Budget Commission Regular Meeting – November 6, 2023
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Budget Commission met in Regular Session on Monday, November 6, 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, Auditor Chuck Walder and Chief Deputy Treasurer Caroline Mansfield (substituting for Treasurer Chris Hitchcock).
Staff Attendance: Chief Deputy Auditor Ron Leyde, Deputy Auditors Tammy Most and Kristen Sinatra, and Fiscal Office Manager Pam McMahan.
County Staff: Geauga County Budget and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton (virtual) and Geauga Public Health Board President Carolyn Brakey (virtual).
Others in Attendance: This observer (virtual).
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am.
Minutes: Minutes from the Regular Meetings on 10/2/23 and 10/16/23 and the Special Meeting on 10/24/23 were approved.
The following Revenue Certifications were approved:
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Newbury Township - Amendment #2. $1,435,265.29 in the general fund, $5,488,219.25 in special revenue funds, and $3,003,658.18 in capital project funds for a total of $9,927,142.72. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Newbury’s amendment reflected 1) an increase in general fund revenue of $128,193.86, 2) a reduction in special revenue funds of $62,167.76, and 3) an increase in capital project funds for both the Veterans’ Park fund ($104,032) and the Fire Station Capital Improvement fund ($3,104,032).
Mr. Walder asked if all tax dollars collected by the Newbury Fire Levy go into their Fire Levy fund, or if they have a Permanent Improvement fund as well. Ms. Sinatra answered that it all goes into their Special Assessment Fire Levy fund and noted that Newbury’s Fire Station Capital Improvement fund is a “loan fund.” Mr. Walder asked what the debt maintenance was on that, and Ms. Sinatra replied that information about how the loan is being paid back has not been provided to the Budget Commission yet, but Newbury borrowed $3 million in total. Mr. Walder asked how much Newbury’s 5.5mill Fire Levy brings in each year, and it was determined the amount was $2 million after a brief paperwork investigation. He noted that the Fire Levy is continuing and can be used for operations, fire apparatus, land, and buildings, making it “all-encompassing.”
Mr. Walder observed that this is a high-yield levy at 5.5mills and wondered if Newbury is planning to collect at full yield “forever.” He noted that the amount of money brought in by the levy is large enough that the $3 million dollar loan to construct the fire station should be paid off in a few years, and he said that, since the levy is in its third year of collection, Newbury has likely already collected more than the debt amount. Mr. Walder stated that “I'm just concerned about it. It’s a lot of money and it's continuing…. I get it: you build a building, you pay for it, go on our separate ways, but this is forever at 5.5mills. It more than replaced what they saved in their school being consolidated, it more than offset. So everything they saved over here, they've spent over here, which is I think a frustration for some of the Newbury residents that have told me how come our taxes haven't changed? Well, you just moved it. You moved it from schools to fire, and I don't know that everyone knows that.” Observer Note: There were no representatives from Newbury Township at this meeting, so there was no response from Newbury.
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Thompson Township - Amendment #6. $372,637.69 in the general fund, $1,724,634.27 in special revenue funds, $140.56 in debt service funds, and $1,866.52 in special assessment funds for a total of $2,099,279.04. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Thompson’s amendment certified increases in the general fund ($3,340) and in special revenue funds ($10,000).
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Bainbridge Township - Amendment #8. $3,582,291.06 in the general fund, $20,202,066.40 in special revenue funds, $2,517,027.18 in debt service funds, $809,796.35 in capital project funds, $10,798.02 in special assessment funds, and $537.99 in fiduciary funds for a total of $27,122,517.00. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Bainbridge’s amendment reflected an increase in their opioid special revenue fund of $4,535.84.
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Munson Township - Amendment #4. $1,125,210.31 in the general fund, $4,310,200.61 in special revenue funds, $200,000.00 in capital project funds, and $2,022.00 in special assessment funds for a total of $5,637,432.92. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Munson’s amendment certified an increase in their fire operating and apparatus special revenue fund of $35,099.46.
Chester Township Park’s amendment reflected an increase in their general fund of $29,144.
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Hambden Township - Amendment #4. $800,547.80 in the general fund, $3,182,680.67 in special revenue funds, and $597,921.99 in capital project funds for a total of $4,581,150.46. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Hambden’s amendment certified a capital project fund increase of $160,000 due to receiving an Ohio Public Works Commission Award in that amount.
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Chester Township - Amendment #4. $1,714,708.06 in the general fund, $11,093,185.87 in special revenue funds, $5,032.00 in capital project funds, and $42,011.99 in special assessment funds for a total of $12,854,937.92. Appropriations do not exceed revenue
Chester’s amendment reflected an increase in their Fire, Rescue and Ambulance special revenue
fund of $20,000 due to receiving a local grant in that amount.
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Russell Township - Amendment #6. $2,972,747.48 in the general fund, $10,820,626.47 in special revenue funds, $5,083.80 in debt service funds, and $2,620,255.09 in capital project funds for a total of $16,418,712.84. Appropriations do not exceed revenue.
Russell’s amendment certified a transfer from their general fund reserve account up to the general fund itself in the amount of $586,765.40. Ms. Sinatra said the purpose of this transfer is “to undo their general fund reserve account.” Mr. Walder shared that this was likely done to help fund the construction of the new Russell Community Building, as he has it “... on good authority that they got the bids; they were higher than expected. What else is new? I think the way they want to pay for this is, rather than a bond or take a loan out, they're just going to pull the reserves, pay for it and then repopulate the reserve.” Mr. Flaiz expressed the opinion that this was a smart plan.
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Geauga County - Amendment #14. $51,157,857.46 in the general fund, $130,889,274.03 in
special revenue funds, $6,279,092.87 in debt service funds, $1,254,159.50 in special assessment
funds, $28,273,104.47 in capital project funds, $18,189,863.82 in enterprise funds,
$1,206,807.93 in internal service funds, and $3,757,550.66 in fiduciary funds for a total of
$241,007,710.74.
Geauga County’s Amendment reflected special revenue increases in both the Court Technology Fund ($260,000) and the MRDD Residential Fund ($2 million). It also certified a capital projects fund increase of $430,000 for the Sheriff’s 800 system and an enterprise fund increase of $126,803.50 for Sewer.
Mr. Flaiz remarked that the County’s revenue has increased from $193 million in August 2022 to $241 million in November 2023.
Other Business:
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Collection Reduction of Job and Family Services (JFS) Levies - The Budget Commissioners accepted the total collection suspension of the 0.5mill JFS levy and reduced the collection of JFS’ 0.7mill levy to 0.52mills for the upcoming year as laid out in the BOCC Resolution approved on October 31. The Budget Commissioners advocated for the BOCC to create this Resolution in their appearance before the BOCC on October 24 in order to ameliorate the increase in inside millage taxes caused by increased property valuations in Geauga County. Mr. Walder noted that, by taking this action, about 25% of the expected increase in inside millage has been mitigated.
Discussion:
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Local Government Resolutions to Reduce Levy Collection - Ms. Most and Ms. Sinatra provided the Budget Commissioners with a list of all local government entities that are in the process of creating Resolutions to reduce their levy collections in a similar manner to how the BOCC went about easing Geauga taxpayer burden. The Budget Commissioners previously presented local government entities with this solution to mitigate their 30% share of the inside millage tax increase at their Special Meeting on November 1. The entities that have already reached out to the Auditor’s Office to get information on drafting a Resolution are Bainbridge Township, Troy Township, Claridon Township, Parkman Township, South Russell Village, Burton Village, Burton Township, Montville Township, Russell Township, Hambden Township, and Thompson Township.
Mr. Flaiz stated that he has seen the Resolutions for Bainbridge and Claridon so far. There was a discussion of how each local government entity is unique and should tailor the sample Resolution provided at the November 1 meeting to fit their needs with the help of an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (APA). Mr. Flaiz said that he is having the APAs send each Resolution to him to look over as well. Mr. Walder noted that, with 11 out of the 21 Geauga local government entities considering Resolutions, they are at the halfway point, and he said more are expected to start the process after the election results are in. Mr. Flaiz asked specifically about Auburn Township, and Ms. Sinatra replied that in October Auburn was considering not putting their road levy on the ballot in March to offset their inside millage windfall. Observer Note: In the November 9 edition of the Geauga County Maple Leaf, it was reported that the Auburn Trustees passed a Resolution to remove their 1.0mill road and bridge levy from the March ballot at their meeting on November 6. Maple Leaf subscribers can access this article here, but it is behind a paywall for non-subscribers.
The Budget Commissioners decided to take action on all Resolutions mitigating inside millage windfalls in a meeting after Thanksgiving.
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BOCC Letter to All Geauga Property Owners- Ms. Mansfield stated that a few of the letters that the BOCC sent to all Geauga property owners were returned. Observer Note: The BOCC letter informed Geauga property owners about increased property taxes in 2024 due to increased property valuations. It told citizens about the October 31 BOCC Resolution discussed above. It also provided information about average property value increases and the estimated inside millage windfalls each entity will receive. The letter stated that “We are sending you this information so that you will be able to ask your elected representatives to consider adopting measures similar to what we have done in order to further reduce the effects of this unprecedented, unvoted tax increase. These entities have the power to suppress some or all of the collection of a levy and you have the right to ask them to do so.” Mr. Walder asked what address database was used to address the mailings, and Ms. Mansfield said she didn’t know and noted that all the mailings were addressed to “Postal Customer.” Mr. Walder said that if REALink was used, sometimes a little digging is needed to get to the actual mailing address, so that may be the root of the problem. Reviewer Note: Property Owners also received a letter with their new valuation from the Auditor’s Office. In a video entitled, “What do I do if I don’t agree with the revaluation,” Mr. Walder goes through several things a property owner can do right now, including asking for an informal hearing. This must be done now, but if it is not, property owners can still file a formal appeal with the Board of Revision. The Auditor’s videos are available here.
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2024 Levy Resolutions - Ms. Sinatra made the Budget Commissioners aware that the 2024 Levy Resolution forms for local government entities have been revised and made available. Mr. Flaiz said that he has sent a message to all Trustees and Fiscal Officers reminding them of the “incredibly tight timeline” for the March election, as its filing deadline is December 20. Mr. Walder asked his staff to send the forms to the Trustees and Fiscal Officers right after the election as a second reminder.
Public Comment
This observer asked when the meeting after Thanksgiving to take action on Resolutions
would take place. After discussing the matter, it was decided that Resolutions would be voted upon for approval at the Budget Commission’s Regular Meeting on December 4. Mr. Walder noted that “the Budget Commission doesn’t anticipate not accepting anybody’s (levy) reduction.”
This observer also asked if there was any news regarding the Geauga School District’s willingness to consider reducing levy collection to offset their inside millage windfalls. Mr. Walder noted that he is meeting with two West Geauga School Board Members to discuss the matter later in the day. When asked if there has been further communication from any of the other school districts since they received the Budget Commission’s letter apprising them of the situation, Mr. Walder said that he has not heard back from any other school districts. Observer Note: This letter was discussed at the October 16 Budget Commission Meeting. Reviewer Note: The Kenston Permanent Improvement levy did not pass, which might impact their willingness to take action. See results of the November 7, 2023 election here.
Mr. Walder noted that there are unique issues with each school district. For example, Berkshire and West G are below the 20mill floor, Cardinal “could go either way,” and Kenston and Chardon are well above the 20mill floor. Observer Note: The 20mill floor means that all Ohio School Districts are guaranteed at least 20mills of funding. Mr. Walder explained that those school districts that are below the 20mill floor will receive what is essentially an “inflationary increase in taxes” to get them back up to the 20mill floor; this tax increase is in addition to the inside millage windfall that all Geauga School Districts will receive. Mr. Walder went on to say that the exact amount of the tax increase needed to get school districts back up to the 20mill floor will not be known until the State recalculates the tax rates. Mr. Flaiz observed that West G has almost $30 million in unencumbered cash and yet they are below the 20mill floor due to the way they've done their levies. Mr. Walder clarified that two of West G’s levies are emergency levies and one is a permanent improvement (PI) levy, and emergency and PI levy dollars (along with special levy and bond funds, though West G has neither of these) are not a part of the 20mill floor calculation formula. He said that together these three levies bring in $7 million dollars each year that don’t count towards West G’s 20mill floor.
Mr. Walder stated that, because each school district is so different, making a presentation to them as a group about reducing their levies to offset their inside millage windfalls doesn’t make sense. This observer asked him if he plans to go door-to-door to the school districts, or if he feels the ball is in their court after receiving the Budget Commission’s letter in October. Mr. Walder said that “I don't want to share my strategy right now” and added that he plans to see how the meeting with West G goes. He opined that it often takes one entity to take a leadership role before others follow suit, and he said that he is “hoping to accomplish that.”
Mr. Walder asked online meeting attendee and Geauga Public Health Board President Carolyn Brakey how many signatures she now has on her survey supporting “stop(ping) the Geauga tax hike” that she mentioned at the November 1 Budget Commission meeting. Ms. Brakey said it had 440 signatures the last time she checked.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:48 am.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available on Auditor website
Next Meeting: November 20, 2023 at 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 215 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio.
Observers: Sarah McGlone
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Submitted 11/10/23
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