Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Special Session on Monday, March 13, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. in the Auditor’s Appraisal Room at 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. This meeting was in person with a virtual option via MS Teams.
Meeting Attendance: Auditor Chuck Walder, Prosecutor Jim Flaiz and Treasurer Chris Hitchcock.
Staff Attendance: Chief Deputy Auditor Ron Leyde, Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra, and Fiscal Office Manager Pam McMahan.
County/School/Township/Village Representatives: Geauga Park District Executive Director John Oros, Geauga Park District Interim Fiscal Officer Dawn Sweeney, Bridey Matheny attorney for the Geauga Park District, representatives from Chester Township, Chardon Township and in the public, Mr. Bates (President, GPD) and Ms. Carnabuci (GPD Commissioner) and representatives from the non-profit Protect Geauga Parks, as well members of the press from the Maple Leaf and Chagrin Valley Times.
Minutes: none presented
Revenue Certification Requests
The following Revenue Certifications were approved:
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Claridon Township - Amendment #3. $739,568.67 in the general fund, $2,198,837.89 in special revenue funds, and $300,000.00 in capital project funds for a total of $3,238,406.56.
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Russell Township - Amendment #2. $2,385,794.11 in the general fund, $10,609,072.63 in special revenue funds, $5,083.80 in debt service funds, and $2,570,255.09 in capital project funds for a total of $15,570,205.63.
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Middlefield Township - Amendment #1. $470,628.19 in the general fund and $2,827,375.77 for a total of $3,298,003.96.
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Thompson Township - Amendment #2. $363,697.69 in the general fund, $1,634,528.34 in special revenue funds, $140.56 in debt service funds, and $1,647.28 in special assessment funds for a total of $2,000,013.87.
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Parkman Township - Amendment #1. $623,488.23 in the general fund, $1,915,892.55 in special revenue funds, and $9,070.23 in special assessment funds for a total of $2,548,451.01.
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Geauga County - Amendment #4. $46,242,857.46 in the general fund, $123,349,760.53 in special revenue funds, $6,279,092.87 in debt service funds, $1,254,159.50 in special assessment funds, $27,119,356.76 in capital project funds, $17,543,060.25 in enterprise funds, $1,206,807.93 in internal service funds, and $3,757,550.66 in fiduciary funds for a total of $226,752,645.96.
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Chardon Township - Amendment #2. $583,751.59 in the general fund, $2,466,898.95 in special revenue funds, $87,344.81 in debt service funds, and $704.22 in fiduciary funds for a total of $3,138,699.57. OBSERVER NOTE: This amendment was tabled at the last Budget Commission meeting due to appropriations exceeding revenue. This issue was rectified.
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Chester Township- Amendment #2. $1,714,708.06 in the general fund, $11,072,680.40 in special revenue funds, $5,032.00 in capital project funds, and $42,011.99 in special assessment funds for a total of $12,834,432.45. OBSERVER NOTE: This amendment was tabled at the last Budget Commission meeting due to appropriations exceeding revenue. This issue was rectified.
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Geauga Park District- Amendment # 3. $10,320,414.45 in the general fund, $794.34 in special revenue funds, and $1,793,049.35 in capital project funds for a total of $12,114,258.14.
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Geauga Park District- Amendment #4. $10,320,414.45 in the general fund, $794.34 in special revenue funds, and $2,863,851.80 in capital project funds for a total of $13,185,060.59. OBSERVER NOTE: These amendments were tabled at the February 22 Budget Commission meeting due to appropriations exceeding revenue.
DISCUSSION: Auditor Walder explained that the GPD amendments passed during Budget Commission meetings in January (Amendment #1) and February (Amendment #2) both added additional revenue to the GPD’s total, but these monies were insufficient to cover the GPD’s appropriations. The GPD’s continued state of being over-appropriated caused the Budget Commission to table the GPD’s third and fourth amendments so that the GPD and the Budget Commissioners could discuss the situation in person at today’s meeting. Mr. Walder stated that the current amendments (#3 and #4) have now fixed the over-appropriation problem; however, he cautioned GPD that they remain over 90% appropriated, which Mr. Walder stated was “huge for a $12 million entity” and could easily result in GPD ending up in a “cash crunch.”
Discussion Items:
Observer Note: These items were discussed after the Public Comment section of the meeting.
Auditor Walder explained that the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals issued a decision in January directing the Budget Commission to conduct a re-hearing of the Russell 1545 Park District budget from 2021. This re-hearing is necessary because the Russell 1545 Park District received monies not predicted in their 2021 budget; these monies flipped the account balance from negative to positive. The re-hearing was scheduled for April 17, 2023 at 10:00 am at the Geauga County Office Building at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon, alongside the levied department's budget hearings.
The Budget Commission moved their upcoming regularly scheduled June 19 meeting to June 20 due to the Juneteenth holiday. The regular meeting scheduled for July 3 was canceled due to its proximity to the Independence Day holiday.
Public Comment:
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A citizen who attended the meeting in person asked GPD Executive Director John Oros why the GPD separated from the Auditor’s office in 2021. Mr. Oros responded that GPD felt that they could manage their own fiscal operations.
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Dave Partington of Protect Geauga Parks expressed his thanks for the opportunity to make public comments. He then addressed Mr. Oros directly and commended Mr. Oros’ long history of work at GPD. Mr. Partington noted that problems have arisen since GPD separated from the Auditor’s office in 2021 and costs have increased greatly. Mr. Partington urged GPD to return to the umbrella of the Auditor’s office in order to right the financial ship. He further noted that Geauga taxpayers have been generous with GPD via levies and exhorted that this money should be spent responsibly.
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Another meeting attendee asked again about why the GPD separated from the Auditor’s office, noting that the Auditor’s office was providing the GPD with services for free that they now must pay for. Mr. Oros noted that it is not uncommon for entities to have their own fiscal operation. Mr. Oros stated that their previous fiscal person did not work out but Interim Fiscal Officer Dawn Sweeney and another person working half-time are managing it now. The attendee stated that she felt Mr. Oros’ explanation did not make sense and asked if he thought the Auditor’s office had done a poor job. Mr. Oros replied that he didn’t think that the Auditor's office had done a poor job, but rather the GPD just thought it was time for them to go self-fiscal. The meeting attendee pointed out that separating from the Auditor’s office had obviously cost the GPD money that came from taxpayers and she did not see any betterment due to the separation. At this point, Mr. Walder noted that the role of the Budget Commission is to ensure that appropriations do not exceed certified revenue. He explained that now that the GPD is independent from his office, the GPD will be audited every other year by the State of Ohio Auditor, with the audit only covering a sample of transactions. Mr. Walder indicated that audits conducted by his office cover all transactions with the goal of being able to “...prevent a problem before it becomes a nightmare.” Mr. Walder affirmed that the GPD’s separation from his office was lawfully done and it was the GPD’s prerogative to do so.
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Another citizen commented to thank the Budget Commission for opening up their meeting to public comment and observed that the GPD does not allow public comment during their meetings. She lamented that little of substance is discussed during GPD meetings, such as a recent GPD meeting during which amendments were tabled without discussion. The woman noted that her public records request about why the amendments were tabled resulted in emails related to scheduling and nothing of real substance. She wondered when the GPD board actually does discuss matters of importance and decried the lack of transparency, which she felt may cause suspicion of corruption.
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GPD Interim Fiscal Officer Dawn Sweeney noted that the GPD works to make sure they meet their obligations and that they continue to be fiscally responsible and meet their obligations. Prosecutor Flaiz asked Ms. Sweeney if recent GPD layoffs and canceling of a paving project were due to cash flow problems, and Ms. Sweeney said that they could have afforded the paving project and the salaries.
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Mr. Flaiz went on to state that “obviously the business of the park district is not conducted in public.” He said he is optimistic that things will improve.
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Mr. Walder stated that he accepts that there is no law requiring the GPD to have public comment at their meetings, but he noted that most if not all other park districts in the state do allow public comment. Mr. Walder went on to explain that the lack of public comment makes the workings of the park district “mysterious,” and this leads to the Budget Commission getting calls asking questions about the workings of the GPD. Mr. Walder indicated that it shouldn’t be the Budget Commission brokering the message of the GPD to the public and told the GPD that it would behoove them to field questions from Geauga citizens directly. Mr. Oros then encouraged people to email the park commissioners their questions so that they can be answered during commissioner’s time.
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Mr. Flaiz then opined that the separation of the GPD from the Auditor’s office made “...zero financial or business sense” since they were getting services for free. He said he felt that the GPD executed the separation to “...avoid oversight and transparency.”
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Another Geauga citizen commented that two GPD board members have been getting contracts from the GPD. She noted that generally speaking people who serve on boards don’t put in contract bids for the entities they serve and expressed her confusion that this was being allowed at the GPD. Mr. Oros stated that the GPD projects are publicly bid.
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An online meeting participant expressed his concern about logging occurring on park lands at Headwaters Park, referring to it as a “desecration.” He bemoaned that the park district should have used some of their funds for a conservation easement to prevent logging.
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Another participant commented that she was glad to see “discussion and not fist fights” at today’s meeting and expressed her appreciation of the GPD’s naturalists and family programs.
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LWV’s Gail Roussey asked about the process of making sure the GPD has enough money to function in the first quarter of 2024. (Observer Note: Today and at the February 22 meeting, the Budget Commissioners raised the concern that the GPD’s over-appropriations might leave them out of money by early 2024 at their February 22 meeting). Mr. Walder stated that the Budget Commission has no way to force the GPD to reduce their appropriations. The Budget Commission can only alert them to problems via communications and at the budget hearings in August. Mr. Flaiz noted that the Budget Commission will have a better sense of where things stand in August after the budget hearings. Mr. Walder stated that the GPD’s revenue may increase due to currently uncertified revenue, and Mr. Oros offered to share additional numbers via email.
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Mr. Hitchcock noted that the record will show that the Budget Commissioners are not “picking on” the GPD and opined that “...we treat every entity exactly the same.”
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available on Auditor website
Next Meeting: April 3, 2023 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio
Name of Observer: Sarah McGlone
Name of Editor: Anne Ondrey
Name of Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Submitted 3/13/2023
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.