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Commissioners Approve Rate Increases for Water and Sewer

Board of County Commissioners Meeting - July 7, 2026

Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 9:30 am for a meeting at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH.  Meetings can be live streamed through the Geauga ADP Youtube channel and can be accessed here by scrolling down and clicking on the section for YouTube videos.  Recordings are available for the public. This video for this meeting can be found here.  As of this report’s publication date, the video has been viewed 218 times. Notations in the report refer to the minute notation on the video for a particular section.  An agenda is available in advance via request to the Commissioners’ Clerk and at the meeting. Items discussed at the meeting but not on the agenda, if any, are addressed at the end of this report.

Public Comment Policy: Permitted as outlined in the BOCC’s Public Comment Policy that was adopted on January 28, 2025, revised on April 15, 2025, and again modified on September 30, 2025 and February 19, 2026.

Attendance: Present were Commissioners Carolyn Brakey and James Dvorak.  Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri was absent.  Also present were Commissioners’ Clerk Christine Blair, County Administrator Amy Bevan, Deputy County Administrator Mark Jimison and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton.

County Representatives: Shane Hajjar, Deputy Engineer; Jessica Boalt, Director, Office on Aging; Nick Gorris, Director, Water Resources; Cindi Haycox-Wellman, Victim Advocate, Prosecutor’s Office;  Kathleen Hostutler, Human Resources Administrator; Austin Rice, Director, EMA; John Porter, Drone Team Leader; Joseph David Rice, part-time Communications/Media Specialist.

Others in Attendance: Marla McClain, Account Executive, Sedgwick TPA,(Third Party Administrators) County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation;  Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand; Chief Deputy Sheriff Thomas Rowan; Adam Litke, Geauga/Lake Health Commissioner; members of the public, Geauga Maple Leaf reporter Allison Wilson; Chagrin Valley Times reporter Anastasia Nichols, and this Observer from the League of Women Voters of Geauga.

6:34 Min. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer - Commissioner Dvorak

7:25 Min. Public Comment on an Agenda Item - No public comment

7:39 Min. Minutes - Minutes were approved for February 10, 2026.  Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through July 7, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through December 30,
2025.

7:53 Min. Report of Financials - County Finance Manager Adrian Gorton received approval for the following:

• Appropriations transfer from the Commissioner's miscellaneous operating transfers out account to the Planning Commission to help cover expenses related to updating the Farmland Preservation Plan using the land use reimbursement grant discussed on June 23rd. 

• Cash transfer from the General Fund to the Sheriff for the local match on the Violence Against Women Act grant number 2025-WF-VA5-46168.

• Incumbrances 

  • formal contract incumbrance from the Commissioners at the direction of the Prosecutor's office to JLL Valuation Advisory Services LLC to perform a commercial real estate valuation of the Portage Geauga Detention Center. 

  • travel incumbrances from the Common Pleas Court to attend the Ohio Supreme Court Judicial College Court Workforce Management Program, from the Engineer’s Office to attend the County Engineers Association bridge conference, from Job and Family Services to attend the Ohio Job and Family Services Director's Association fiscal symposium, and from the Planning Commission to attend the Ohio GIS conference, all of which are being held in Columbus, Ohio.

• Vouchers

  • $440,766.91 from the Commissioners to APG Office Furnishings Incorporated for a partial payment for the furniture for the new Courthouse expansion. 

  • $26,323.81 from Maintenance to Harrington Electric Company to fix and/or replace parking lot lighting fixtures at the County Safety Center.

9:55 Min. The Auditor’s Office and Treasurer’s Office received approval for the Commissioners to accept, execute and file the monthly Statement of County Finances filed by the County Auditor and County Treasurer for the months of February and March 2026, pursuant to O.R.C. 319.35.

11:14 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolution #26-109 Adopting the 2027 Annual Tax Budget in Accordance with O.R.C. 5705.28 and 5705.29.  Observer Note:  There was no discussion as there had been an extension presentation on the budget at the preceding meeting.  See LWVGeauga Observer Report for June 30,2026.

11:41 Min. The County Engineer’s Office received approval for the following:

• to execute Change Order #1 and Final, decreasing the Contract with Geauga Highway Company for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Gingerich Road (CH-0034, Section A) in Burton Township in the amount of $28,395.57. Mr. Hajjar said that they build in a small contingency, but this job didn’t need it as everything went smoothly so they ended up with the decrease.

• to execute the Unit Price Contract with Ronyak Paving, Incorporated for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Bass Lake Road (CH-0023, Sections F-G) in Munson Township in the amount of $719,500.00.

• to execute the Unit Price Contract with Grade Line, Incorporated for the Replacement of the Bascom Road Bridge (Structure #BR-0069-B-01.010-2026) in Hambden Township in the amount of $246,071.70.

• to authorize James W. Dvorak, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, to execute the Ohio Public Works Commission Appendix E –Disbursement Request Form and Certification #1 in order to release funds from the state portion of our OPWC grant for the Riverview Drive Bridge Replacement in Bainbridge Township in the amount of $200,000.00.

Mrs. Brakey thanked the Engineer’s Office for quickly putting up the signs for the new Levi Lane.

15:00 Min. The Prosecutor’s Office / Victim/Witness Program received approval to authorize the President of the Board to execute the application for the Geauga County Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) and State Victim Advocacy Act (SVAA) Grant Request #136571714 for the Victim Witness Program in the amount of $49,454.10. As part of this grant, $28,441.10 is being requested from federal VOCA funds with a local match from the County General Fund of $16,552.00, and $4,461.00 from SVAA with no local match. This grant is for the period of October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.  Ms. Haycox- Wellman said they are supposed to know about the grant by the beginning of October, but they don’t always know by then.

Ms. Haycox-Wellman explained that the services of the Victim Advocate’s office are available for all felony cases, and all Juvenile Court criminal cases.  She said that victims of crime have certain rights under Marcy’s Law, according to the Ohio Constitution. These include the right to attend any court proceedings, the right to meet with the Prosecutor, the right to know when there are court appearances, the right to know the disposition of the case, the right to give a victim witness statement and the right to receive restitution.  Even after sentencing, they have the right to be notified of any parole hearing. Ms. Haycox-Wellman said that her office will accompany a person through all the steps and basically, “we stick with you to the end.”

17:40 Min. The Department of Water Resources received approval to table a resolution to authorize Ralph Spidalieri, authorized representative to execute the Ohio Water Development Authority Fund Payment Request #15 (Loan #11217) for the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project for technical services by HDR Engineering, Incorporated in the amount of $33,904.44. This was tabled due to Mr. Spidalieri’s absence. 

The Department of Water Resources  received approval for the schedule of Water and Sewer User Rate Increases to be effective with the October 1, 2026, billing cycle, which will include incremental user rate increases for the five-year period, 2026-2030. 

Mr. Gorris explained that a year and a half ago, they hired a third-party consultant to review their rates which was completed in October, 2025.  The Department of Water Resources re-reviewed these charges and then discussed them with the Commissioners at a Work Session in April, 2026.  

Mr. Gorris said that Mrs. Brakey had asked if there would be a way to “lighten the load” for the first set of increases.  Mr. Gorris said that this is the best rate they could come up with to do what they have to do.  He said they have two rate structures and want to get down to a single rate schedule by 2031.  He said they “are adjusting our usage per minimum for both systems down to 3,000 or up to 3,000 gallons  per month usage minimum for the minimum rate.” 

Mr. Gorris said they have added a capital improvement component and will use these funds to replace meters. He explained this is so users won’t see that expense.  He said they replace about 50 meters every year.

He said that the rate increase for water overall is 4.4% increase over a 52 month time period.  The last increase was in 2020 and was 6%.  He said the rate will be 1.5 cents per gallon.

In terms of the sewer side, Mr. Gorris said they have 48 service lines to treatment plants and they have six base rates.  He said they will never be able to get down to one rate due to the different kinds of systems.  He hopes to get down to three base rates by 2030. Mr. Gorris also said that the Village of Burton adds a 25% addition on top of sewer bills.  

Some users will see a 1-½% increase, but for others it will be 8-1/% and a few service areas won’t see any increases over the 52 months. Part of the difference is that some areas had not been updated with the last rate change, so Mr. Gorris said this is catch up for those areas.  He did not say where those areas are located.  He said the average will be 5% overall.

Mr. Dvorak asked about the Burton rates and Mr. Gorris said this is mainly for those who use the Burton system but are outside of Burton Village and it is for sewer only.

Mr Gorris said that they are not required to hold a public hearing and that notification to users will go out as well as being posted on their website.  Increases will be effective in October, 2026.

They are also working on a program to offer credit to senior citizens and hope to be able to use a credit balance that these seniors have accrued.

Mr. Gorris said that for a minimum user, the increase on water will be about $12/year or for sewer $2/month up to $8/month.  He said that for sewer, “the last global increase was 2023.”

Mrs. Brakey asked about current resources.  Mr Gorris said that if someone cannot pay, there are resources available through Job and Family Services (JFS) through Title XX grant funds.  The Office on Aging helps them with sorting through applications.

32:14 Min. Group Retrospective Rating Plan discussion. Ms. Hostutler, Human Resources Administrator, and Ms. McLain, Account Executive for Sedgwick TPA, led the discussion about the County’s rate for Worker’s Compensation.  They discussed the County’s rate which is based on experience.  Ms McLain said that If the County has a rate above 1.00, it will result in a higher premium rate.  In 2024 the County rate was 1.24 and so they paid 124% of the base rate.  In 2026 it was .67, so the County paid only 67% of the base rate.  They are projecting a rate of .68 for 2027.  Fifty-nine other counties are in this Risk Sharing pool.  If there are fewer claims, and the premiums exceed costs, then there is a rebate. It was explained that rebates can accumulate for three years as claims settle. On the other hand, if the total number of claims of all participants exceeds the premiums paid, there would be an assessment which is capped at 5%.  The County receives a 3% rebate because they have implemented a Safety Council.  

Mrs. Brakey asked what was known now about 2026 as to whether there will be a rebate or an assessment.  Ms. McLain said there is a snapshot mid-April 2027, but they will know definitely by December 31, 2027.

Ms. Hostutler said that each department is billed based on their payroll and experience and that has been an incentive for department heads to use best practices.

Mrs. Brakey asked what other models there were for this type of insurance and Ms. Hostutler talked about self-insurance (used by larger counties) and individual retrospective.

56:39 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:

• to authorize the President of the Board to execute the Geauga County / County Commissioners Association of Ohio Workers’ Compensation Group Retrospective Rating Plan Agreement and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Employer Statement for Group-Retrospective-Rating Program form with the CCAO Service Corporation (CCAOSC) for the Year 2027 in an amount not to exceed $11,500.00.

• to authorize the President of the Board to execute the Exhibit B, Discount Drug Mart Settlement Participation Agreement, as part of the ongoing Ohio National Opioid Litigation and Settlement.

• to execute the Certification Request to County Auditor, Request to Board of Commissioners Quarterly Use of County Credit Cards, pursuant to O.R.C. 301.27 for the Year 2026 (Quarters 1, 2, 3 and 4) for the Veterans Service Commission, Geauga Credit Union Visa.

• to execute a Letter to the Budget Commission and a Memorandum to Offices, Departments and Agencies regarding Legal Expenses. Observer Note:  This was not discussed.

59:40 Min. Emergency Management Agency and the Drone Team provided a demonstration and information about the drone program.  EMA Director Austin Rice and Drone Team Leader John Porter gave a presentation on how the Drone Team utilizes drones. Mr. Porter is a lieutenant with Hampton Fire Department and also works full-time in the Solon Fire Department.  He said that “we have 21 members on the team that includes sheriff deputies, firefighters, police officers and EMA personnel throughout the county. We are available countywide to any public safety agency and we are also available through mutual aid....generally our mission is to enhance public safety and government operations by leveraging unmanned aerial technologies to provide aerial intelligence, search and rescue capabilities.“

He continued, “We would much rather send a drone into an area that is potentially hazardous to first responders to assess that situation and get a better idea of what we're walking into. We also are able to do things like search areas much quicker,  just due to the ability to go over unnavigable terrain and use some of the technology that is attached to these drones, such as thermal imaging, to be able to better discern what we're looking at and speed up our processes. We operate three aircraft, and I really truly mean aircraft. They are FAA registered and we have to operate within the national airspace so that way we are not interfering with man aviation.” He said, “We can take all those aircraft and we can live stream them back to our responders, cell phones, iPads, computers, and that gives them a current view of what that emergency scene looks like from the air.”  He said that doing a missing person’s search is the most common operation and they also search for suspects. He said that other types of operations are “criminal investigations, tactical support, hazardous material incident, scene documentation, natural disaster assessment, water rescue, event overwatch, and structure fires. And these are all call types that we have assisted on within the last two years.” Mr. Porter said that there is a newer use of drones called “drone first responder program.”  He said that “the idea here is that when a 911 call comes in, a drone is positioned somewhere within the response area in a dock and would take off and fly directly to the emergency scene. One, this has the benefit of being able to go directly to the scene and not have to deal with traffic, but two, because it is already out there in the field, it's going to have a quicker response. And it's live streaming data back to first responders to give them a better idea of what they are approaching when they get to the scene.”  See the video for more information and a look at drones in action.

1:16:40 Min. Board Discussion

• Geauga Fair - The Commissioners talked about the Fair and Ideas for the Bell Building. Ms. Blair said that she was working on a survey to department heads and elected officials to see when they might be available to attend the Fair.  She said they were also discussing having a Department head and Elected Officials day with all those who want to attend to sign up for a time slot.

• Lake Geauga Recovery House in Chardon - Mr. Dvorak said that he wanted to revisit this topic.  At the Board meeting on May 19, 2026, the Commissioners decided not to offer a grant to Lake Geauga Recovery for the Recovery House in Chardon. Observer Note:  See LWVGeauga Observer Report for May 19, 2026. Mr. Dvorak said that he had not received any negative feedback about the planned Recovery House (which will be on the corner of Chardon Avenue and Ravenna Rd). Ms. Bevan talked about the process for awarding these grants through an RFP (Requests for Proposals).  These were then reviewed by Christina Lakomiak and Ms. Lakomiak told Ms. Bevan that she would like to come back next week.  Ms. Bevan said they were planning on doing that to talk about the process.  She said, “You know, is there a desire after six months for, you know, multiple RFP rounds? Are we going to stick to once a year?” It was confirmed that there was $23,000 left from the original amount set aside for the first rounds of grants.  

1:22:51 Min. Public Comment - A man from South Russell spoke about NOACA and his wish to see the Executive Director attend a Commissioners meeting. As he repeatedly asked questions of one of the reporters attending the meeting, there was a discussion as to whether his questioning was harassment.

1:25:32 Min. The Department of Aging received approval to move into Executive Session at 10:49 am for the purpose of discussing the employment of a public employee, pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22 (G)(1). The Commissioners were joined by Ms. Boalt,  Ms. Bevan and Mr. Jimison.

Return from Executive Session - Observer Note:  This Observer was not present for the return from Executive Session and it was not part of the video.  However, the following information has been verified by Commissioners’ staff.

Commissioners approved the termination of a Full-time Social Services Worker (#1022) for probationary failure, to be effective June 30, 2026 and granted permission to advertise for the position of Full-time Social Services Worker (#1022).  This position will remain posted until filled.

Adjournment - Time not known to this Observer.

Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.

Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next Regular Meeting of the BOCC is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, 2026.  

Observer: Gail Roussey

Editor: Rooney Moy

Reviewer: Carol Benton

Date Submitted: July 12, 2026

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