Budget Commissioners Sound the Alarm about Possible Elimination of Townships
If Property Taxes Are Abolished
Budget Commission Meeting – October 6, 2025
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Regular Session on Monday, October 6, 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, Auditor Chuck Walder, and Treasurer Chris Hitchcock.
Staff Attendance: Deputy Auditor Kristen Sinatra, ADP (Automatic Data Processing) Chief Deputy Administrator Frank Antenucci, Chief Operations Officer Pam McMahan, and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Rine (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: N/A. Ms. Sinatra said the Minutes for the Special Meeting on September 29, 2025 were not completed yet. Minutes through the September 15, 2025 Budget Commission meeting 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.
-
Cardinal Local Schools - Amendment #1 - First Amendment for FY (Fiscal Year) 2025-26. Observer Note: Schools operate on a July-June fiscal year, whereas most County entities operate on the January-December calendar year. $20,707,458.85 in the general fund, $1,864,727.60 in special revenue funds, $1,356,156.52 in debt service funds, $2,470,003.33 in capital project funds, $648,040.47 in enterprise funds, $78,661.95 in internal service funds, and $57,494.46 in fiduciary funds for a total of $27,182,543.18.
Cardinal’s amendment reflects an overall net increase in revenue of $1,731,618.47.
-
Geauga County - Amendment #11. $69,339,402.59 in the general fund, $126,349,571.84 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, $1,759,600.37 in internal service funds, and $4,706,706.85 in fiduciary funds for a total of $291,022,206.18.
Geauga County’s amendment reflected an increase of $14,300 in the Board of Elections special revenue fund and an increase of $20,000 in internal services funds.
Other Business:
-
A Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste (GTSW) Appropriation Transfer in the amount of $36,273.87 from advertising to 1) hospitalization ($10,070.87), 2) cost allocations ($1,203), and 3) contract services ($25,000) was acknowledged by the Budget Commission.
-
Ms. Sinatra informed the Budget Commissioners that the staff has reached out to Geauga Public Health (GPH) to let them know that their submitted Fund Balance Adjustments were tabled at the September 29, 2025 Budget Commission Meeting because 1) there wasn’t enough time to vet the numbers and 2) the submission lacked original signatures from the GPH Board authorizing the fund balance adjustments. She said GPH has not responded yet. Mr. Walder moved that they “pink sheet it and send it back (to GPH),” and then GPH can submit the fund balance adjustments again with the required signatures. Mr. Walder explained that the “pink sheet” provides entities with information on what they need to do to correct problems with submissions so that they can correct them and resubmit. The motion passed unanimously.
-
The 2026 Rate Resolutions from Geauga County, Hambden Township, and Middlefield Township were unanimously approved. It was noted that all three were received on or before the October 1, 2025 submission deadline. The 2026 Rate Resolutions for all other Geauga County entities were approved at the September 29, 2025 Budget Commission Meeting.
January 5, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
January 19, 2026 Holiday Cancelled
*January 22, 2026 Thursday 10:00 am
February 2, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
February 16, 2026 Holiday Cancelled
*February 18, 2026 Wednesday 9:00 am 2026-2027 School Budget Hearing: Chardon, Kenston
*February 19, 2026 Thursday 9:00 am 2026-2027 School Budget Hearing: Berkshire, Cardinal, and W. Geauga
March 2, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
March 16, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
*April 6, 2026 Monday 10:00 am Levied Departments Budget Review
April 20, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
May 4, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
May 18, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
*June 1, 2026 Monday 10:00 am Geauga Public Health Budget Hearing
June 15, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
*June 29, 2026 Monday 10:00 am Local School District Year-End Financials
July 6, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
July 20, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
August 3, 2026 Monday 10:00 am Annual Organizational Meeting
*August 17, 2026 Monday 9:00 am 2027 Budget Hearing
*August 18, 2026 Tuesday 9:00 am 2027 Budget Hearing continued
*August 27, 2026 Thursday 10:00 am Budget Hearing follow-up if needed
September 7, 2026 Holiday Canceled September 21, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
*September 30, 2026 Wednesday 10:00 am Rate Resolutions
October 5, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
October 19, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
November 2, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
November 16, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
December 7, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
December 21, 2026 Monday 10:00 am
*December 30, 2026 Wednesday 10:00 am Year-end – may not be needed
*Denotes a special meeting. Location change could also create a special meeting.
Property Tax Discussion:
Mr. Walder shared that he and Ms. McMahan recently attended the Auditors’ Quarterly Meeting, and some Representatives from the Ohio House of Representatives were there. He indicated that there were numerous items discussed that are relevant for the Budget Commission to know about. First, both the House and the Senate have now voted to override the Governor’s veto of an item in the State Budget restricting the types of levies that schools can place on the ballot. This means that after the November 2025 election, school districts will no longer be able to put emergency levies, substitute levies, or replacement levies on the ballot. Observer Note: More information on the veto override is available here. Mr. Walder said that the House is still going to try to override two other vetoed components of the Budget related to property taxes: an item strengthening County Budget Commissions and an item changing how the 20 mill floor (used to provide a certain minimum amount of funding to schools) is calculated. He said the House is “hedging their bet” on being able to override the vetoed items by creating some House bills dealing directly with the vetoed items “in case they don't have enough votes to overturn the veto.” Mr. Walder described the proposed bills as follows: House Bill 309 deals with Budget Commission reform, House Bill 129 would add emergency and substitute levies to the 20 mill floor calculation, House Bill 186 “is proposing to cap the 20 mill floor to inflation,” and House Bill 335 is “capping inside millage, across the board, to inflation.”
Mr. Flaiz pointed out that the Governor may veto these bills if they are passed, and the General Assembly may lack the votes to override the veto, leaving them right back where they started. Mr. Walder agreed that this is possible, though he said that an unnamed person from the House attending the Auditors’ Quarterly Meeting indicated that the Governor is having “second thoughts” on his vetoes.
Mr. Flaiz said that he felt that the Legislature should “greatly expand the reduction for owner-occupied homes.” Mr. Walder said he thought this was unlikely “... because if they were to expand it the right way, the State would (have to) pony up for that discount, and the State has no intention of giving away any of their money.”
Mr. Walder expressed frustration with the situation, saying “you're facing the inevitable, which is (possibly) eliminating all property taxes, and you're diddling around with little bills.” He said none of the proposed bills are bad ideas, but he opined that “none of this is going to satisfy the people that want to remove all property taxes. My argument is, they’ve got a very simple message. We have a very complicated message. As long as that exists, people are going to go with the simple (message).”
Mr. Walder said “the thing I am worried about is, I'm seeing a temperament change with Auditors. While everyone is saying to the public, ‘hey, this eliminating all property tax is a bad thing,’ I'm hearing more Auditors say, ‘blow it up, because these guys will never fix it in Columbus…. Unless you blow it up, no reform will ever happen.’ And that's coming from both Republicans and Democrats that are Auditors. It's concerning to me, because I'm starting to see what they're saying. (State Representative) David Thomas' position was, ‘we're passing all these measures, and all we're asking is for more time.’ As if 30 years wasn't enough.” Mr. Flaiz wondered why they needed more time, as property tax abolishment is not likely to be on the ballot until November 2026. He remarked “the only thing they need more time for is to posture themselves so they can get more political contributions from lobbyists.”
Mr. Walder said that the grassroots movement to abolish property taxes in Ohio is gaining momentum, with people giving their own money to support it. He added that “according to the House and the Senate, their belief is, come next year, they will then launch a series of high-dollar initiatives to combat it (the property tax abolishment movement) through advertising.” Mr. Flaiz asked who would fund this advertising. Mr. Walder responded that he was told at the Auditors’ Quarterly Meeting that it would be paid for by the “School Superintendents Association, School Treasurers Association… all the benefactors of (property) taxes. I turned to Pam (Ms. McMahan), and I said, ‘you don't think the taxpayers are going to see through this?’ The people taking your money are the ones fighting (property tax abolishment) and telling you, ‘pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.’”
Mr. Flaiz contended that property taxes have gotten “so out of hand” because “the State is the one dictating the percentage increase for the property values to each of the counties.” Mr. Walder said “the other part of the problem is, there is an inherent unfairness with two components of (property) taxation (inside millage and the 20 mill floor) that are not linked to a vote of the people.”
Mr. Walder opined that another issue is Ohio has “top heavy problems.” He gave the example that Florida has twice the population of Ohio, yet Florida has only about 65 school districts, 10% as many as Ohio (more than 600). He pointed out that all of Ohio school districts have superintendents and treasurers who are highly compensated, and Florida has one-tenth as many of these individuals to pay. Mr. Walder said it was starting to become a similar story with Ohio’s many fire companies and policing agencies. He indicated that townships are vulnerable, saying he was told at the Quarterly Auditors’ Meeting that “townships will all but disappear” without property taxes unless a law is passed to allow townships to collect income taxes. Otherwise, townships are likely to “get absorbed by neighboring villages.” He later stated that the best defense against the movement to eliminate property taxes may be that it forces centralization of government and services. Mr. Flaiz observed that centralization is anathema to many people who value local control.
Mr. Walder said there may not be a need for Budget Commissions anymore if property taxes are abolished. He added that in general the abolishment of property taxes would downsize County government; for example, the County would no longer need to do property appraisals. He pointed out that part of the County’s share of property tax funds some operations in miscellaneous County departments, including his own office as well as Mr. Flaiz’s. Without property taxes, Mr. Walder predicted that the County’s general fund costs would increase to cover these shortfalls, which in turn would lead to increased county sales taxes.
Mr. Flaiz predicted the elimination of townships without property taxes because they would not be able to meet their statutory obligations or even pay their trustees. Mr. Walder said that the elected township officials in Geauga County make about $1.6 million annually in combined salaries, which he said seems “outrageous.” Ms. Sinatra pointed out that this figure does not include benefits, and Mr. Walder agreed that it did not. He postulated that Geauga could consider some kind of middle ground, perhaps by reducing from 16 townships to 8.
The discussion concluded with Mr. Walder remarking “this whole thing that's happening with this elimination of property tax is the equivalent of DOGE at the local level. That's what it's going to be. They're just going to get rid of it all, and figure it out from there.”
Public Comment:
This observer asked clarifying questions regarding 1) Mr. Walder’s comment on the components of property taxation that are not tied to a vote of the people and 2) the signatures that are needed on the Geauga Public Health fund balance adjustments. The answers are reflected in the content of this report above. This observer reminded the Budget Commission about the final LWVG Candidate Forum at West Geauga Middle School on October 9, 2025 at 6:30 pm and also gave Mr. Antenucci a shout out for attending the Chardon LWVG Candidate Forum the week before. Finally, this observer requested a copy of all materials from the meeting, which were received via email on October 6, 2025.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:34 am.
Next Meeting: The next Budget Commission meeting will be a Regular Meeting on Monday, October 20, 2025 at 10:00 am in the Auditor's Conference Room, 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. 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: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Submitted: October 7, 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.