Budget Commission to Consider Resubmitted 2022 Geauga Park District Budget
Budget Commission Meeting – September 15, 2025
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Regular Session on Monday, September 15, 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. To attend Budget Commission meetings virtually via MS Teams, email an invitation request to Pam McMahan at PMcMahan@geauga.oh.gov.
Meeting Attendance: Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Treasurer Chris Hitchcock, and Auditor Chuck Walder.
Staff Attendance: Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Rine, Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra, ADP (Automatic Data Processing) Chief Deputy Administrator Frank Antenucci, and Chief
Compliance Officer & Administrator Kate Jacob (virtual).
County Staff: Budget and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton (virtual).
Members of the Public: This LWV Geauga Observer (virtual).
The meeting was called to order at 10:02 am.
Minutes: Minutes from the Special Meetings on August 18 & 19, 2025 were both approved. These minutes 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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Kenston Local School District - Amendment #1 - First Amendment for FY 2025-26. $50,676,446.85 in the general fund, $1,997,765.48 in special revenue funds, $5,125,780.42 in debt service funds, $2,631,291.27 in capital project funds, $2,272,082.21 in enterprise funds, $8,953,296.18 in internal service funds, and $84,576.96 in fiduciary funds for a total of $71,741,239.37.
Kenston’s amendment reflects an overall net increase in revenue of $1,666,772.30.
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Berkshire Local Schools - Amendment #3. $25,081,391.81 in the general fund, $4,455,746.35 in special revenue funds, $1,609,211.37 in debt service funds, $722,624.59 in capital project funds, $882,491.27 in enterprise funds, $460,181.82 in internal service funds, and $197,472.01 in fiduciary funds for a total of $33,409,119.22.
Berkshire’s amendment reflects a $30,210 increase in the Martha Holden Jennings community special revenue fund.
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Newbury Township - Amendment #6. $1,788,324.97 in the general fund, $4,110,745.92 in special revenue funds, $965,588.24 in debt service funds, $511,344.33 in capital project funds, and $1,334.52 in special assessment funds for a total of $7,377,337.98.
Newbury’s amendment reflects a $541.20 increase in special assessment funds.
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Bainbridge Township - Amendment #7. $4,301,900.37 in the general fund, $20,607,505.50 in special revenue funds, $1,843,788.74 in debt service funds, $5,024,224.59 in capital project funds, and $539.79 in fiduciary funds for a total of $31,777,958.99.
Bainbridge’s amendment reflects a $3,966.38 increase in special revenue funds.
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Munson Township - Amendment #3. $1,829,832.32 in the general fund, $4,680,425.94 in special revenue funds, $300,000.00 in capital project funds, and $2,100.00 in special assessment funds for a total of $6,812,358.26.
Munson’s amendment reflects a $36,269.34 increase in the fire operating special revenue fund.
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Geauga Public Health District - Amendment #3. $2,526,292.83 in the general fund and $5,127,154.97 in special revenue funds for a total of $7,653,447.80.
Geauga Public Health’s amendment reflects an $8,000 increase in the general fund. The Budget Commissioners indicated that Katie Taylor is now Geauga Public Health’s Fiscal Officer. Observer Note: In email communication from Ms. Taylor received by this observer, her title is listed as Finance Director. At the June 30, 2025 Budget Commission Meeting, the Budget Commissioners urged Geauga Public Health to come up with a way to better vet their finances, such as by employing a Fiscal Officer. It would seem that the hiring of Ms. Taylor is a response to this request. Reviewer Note: Katie Taylor previously served as the Administrator in the Geauga County Engineer’s Office and as the alternate for the County Engineer on the Automated Data Processing (ADP) Board.
The Budget Commission also acknowledged several Geauga Public Health supplemental appropriations in contract services. It was noted that GPH Legal Counsel Bryan Kostura had reviewed these supplementals, which were drafted by Sarah Ryan of Lake County Health’s Financial Office. Mr. Hitchcock asked if Geauga Public Health’s anticipated cash balance for the end of the year was known yet. Mr. Walder said not yet, as their finances are “... typically running months behind.” He went on to say that they are trying to get caught up.
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Geauga County - Amendment #10. $69,339,402.59 in the general fund, $126,335,271.84 in special revenue funds, $5,172,649.58 in debt service funds, $1,143,702.06 in special assessment funds, $30,295,528.76 in capital project funds, $52,255,044.13 in enterprise funds, $1,739,600.37 in internal service funds, and $4,706,706.85 in fiduciary funds for a total of $290,987,906.18.
Geauga County’s amendment reflected an increase of $102,895.01 in the Board of Elections special revenue fund.
Executive Session:
At approximately 10:13 am, the Budget Commission moved into Executive Session in order to discuss pending litigation with the Budget Commission’s legal counsel pursuant to ORC (Ohio Revised Code) 121.22(G)(3).
Return from Executive Session:
At 10:48 am, the Budget Commission returned from Executive Session with the following action: a Special Meeting was set for Friday, September 19, 2025 at 1:00 pm in the Auditor's Appraisal Conference Room to consider Geauga Park District’s 2022 Tax Budget on remand from the Tenth District Court of Appeals. Observer Note: For background information, please see:
Public Comment:
This Observer asked for confirmation regarding the details of the September 19 Special Meeting, which are provided above. Mr. Flaiz clarified that they will be hearing the Park District’s tax budget from three years ago (tax year 2022) and expressed uncertainty on if this had ever happened before. This observer requested clarification on the identities of Ms. Taylor and Ms. Ryan and their roles at Geauga Public Health/Lake County Health; this information is included earlier in this report. This observer notified the Budget Commissioners about the upcoming LWVG Candidate Forums- details are available here. This observer also requested all documentation from the meeting, which was received via email on September 16, 2025.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:58 am.
Next Meeting: The next two Budget Commission meetings will be Special Meetings on: 1) Friday, September 19, 2025 at 1:00 pm in the Auditor's Appraisal Conference Room at 231 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio for the purpose of reconvening Geauga Park District’s 2022 Budget Hearing and regular business and 2) Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at 10:00 am in the Auditor's Conference Room, 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio for the purpose of reviewing and confirming receipt of the rate resolutions for tax year 2025/calendar year 2026 and regular business. Virtual attendance for all Budget Commission meetings is available via Microsoft Teams by emailing an invitation request to Ms. McMahan at PMcMahan@geauga.oh.gov.
Observer: Sarah McGlone
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Submitted: September 17, 2025
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