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Budget Commission Approves West Geauga’s Budget, 

Disagreement Regarding the District’s Emergency Levies Remains Unresolved  

Budget Commission Meeting – February 24, 2025

Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Special Session on Monday, February 24, 2025 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, Auditor Chuck Walder, and Chief Deputy Treasurer Caroline Mansfield (substituting for Treasurer Chris Hitchcock).

Staff Attendance: Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra and Chief Operations Officer Pam McMahan attended in person. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Rine and Chief Compliance Officer Kate Jacob attended virtually.

School District Staff: West Geauga Treasurer Karen Pavlat (in person) and West Geauga School Board Vice President Dr. William Beers (virtual)

County Staff: Budget and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton (virtual).

Members of the Public: Geauga Times Courier Journalist Anastasia Nicholas and this LWV Geauga Observer attended virtually. 

The meeting was called to order at 10:03 am.

Minutes: N/A

Geauga County 2025-2026 School Budget Hearings - Day 3

Observer Note: The Budget Commission conducted the School Budget Hearings on multiple days. This report summarizes the conclusion of the West Geauga Budget Hearing (Part 2) on February 24, 2025. The Berkshire and West Geauga (Part 1) Budget Hearings were on February 20, 2025; the Observer Report on that meeting is available here. Kenston, Cardinal, and Chardon had their Budget Hearings on February 19, 2025, and they are detailed here.

West Geauga Local School District Budget Hearing- Part 2

Ms. Sinatra described the updated West Geauga 2025-26 budget reflecting the Budget Commission’s decision to rescind the district’s shift of one inside mill to Permanent Improvement (PI). This moves the one inside mill from PI back to the general fund. Observer Note: Please see the February 20, 2025 LWVG Budget Commission Observer Report for more details. She explained that, because West Geauga’s fiscal year (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026) straddles the tax collection calendar year (January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026), the Budget Commission’s action shifting the one inside mill from PI to the general fund for the calendar year 2026 would actually happen over two of West Geauga’s school years, with the 2025-2026 year covering January 1 - June 30, 2026 and the 2026-2027 year covering July 1 - December 31, 2026. Because the 2025-2026 fiscal year only contains half of the calendar year 2026, only half of the inside millage can be shifted back from PI to the general fund in the 2025-2026 budget. Therefore, 0.5 inside mill will be shifted from PI back to the general fund in the current 2025-2026 West Geauga budget. 

The updated numbers for West Geauga’s funds for 2025-20256 were as follows:

• General Fund

  • Estimated 7/1/2025 Unencumbered Cash Balance: $25,029,890

  • Estimated 2025/2026 Revenue: $34,270,753

  • Estimated 2025/2026 Expenses: $33,937,956 

  • Estimated 6/30/2026 Cash Balance: $25,362,687

• Emergency Levy Fund Fund

  • Estimated 7/1/2025 Unencumbered Cash Balance: $0

  • Estimated 2025/2026 Revenue: $4,781,132

  • Estimated 2025/2026 Expenses: $4,781,132

  • Estimated 6/30/2026 Cash Balance: $0

• Permanent Improvement Fund

  • Estimated 7/1/2025 Unencumbered Cash Balance: $2,855,575

  • Estimated 2025/2026 Revenue: $615,333

  • Estimated 2025/2026 Expenses: $2,000,000

  • Estimated 6/30/2026 Cash Balance: $1,470,908

• Total Estimated Millage for Tax Year 2025 (2026 Collection) = 48.12 Mills, comprised of:

  • 4.50 Mills Inside General Fund

  • 0.00 Mills Inside Permanent Improvement

  • 38.80 Mills Outside (Voted) General Fund

  • 4.82 Mills Emergency Levies

General Discussion on West Geauga’s Budget

• There was a lengthy discussion about the complexity of having to reflect the rescinding of the inside millage shift across two school budget years (2025-2026 and 2026-2027) even though it is actually occurring in one calendar year (2026). Mr. Flaiz said the law requires the Budget Commission to 1) examine schools’ budgets on the July 1- June 30 fiscal year calendar and 2) certify revenues, which occurs on an annual calendar year basis. Mr. Walder noted that they will have to remember that the other 0.5 inside mill (about $615,000) must be shifted from PI back to the general fund in the next budget cycle (2026-2027) and asked what mechanism there is to make sure that happens. Ms. Sinatra said it will be tracked by various required forms. 

• Ms. Pavlat wanted it to be noted on the record that the district has need in the PI fund. Mr. Flaiz countered that this isn’t reflected in the budget submission. Observer Note: Please see the February 20, 2025 Observer Report linked above for more information about West’s Geauga’s PI needs that are not reflected in the budget submission. 

• Mr. Flaiz noted that General Fund expenses include covering an approximately $67,000 shortfall in the Emergency Levy Fund. Ms. Sinatra said this was done to avoid showing a negative balance in the Emergency Levy Fund. Mr. Walder explained that “this Emergency Levy fund is nothing more than the General Fund,” and Mr. Flaiz said he understood that the Emergency Levy fund is “basically a pass-through” to the General Fund. 
  

Budget Approval

The Budget Commissioners unanimously voted to approve West Geauga’s 2025-2026 amended budget. Estimated 2025-2026 resources were certified as: $59,600,643 in the general fund, $7,388,632 in special revenue funds, $10,610,908 in capital project funds, $1,500,512 in enterprise funds, $297,000 in internal service funds, and $120,000 in fiduciary funds for a total of $79,517,695.

Regular Business: 

The following Revenue Certifications were approved:

Reviewer Note: An explanation of the different types of funds in revenue certifications can be found here.

• West Geauga Local Schools - Amendment #4. $58,437,192.10 in the general fund, $6,542,153.83 in special revenue funds, $9,948,507.80 in capital project funds, $1,610,982.42 in enterprise funds, $282,286.33 in internal service funds, and $125,038.49 in fiduciary funds for a total of $76,946,160.97.

West Geauga’s amendment certified increases in special revenue funds and capital project funds.

• Geauga County - Amendment #4. $69,339,402.59 in the general fund, $124,944,678.50 in special revenue funds, $5,172,649.58 in debt service funds, $1,143,702.06 in special assessment funds, $28,745,528.76 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 $287,962,167.56.

Geauga County’s amendment reflected increases in special revenue funds and capital project funds. 

Discussion:

• The location for Geauga Public Health’s Budget Hearing on April 21, 2025 was set as the Auditor’s Appraisal Conference Room at 231 Main Street in Chardon.

• The Regular Meeting Scheduled for March 3, 2025 was canceled. 

• The Levied Departments (Department on Aging, Job and Family Services, Engineer’s Office, Mental Health and Recovery Services, and Department of Developmental Disabilities) Budget Hearings were rescheduled for April 7, 2025 in the Auditor's Appraisal Conference Room at 231 Main Street in Chardon. They had previously been scheduled for March 17, 2025. The March 17 meeting will now be a Regular Meeting. 

• Ms. Sinatra said several entities have not submitted their 2024 year end balances yet, including Middlefield Village, Chardon Township, Claridon Township, Hambden Township, Middlefield Township, Parkman Township, Chester Park, Russell 1545 Park, and East Geauga Fire. Auditor’s Office staff will reach out to all these entities with a reminder that the year-end balance submissions are due by the end of February.
  

Public Comment:

• This observer confirmed the upcoming Budget Commission meeting schedule changes outlined above and requested a copy of materials from the meeting, which were received via email on February 24, 2025.  

• West Geauga School Board Vice President Dr. Williams Beers had several comments and shared some informational slides with the Budget Commissioners.

  • Dr. Beers said that his Ph.D. is in chemistry and he has a strong background in science and research, so he took the opportunity to use his experience to examine data related to West Geauga’s budget numbers that were discussed during the district’s budget hearing.

  • His first slide was on cash as a percentage of expenses. He noted that West Geauga has the highest cash as a percentage of expenses in the County, but this is perhaps deceiving because of the small sample size of County school districts (5). He said that when compared to all school districts around Ohio, West Geauga was close to the median in cash as a percentage of expenses, with 27% of school districts having a greater value for this indicator. 

  • Mr. Walder noted that Dr. Beers pulled information from all types of school districts, not just traditional public schools. Mr. Walder also said that Dr. Beers’ statistical approaches, such as using the median and looking for normal distributions, differ from those used by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). Mr. Walder said his method is to follow the ODE’s approach of simply using raw data. He also noted that the Budget Commission isn’t permitted to look outside of Geauga County because each County has its own Budget Commission. Dr. Beers maintained that the small sample size of five districts in Geauga County is problematic for making meaningful comparisons.

  • Dr. Beers’ next slide showed cash as a percentage of expenses for the top 20 school districts in the State. He noted that West Geauga is in the middle of the pack in this sample. 

  • The following slide compared cash as a percentage of expenses and School Performance Index score in school districts located in Northeast Ohio Counties, including Cuyahoga, Lake, and Geauga. Dr. Beers noted West Geauga does not have the highest cash as a percentage of expenses in this sample of about 45 school districts. Observer Note: This observer estimates that West Geauga has about the sixth highest cash as a percentage of expenses and the fourth highest Performance Index Score in the graphic provided. 

  • Mr. Walder observed that Northeast Ohio’s Ashtabula and Trumbull Counties were not included in Dr. Beers’ analysis and said that Ashtabula’s schools have very low amounts of cash, which would have changed Dr. Beers’ findings. Mr. Walder said that he was going to stick with how ODE does statistical analysis and noted that ODE typically only compares school districts within the same group (e.g., traditional public schools are compared with each other, vocational schools are compared with each other, but vocational and traditional schools are not compared with each other). He explained that different types of school districts have very different funding requirements. Dr. Beers responded that he thought that the Budget Commission should use the State’s methods but still compare Geauga’s schools to other schools in nearby counties to create a larger sample size.

  • Mr. Flaiz reminded everyone that, when Mr. Walder presented information on each district’s cash as a percentage of expenses during the School Budget Hearings, each district was compared to the other schools in the County and also to the State average. He observed that Kenston’s cash as a percentage of expenses is significantly lower than West Geauga’s, and Kenston has a similar Performance Index Score to West Geauga. Mr. Flaiz added that district performance isn’t weighed in Budget Commission decisions. 

  • Dr. Beers’ final slide provided ORC (Ohio Revised Code) information on substitute levies. Changing the district’s emergency levies to substitute levies was discussed on the first day of West Geauga’s Budget Hearing. He said his reading of the law indicates that replacing the emergency levies with substitute levies would require a vote of the people. Mr. Flaiz confirmed that this was the case. 

  • Mr. Walder said that school budgets are not evaluated solely on cash as a percentage of expenses but rather by “a myriad of issues” that must be considered. He indicated that the biggest issue over the last two years with the West Geauga budget submissions has been the emergency levies and purpose of those levies (i.e., that they are legally mandated to provide for only the emergency requirements of the district, and whether or not the district is experiencing an emergency has been called into question due to its high cash balances). Mr. Walder stressed that “every budget submission stands on its own merit, and so that's what we attempt to do every year in looking at everyone's budget. It's not just comparing one budget to a bunch of other budgets. Every budget has to stand on its own.” He added that “I don't want you to think that cash as a percent of expenses is like the magic wand, because it's not. It also has to do with how that money was accumulated, under what scenario, and what did the voters think they were giving that money for? Was it for an emergency, or was it to accrue cash?”

  • A discussion on whether or not the emergency levies were needed when they were last renewed in 2016 and 2019 followed. Ms. Pavlat said they were needed because the Newbury merger and the 2023 property revaluation (both of which increased the amount of tax money the district receives) were not predicted when the renewals occurred. Mr. Flaiz said cash balances were high in 2016 and 2019 in spite of that, indicating a lack of need. Mr. Walder said that West Geauga had about $15 million in cash at the time of the district’s last emergency levy renewal and has $10 million more than that now (that is, about $25 million). He went on to say that “I have a problem, as a taxpayer, putting money into a government entity that is putting money in the bank. I want to pay my taxes when the taxes are due, and I want to get a service within a reasonable period of time of when I pay those taxes. Over the course of 10 years, West G has continually increased their cash. As a taxpayer, I should be holding that cash and give it to you when you are ready to pull the trigger (on needed projects).”

  • The difficulties associated with reconciling the State’s requirement that schools provide five-year budget forecasts with the Budget Commission requirement to only look at a one year budget was considered at length. 

  • Mr. Walder said “I'm going to have a real exception if somebody says, ‘Well, gee, we have $25 million and we're going to use that to reduce the bond requirement so we don't have to ask the taxpayers for as much.’ Wait a minute, that wasn't collected under that initiative. It was collected specifically for emergency. How is building a building an emergency?” Observer Note: West Geauga has a 5.35 mill Bond Levy to build a new 6-12 school on the ballot in May 2025. Mrs. Pavlat said that the district’s existing buildings still need renovations. Mr. Flaiz responded that “emergency purposes are not permanent improvements to buildings.” Mrs. Pavlat said that the district’s emergency levy funding is all spent on salaries. Mr. Walder said his understanding was that the emergency levy money could only be used for salaries if it is to prevent the closure of a facility.

  • Dr. Beers said there was a lot they would have to agree to disagree on. He noted that the district would have to work to optimize for both the one year view of budgeting used by the Budget Commission and the five year view required by the State.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 am.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is a Regular Meeting on March 17, 2025 at 10:00 am Auditor’s Conference Room, 215 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: Anne Ondrey

Reviewer: Carol Benton

Submitted: 02/28/2025

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.