approve Chardon’s 2025-2026 budget. Estimated 2025-2026 resources were certified as: $57,520,536.00 in the general fund, $4,608,100.00 in special revenue funds, $466,100.00 in debt service funds, $2,345,542.00 in capital project funds, $8,930,000.00 in internal service funds, and $160,000.00 in fiduciary funds for a total of $74,010,278.00.

Regular Business:

Minutes: Minutes from the Regular Meeting on February 3, 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. 

Observer Note: The Budget Commission requests that all entities provide beginning balances for all funds within 90 days of the start of the year. Most of the following amendments are simply

certifications of fund beginning balances for 2025.

• Berkshire Local Schools - Amendment #5. $25,219,527.21 in the general fund, $4,342,851.15 in special revenue funds, $1,613,391.28 in debt service funds, $2,551,804.33 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 $35,230,220.25.

Berkshire’s amendment reflected a special revenue funds increase of $3,200.

• City of Chardon - Amendment #1. $15,400,616.59 in the general fund, $9,976,345.48 in special revenue funds, $375,784.14 in debt service funds, $8,193,153.00 in capital project funds, $7,162,660.92 in enterprise funds, $8,054.18 in internal service funds, and $184,200.53 in fiduciary funds for a total of $41,300,814.84.

This amendment certified the City of Chardon’s beginning balances for 2025.

• Chester Township - Amendment #1. $3,492,493.16 in the general fund, $12,244,120.75 in special revenue funds, $282,900.00 in capital project funds, and $13,486.55 in special assessment funds for a total of $16,033,000.46.
  

This amendment certified Chester’s beginning balances for 2025.

• Burton Township - Amendment #1. $560,692.70 in the general fund and $1,542,462.99 in special revenue funds for a total of $2,103,155.69.

This amendment certified Burton Township’s beginning balances for 2025.

• Newbury Township - Amendment #1. $1,776,898.97 in the general fund, $4,093,745.92 in special revenue funds, $390,588.24 in debt service funds, $511,344.33 in capital project funds, and $35.64 in special assessment funds for a total of $6,772,613.10.
  

This amendment certified Newbury’s beginning balances for 2025.

• South Russell Village - Amendment #2. $1,919,088.51 in the general fund, $7,349,840.68 in special revenue funds, $2,593,427.25 in capital project funds, and $230,992.84 in fiduciary funds for a total of $12,093,349.28.

South Russell Village’s amendment reflected a capital projects fund increase of $121,855.63

• Munson Township - Amendment #1. $1,829,832.32 in the general fund, $4,643,156.60 in special revenue funds, $175,000.00 in capital project funds, and $2,100.00 in special assessment funds for a total of $6,650,088.92.

This amendment certified Munson’s beginning balances for 2025.

• Auburn Township - Amendment #1. $1,064,695.30 in the general fund, $5,606,831.78 in special revenue funds, $217,160.00 in debt service funds, and $222,270.21 in capital project funds for a total of $7,110,957.29.
  

This amendment certified Auburn’s beginning balances for 2025.

• Burton Village - Amendment #1. $1,871,798.39 in the general fund, $2,095,669.78 in special revenue funds, $1,237,038.11 in capital project funds, $57,443.41 in special assessment funds, $3,968,200.32 in enterprise funds, and $147,841.21 in fiduciary funds for a total of $9,377,991.22.

This amendment certified Burton Village’s beginning balances for 2025.

• Geauga County - Amendment #3. $69,339,402.59 in the general fund, $124,894,158.50 in special revenue funds, $5,172,649.58 in debt service funds, $1,143,702.06 in special assessment funds, $27,595,517.01 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 $286,761,635.81.

Geauga County’s amendment reflected a $600,000 increase in the senior center capital project fund. Mr. Flaiz noted that the balance in this fund is now over $2.5 million and said he found it odd that $600,000 would be added to this fund when there is no plan for the new senior center. He then asked if they had a plan he was unaware of, and Ms. Sinatra said if there is a plan it hasn’t been shared with them. She did note that the Department on Aging will have their Budget Hearing soon and perhaps they would learn more then. Observer Note: All County departments receiving levy money (Department on Aging, Job and Family Services, Engineer’s Office, Mental Health and Recovery Services, and Department of Developmental Disabilities) have Budget Hearings before the Budget Commission in the spring each year. They are all scheduled for April 7, 2025. 

The following Revenue Certification was re-signed:

• Thompson Township - Amendment #1. $451,250.61 in the general fund, $1,763,807.28 in special revenue funds, and $1,550.67 in special assessment funds for a total of $2,216,608.56.
  

Thompson’s amendment certifying the beginning balances for 2025 had to be re-signed due to a clerical error.

A Geauga Trumbull Solid Waste Supplemental Appropriation of $99,000 was approved.

Discussion

• The Budget Hearing for the Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services was rescheduled to coincide with the Budget Commission’s Regular Meeting on April 7, 2025 due to a scheduling conflict on the original date of March 17, 2025. Observer Note: At the Special Budget Commission meeting on February 24, 2025, it was stated that all Levied Department Budget Hearings (Department on Aging, Job and Family Services, Engineer’s Office, Mental Health and Recovery Services, and Department of Developmental Disabilities) will be moved to April 7, 2025.

• Mr. Hitchcock praised Mr. Walder’s school budget presentations.

• Mr. Walder suggested giving all of the schools the same start time for the budget hearings in the future so that there are no scheduling misunderstandings.  
  

Public Comment:

This observer confirmed the identities of off-camera meeting attendees and requested a copy of materials from the School Budget Hearings, which were provided via email on February 20, 2025. 

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 am.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is the second Special Meeting for the School Budget Hearings and Regular Business on February 20, 2025 at 9:00 am for Berkshire and West Geauga Schools in the Auditor’s Appraisal Conference Room, 231 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. Virtual attendance is available via Microsoft Teams by emailing an invitation request to Ms. McMahan at pmcmahan@gcauditor.com.  

Observer: Sarah McGlone

Editor and Reviewer: Gail Roussey

Submitted: 02/22/2025

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.