New Fiscal Officer Introduced; Payments to Lake County Still Behind
Geauga Public Health (GPH) - September 17, 2025
Meeting Details: The GPH Board met in Regular Session at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B167-168 (first floor), Chardon, OH, on September 17, 2025. The meeting began at 5 pm. This meeting is in person with no virtual viewing or video. The Agenda is posted on the GPH Facebook page a few days prior to the meeting and then typically is posted on the GPH website. The Agenda can be found here.
Public Comment Policy: There is no separate written policy, but in practice “Citizens’ Remarks” are listed on the agenda and are permitted as detailed there.
Board Attendance: Dr. Mark Hendrickson, Melissa DeBoth, Lynn Roman, and Christine Sutter were present. Dr. Ashley Jones, President, was absent.
Dr. Hendrickson conducted the meeting in Dr. Jones’ absence.
Staff Attendance: Dan Lark, Director of Environmental Health, and Adam Litke, Administrator, were present. Ron Graham, Lake and Geauga Health Commissioner, was absent. Also present was new Fiscal Officer Katie Taylor.
Others Present: Geauga Maple Leaf Journalist Allison Wilson, this LWVG Observer and one member of the public
Call to Order: Called to order at 5:01 pm.
Opening of Meeting - The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. A quorum was declared, as was a Certification of the Delivery of Official notices of meeting.
Minutes – Approval for the Minutes of the Regular Meeting July 16, 2025, were approved with Ms. Roman abstaining. Ms. Roman was absent at the July meeting. Approval of Minutes for the August 20, 2025 meeting was unanimous.
Health District Staff Reports
Observer Note: These reports are available with the Agenda on the Geauga Public Health (GPH) website. See September Agenda here.
Mr. Litke said that they were somewhat alarmed that they only received 10 doses of the flu vaccine (clarified later in the meeting to 10 adult and 10 children’s vaccines). He said that the state would normally send 100. Mr. Litke said that Lake County only got 10 as well. He said these were the free vaccines for children whose families have low income. He also noted that the Vaccinate Ohio Grant is not being funded anymore.
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Environmental Health Report – Mr. Lark said there was nothing to add to the items in the Board packet. However, he did note that HealthSpace, the new software for reporting safety at food establishments, is online. Observer Note: As of the date of this report, it does not appear that this information about food establishments and their status has yet been made available to the public online. Here is a link to the Lake County reporting. He also said that they have had the first of two presentations on O&M (Operation and Maintenance). He said that people did come, although he said that attendance varied greatly for different meetings.
He reported that they are working with the Prosecutor’s office to continue to roll out the Operation and Maintenance program (O&M)
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Health Commissioner’s Report – Mr. Graham was not present, but his report in the Board packet (and available with the Agenda) noted personnel changes at the CDC. His report stated that “a handful of other notable longstanding leaders at the CDC have resigned, some of whom are former National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) members.”
Mr. Graham cited a report from KFF Health News dated August 26 stating that: “Ohio is now one of the top five states with the most cuts in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments.” He also cited the same source to say that “federal CDC funding accounts for more than half of state and local health department budgets...”
Old Business – None
New Business – The following Resolutions were unanimously approved:
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Financial Reports, Resolution 25-09-06-01-01. Reviewer Note: The list of payments contained in the Appendix to the Agenda does not list any payments to Lake County for the Cross Jurisdictional Agreement. See LWVGeauga Report for June 18, 2025 for recent Then and Now payments and missed payments to Lake County.
Notes on the Chart stated that, as of August 31, 2025, the year is 66.6% complete.
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Permission to Approve Appropriations for Increase/Decrease. Mr. Litke said these represent transfers to the General Fund to pay for the Lake County Cross Jurisdictional Agreement. Mr. Litke stated that the Budget Commission asked for this Resolution to be brought before the Board. Reviewer Note: See the June 30, 20205 Budget Commission LWVG Observer Report for more information.
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Permission to Approve Fund Balance Adjustments. Ms. Taylor said this document was required by the Budget Commission. Reviewer Note: On September 29, 2025, the Budget Commission tabled its vote on GPH’s fund balance adjustments, saying they needed more time to vet them and they were not “executed by the proper authority.” The LWVG Observer Report on this meeting is available here. At the subsequent Budget Commission meeting on October 6, 2025, it was clarified that the “proper authority” issue was that the fund balance adjustments lacked original signatures from the GPH Board. The LWVG Observer Report on the October 6, 2025 Budget Commission meeting will be available at lwvgeauga.org when published.
Citizens’ Remarks
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This Observer asked about the fact that there were no payments to Lake County for the Cross Jurisdictional Agreement. Mr. Litke responded that they are working on getting these approved and up to date. After a question about a series of payments to Lake County, Mr. Litke said they were for the O&M program. He stated that the average contract payment to Lake County should be about $200,000. He said that they are actually under budget since they are done with 66.6% of the year and total bills are 64%. Observer Note: This observer cannot independently verify whether or not GPH is under budget due to lack of access to GPH's bills.
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A citizen asked if it is possible that the Board would again stream the meetings, and Mr. Litke said that it was too costly due to the fact that their meetings are after hours and would entail overtime pay. He said that he thought it would cost $10,000.
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There was also a discussion about property tax reform. Mr. Litke said that, “No one knows” what will happen, but “it keeps you up at night.” He also mentioned that townships are funded by property tax. Reviewer Note: More information about possible changes to property taxes is available in the July 9, 2025 Geauga County Township Association LWVG Observer Report.
Executive Session - None
Adjourned - The Board adjourned at 5:38 pm
Next Regular Meeting: October 15, 2025 at 5:00 pm. All meetings are held at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B 167-168, Chardon, OH.
More Information and Board minutes can be found here: Geauga Public Health
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Submission Date: September 23, 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.