Budget Commissioners Support Limiting Property Tax
Education Event Panel to Elected Officials from Geauga County
Budget Commission Meeting – March 2, 2026
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Regular Session on Monday, March 2, 2026 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: Deputy Auditor Tina Kloski, Auditor’s Office Chief Operations Officer Pam McMahan, ADP (Automatic Data Processing), Chief Deputy Administrator Frank Antenucci, and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Rine (virtual).
County Staff: Budget & Finance Manager Adrian Gorton (virtual).
Members of the Public: This LWV Geauga Observer (virtual).
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am.
Minutes: Minutes from the Special Meetings on February 18 & 19, 2026 were approved (subject to a spelling correction) and can be found here when posted.
The following Revenue Certificates were approved:
Reviewer Note: An explanation of the different types of funds in revenue certifications can be found
here.
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West Geauga Local Schools - Amendment #2. $49,775,724.57 in the general fund, $3,894,259.58 in special revenue funds, $20,557,777.11 in capital project funds, $1,554,446.68 in enterprise funds, $330,921.46 in internal service funds, and $2,083.30 in fiduciary funds for a total of $76,115,212.70.
West Geauga’s amendment certified increases in special revenue funds and fiduciary funds.
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South Russell Village - Amendment #2. $2,153,817.44 in the general fund, $7,988,389.95 in special revenue funds, $3,205,388.26 in capital project funds, and $293,824.64 in fiduciary funds, for a total of $13,641,420.29.
South Russell’s amendment certified increases in special revenue funds and capital project funds.
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Bainbridge Township - Amendment #2. $3,847,697.39 in the general fund, $20,653,137.90 in special revenue funds, $1,228,282.70 in debt service funds, $5,791,434.47 in capital project funds, and $2,273.70 in fiduciary funds for a total of $31,522,826.16.
Bainbridge’s amendment certified an increase in capital project funds.
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Geauga County - Amendment #3. $62,179,557.81 in the general fund, $113,025,852.94 in special revenue funds, $5,217,541.26 in debt service funds, $1,145,055.59 in special assessment funds, $21,460,648.14 in capital project funds, $32,304,589.52 in enterprise funds, $1,751,515.64 in internal service funds, and $3,783,883.29 in fiduciary funds for a total of $240,868,644.19.
Geauga County’s amendment certified an increase in special revenue funds.
Observer Note: The Budget Commission requests that all entities provide beginning balances for all
funds within 90 days of the start of the year. The following are certifications of the 2026 beginning
balances for each entity below:
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Claridon Township - Amendment #1. $1,034,315.27 in the general fund and $1,514,636.50 in special revenue funds for a total of $2,548,951.77.
This amendment certified Claridon’s beginning balances for 2026.
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Auburn Township - Amendment #1. $1,253,963.30 in the general fund, $5,045,157.86 in special revenue funds, $221,552.00 in debt service funds, and $258,861.16 in capital project funds for a total of $6,779,534.32.
This amendment certified Auburn’s beginning balances for 2026.
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Middlefield Village - Amendment #1. $3,554,582.76 in the general fund, $10,538,987.57 in special revenue funds, $1,897,243.22 in capital project funds, $6,799,292.15 in enterprise funds, and $179,376.25 in fiduciary funds for a total of $22,969,481.95.
This amendment certified Middlefield Village’s beginning balances for 2026.
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Russell Township Park District - Amendment #1. $50,788.43 in the general fund and $51,367.38 in special revenue funds for a total of $102,155.81.
This amendment certified Russell Township Park District’s beginning balances for 2026.
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Chardon Township - Amendment #1 - $1,436,593.02 in the general fund, $2,921,309.68 in special revenue funds, $197,371.17 in debt service funds, $350,000.00 in capital project funds, and $838.27 in fiduciary funds for a total of $4,906,112.14.
This amendment certified Chardon Township’s beginning balances for 2026.
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Hambden Township - Amendment #1. $1,027,586.54 in the general fund, $2,985,196.19 in special revenue funds, and $389,329.84 in capital project funds for a total of $4,402,112.57.
This amendment certified Hambden Township’s beginning balances for 2026.
The following previously approved Revenue Certificate was revised:
East Geauga Fire District’s amendment certifying its beginning balances for 2026 had to be
re-signed due to a revised revenue amount.
Other Business:
Discussion on Property Tax Education Events:
Mr. Walder pointed out that the next property tax education session will occur on March 10. Mr. Flaiz asked if there would be changes to the event compared to the one that occurred on February 25. Observer Note: A video of the February 25 property tax education event is available here. Mr. Walder talked about the feedback that he has received from Geaugans about the February 25 event indicating that some aspects of it should be shortened to avoid repetitiveness and therefore get to audience questions sooner. He also said that some have suggested that future events should “at least allow for five minutes from the (property tax) abolishment people to get their take,” and he asked the other Budget Commissioners their thoughts about this. Mr. Walder noted that originally panelists were limited to elected officials in Geauga, and he added that County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri has “been somewhat on [sic] their camp (referring to the movement to abolish property taxes)” and could be invited to attend future sessions.
Mr. Flaiz said he understood the frustration with hearing many similar responses from the elected panelists from townships and school boards indicating that they are “a hard no” on abolishing property taxes. He added that “local governments, for the most part, haven't been held accountable. There needs to be more consolidation. There needs to be more cost savings, but the… system is fundamentally unfair. The way tax revenues are set up, and the taxing sources favor the state, and they don't favor the locals, and the locals have to keep going back to the voters in order to keep up with inflation and the state doesn’t.” Mr. Flaiz went on to discuss that there are fixed costs associated with services, such as schools and fire departments, and opined that “there's a reason government provides these services, because they aren't feasible for the private sector.” He gave the example that the US Mail has some issues with inefficiency, “... but private enterprise is not going to do mail routes in rural America. They're just not, because it's not economically feasible. So if you want to have a mail delivery system nationwide, the government has to do it.”
Mr. Hitchcock said that he would like to invite Commissioner Spidalieri to participate in future property tax education events since he is a Geauga County elected official. Mr. Walder said he would share this idea with the event planning team. Mr. Hitchcock said that “the state legislature, or the state budget, used to provide a lot of money for all these services. It has been dwindling down over the decades.” He indicated that sharing this history would add to the discussion at the property tax education events.
Mr. Walder said that, “I think if you ask the average resident (at) the moment of the ballot decision, would you like zero property tax, they will say yes. And then if you ask them, would you like zero sales tax, they would say yes. Would you like zero state income tax? They would say yes. And then you put a ballot initiative on to increase their police or fire protection, and they would vote for it. That's the problem. Everybody wants what they have. Nobody wants to pay for it.”
The discussion returned to who the Budget Commissioners thought should be permitted to be panelists at future property tax education events. Mr. Walder supported staying with only elected officials from Geauga County because the people of the county have voted for those individuals to represent them. He said, “to bring in a non-voted person and give them the credential of saying, well, you know, you're speaking for the other half. What? Why are we pitting ourselves against our constituents? We shouldn't be.” Mr. Flaiz said that this was a good point.
Mr. Walder expressed disappointment that the panelists at the February 25 event did not mention proactively reaching out to other entities about possibly consolidating services, such as police and fire districts, should property taxes be eliminated. Mr. Flaiz mentioned that reductions in revenue caused by the abolishment of property taxes could hamper townships’ ability to perform statutory services like road maintenance, and it could also make some townships unable to pay their trustees and fiscal officers.
Mr. Walder said that he would give the Budget Commissioners’ feedback to LWVG and the Geauga County Library, which are the entities that put on the property tax education events along with the Auditor’s Office. The Budget Commissioners tried to think of other elected officials in Geauga County who support property tax abolishment in order to suggest them as panelists for future events, but they couldn’t come up with anyone who had publicly taken that position. The Budget Commissioners agreed that each of them would be willing to be a part of the property tax education events and would give notice of these events as being Budget Commission meetings to fulfill sunshine law requirements. It was noted that Mr. Flaiz and Mr. Walder both spoke at the February 25 event. Mr. Walder said that no Budget Commission business was addressed at that meeting so no sunshine laws were violated.
The Budget Commissioners then discussed the important role of Budget Commissions and noted that each county is different and does things their own way. Mr. Walder mentioned recent legislation strengthening Budget Commissions (Ohio House Bill 309) and the work that he and his staff have been undertaking to train Budget Commissioners in other Ohio counties.
The Budget Commissioners asked this Observer to weigh in on the property tax education events. Observer Note: This Observer was the moderator for the February 25 event. This Observer thanked the Budget Commissioners for attending the February 25 event and also stated, “I want to stress that the League of Women Voters is neutral. We're only interested in asking questions and getting the facts out there. We don't take a side on things. We're just interested in information.” Mr. Hitchcock asked about questions received from the public at the February 25 event that were for Budget Commission members and if they could be shared so that the Budget Commissioners could better answer the public’s questions at future events. This Observer said that LWVG would do so. All agreed that the public had some big picture questions at the February 25 event that might be better answered by a Budget Commissioner than a township or school district elected official.
Mr. Hitchcock then praised LWVG’s non-partisanship and said its role was to provide facts. He said, “I do not think it serves the League nor the county well, if we open it up to the opposition (supporters of property tax abolishment), because they have a stated position. The League does not. They are merely providing an opportunity for people to talk, to learn about the issue. None of us are saying ‘this will be the end of our county and our state.’ We're saying, ‘Here are the facts, you decide. You, the voter, decide.’ So frankly, I think it would be inappropriate for the League to invite the opposition to another discussion that's already been scheduled.”
Mr. Flaiz again said that the Budget Commissioners could help educate the public on the issue.
Mr. Walder said that 20% of property taxes are unvoted in Geauga County. Mr. Flaiz pointed out that income taxes are totally unvoted and all but ¼% of sales tax is unvoted. Mr. Walder said he wasn’t opposed to making 100% of property taxes voted on by citizens. He noted that getting rid of property taxes would be “abolishing something that gives you 80% say” whereas with other forms of taxation “you have near 0% say.”
As the discussion began to wind down, this Observer expressed LWVG’s willingness to make changes to the property tax education events, adding, “I think the first event was good, and hopefully the next ones will be even better.” This Observer also thanked the Budget Commissioners for their feedback.
Mr. Walder expressed the opinion that future events should have “zero tolerance” for audience outbursts. He said, “I don't want anybody to feel like they're afraid to assert their position for fear that somebody will shout them down from the audience.”
Public Comment:
This Observer mentioned the upcoming property tax education sessions on March 10 at 6:30 pm at the Geauga County Office Building and on April 7 at 7:00 pm at the Middlefield Library. Reviewer Note: These educational sessions are free, but registration is required. Register to attend at the following links:
This Observer noted that there will be a LWVG Candidate Forum on April 9 at 6:30 pm at the Bainbridge Library in advance of the May 5 primary election.
This Observer also requested a copy of all materials from the meeting, which were received via email on March 2, 2026.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:52 am.
Next Meeting: The next Regular Budget Commission Meeting will be on Monday, March 16, 2026 at 10:00 am in the Auditor's Conference Room, 215 Main Street, Chardon. 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: Gail Roussey
Submitted: March 4, 2026
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.