Budget Commission Regular Meeting – September 18, 2023
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Regular Session on Monday, September 18, 2023 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. This meeting was in person with a virtual option via MS Teams.
Meeting Attendance: Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Chief Deputy Auditor Ron Leyde (substituting for Auditor Chuck Walder, who attended virtually), and Deputy Treasurer Donna Borsi (substituting for Treasurer Chris Hitchcock).
Staff Attendance: Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra.
County Staff: ADP Chief Deputy Administrator Frank Antenucci.
The meeting was called to order at 10:03am.
Minutes: Minutes from the Special Meetings (Budget Hearings) on 8/21/23 and 8/22/23 were approved.
The following Revenue Certifications were approved:
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Auburn Township - Amendment #4 - $1,006,491.20 in the general fund, $4,881,232.74 in special revenue funds, $212,200.00 in debt service funds, and $29,919.65 in capital project funds for a total of $6,129,843.59.
Auburn Township’s amendment certified $27,000 in revenue for the Cemetery Fund.
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Thompson Township - Amendment #5 - $369,297.69 in the general fund, $1,714,634.27 in special revenue funds, $140.56 in debt service funds, and $1,866.52 in special assessment funds for a total of $2,085,939.04.
Thompson Township’s amendment certified an increase in the SAFER grant fund of $60,000.
Reviewer Comment: The SAFER Grants are federal grants - see more information here
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Berkshire Local School District - Amendment #2 - $22,815,132.75 in the general fund, $3,589,746.86 in special revenue funds, $1,438,469.49 in debt service funds, $1,032,836.59 in capital project funds, $849,134.62 in enterprise funds, $481,168.08 in internal service funds, and $178,821.32 in fiduciary funds for a total of $30,385,309.71.
Berkshire Local School District’s amendment certified a net special revenue adjustment of $1,005,917.58.
The following Supplemental Appropriation was approved:
Discussion:
OBSERVER NOTE: Due to a clerical error, Auburn Township has been collecting road levy dollars that were not authorized by voters. After the Board of Elections discovered this mistake and informed Auburn Township, Auburn Township Trustees voted to withdraw their 1 Mill renewal road levy from the November 2023 ballot at their September 5 meeting. The Budget Commissioners discussed this situation at length as described below.
Mr. Flaiz asked if the Budget Commission needs to decertify any Auburn Township revenue due to their “levy mess.” Mr. Walder stated that they are waiting for an opinion from the attorney for the Board of Taxation. He said that the Budget Commission can only decertify funds that are not appropriated. The Budget Commission has previously certified current year revenue of $247,000 associated with the problematic road levy. Mr. Walder said that this is the amount that Auburn Township would need to de-appropriate in their road fund, and then the Budget Commission would decertify the $247,000 of revenue once it is de-appropriated. He went on to state that he thinks the money should be remitted back to Auburn Township taxpayers, but there is no mechanism in place to do that. All of this is dependent on what the State Tax Commissioner advises on how to resolve the situation. Mr. Walder and Mr. Flaiz agreed that Auburn Township should be alerted that they should have $247,000 available for decertification.
Mr. Flaiz said that the Board of Revision (BOR) will also have a role in deciding what to do about the situation while the County Auditor will have discretion in implementing the BOR’s decision. Mr. Flaiz opined that if the BOR decides that Auburn Township improperly collected levy money and its taxpayers are entitled to a refund, it would be up to Mr. Walder as County Auditor to determine if those funds would be 1) taken from Auburn Township and given back to its taxpayers via checks, 2) credited to the taxpayers on the collection on future taxes, or 3) returned to taxpayers via some other undetermined method. Mr. Walder asked Mr. Leyde to determine how much money was improperly collected and over what time period this occurred. Once done, this information will be provided to the BOR so it can make a determination on what should be done. Mr. Flaiz indicated that interest could be added on to the amount improperly collected at a statutory rate set by the State Tax Commissioner.
Mr. Flaiz stated that Auburn Township should know that it will have significantly less money available for their roads program. Mr. Walder noted that some of the lost funds will be offset by increased tax revenue as a result of the recently completed re-evaluation of county residential and agricultural valuations. Mr. Walder said that Auburn Township residential valuations will increase by an average of 30.1% and its agricultural valuations will increase by an average of 29.1%. He went on to say that he plans to release all valuation increases for Geauga County to the public next week.
Mr. Flaiz stated that JFS has a high cash balance. He noted that JFS has stated that it is planning a Youth Center construction project, but he has seen no evidence that progress is being made. He indicated that it may be appropriate for the Budget Commission to warn JFS at the Levied Departments Hearings in March 2024 that, if they haven’t awarded a bid for the Youth Center contract by the Budget Hearings in August 2024, the Budget Commission may reduce JFS’ levy collection. Mr. Walder noted that there are a number of County entities with high cash balances that have expressed legitimate plans to use those funds, but the Budget Commission must determine when plans without actual implementation are no longer reasonable: “I think having great plans is a terrific thing, but plans without execution do not demonstrate need.”
Mr. Leyde said that Geauga JFS Financial Administrator Alyssa Parnaby has reached out to him about creating a special projects expense line item in the children’s services levy fund for the purpose of the Youth Center construction project. They have a question in to the State Auditor to see how that could be accomplished. However, Mr. Leyde noted that the 2024 budget has already been submitted and approved by the Budget Commission, so there may be nothing that can be done at this point. Mr. Flaiz referred to creating a construction fund as “a tired old trick” that has been used before by other county entities and reiterated that “if they don’t have a bid package out by the end of August of next year, they’re going to have a big problem with me.” Mr. Walder stated that he would have an issue if JFS tried to create a special reserve fund . He further stated it would be “ just resetting the clock for them and that to me is unfair to the taxpayer. The taxpayers have given them more money than they’ve needed for years, and they’ve accumulated that money for a purpose that they’ve not executed on.”
Mr. Flaiz stated that, outside of the Youth Center issue, JFS is still accumulating too much cash each year, which he noted is an issue with other county entities as well. Mr. Walder agreed with this assessment and remarked that “I think the taxpayer should not be charged an annual surplus amount of money. It's for what you're currently claiming to need, and it shouldn't be for something that you haven't yet thought of.”
Public Comment:
This observer confirmed 1) the 30.1% figure that came up in the Auburn Township road levy discussion referred to a 30.1% average increase in residential valuations and 2) Ms. Borsi’s name and job title.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:26am.
More Information and Posted Minute: Available on Auditor website
Next Meeting: October 2, 2023 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 215 Main Street,
Chardon, Ohio.
Observer: Sarah McGlone
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Submitted 9/21/23
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