Letters to the Editor
Kenston: $1.2 Million Windfall on Taxpayer Backs
The Geauga County Budget Commission special session Feb. 8, 2024, in the Auditor’s Conference Room, at 215 Main St., Chardon, and the video record produced by the auditor’s staff, provided the following documentation about Kenston Local School District’s excessive cash reserves.
Readers will recall that although West Geauga Schools came to the assistance of their taxpayers by suspending tax collection, Kenston Schools did not respond to the same requests from the Geauga County Budget Commission in late 2023.
As noted by the League of Women Voters of Geauga, the official Feb. 8, 2024, Kenston School District’s Revenue Certification of $71,002,463.76 accumulated from $49,001,187.14 in the General Fund; $2,136,054.60 in Special Revenue; $6,762,090.20 in Debt Service; $1,308,226.40 in Capital Projects; $2,174,895,72 in Enterprise Funds; $9,549,225.48 in Internal Service Funds; and $70,874.22 in Fiduciary Funds.
During the Feb. 8 Revenue Certification, Auditor Walder noted Kenston Local School District’s inordinately large amount of revenue constituted one-third of the entire revenue of Geauga County. due $1.2 million in unvoted windfalls. Treasurer Hitchcock made note that the district had not given back one penny of that horde to struggling taxpayers, many of them senior citizens on fixed incomes.
A final note: If you missed the final deadline to pay your Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, real-estate taxes, you are a debtor, subject to a 10% usury penalty that puts you on the slippery slope of losing the American Dream of Home Ownership.
Diane and Tom Jones
Auburn Township
GOP Chair Must Resign
The Geauga County Tea Party supports the 1st Amendment Right to Free Speech. Leftists and RINOs hurl epithets and personal attacks at their opponents. GOP Chair Nancy McArthur has actually physically attacked a person she illegally and unilaterally decided to exclude from our meeting. These are decisions that must be voted on by the entirety of the Committee.
Having open meetings where constituent Republicans can attend was standard policy of the GOP Central and Executive Committees until she became chair. She unilaterally closed meetings, excluding our entire constituencies.
The GOP Executive Committee cabal, being the left wing of the GOP, take turns attacking the Tea Party. This small, well-defined cabal attempted to villainize the Tea Party as “fake Republicans.” The cabal consists of several county-wide office holders who falsely accused us of stifling free speech by not inviting candidates to speak at the Tea Party meetings. This is a blatant lie.
The Tea Party has long had an “open door” policy for any office holder or candidate to speak to our members and attendees. At the beginning of every meeting, we have one or two incumbents and/or candidates that speak. When they speak at the beginnings of our meetings, we are able to afford them more time than is available on candidates’ night. Chairman McArthur has herself taken advantage of our platform.
It’s the opinion of many GOP committee representatives that GOP Chair Nancy McArthur continually violates the GOP bylaws, the U.S. and Ohio constitutions, and Roberts Rules of Order (RRO). Example: she ordered police, present at our last meeting, to remove State Central Committee candidate Charles Johnston. That’s not her decision to make. A vote by the committee is required. McArthur simply doesn’t like Charles Johnston.
McArthur violates the four governing documents for our committee at least once in virtually every meeting. Her knowledge of RRO is abysmally inadequate. RRO was developed to facilitate civil discussion among parties that disagree. Unilateral chair decisions absent committee votes is tyranny.
Chairman McArthur must resign and save the GOP the continuing lawsuit costs consuming the GOP treasury. Many lawsuits are caused by her unilateral decisions and do not defend the GOP, just her ego. Our GOP is sharply divided by her lawlessness, tyranny and the cabal.
James R. MacNeal
Troy Township
Acts of Kindness
The West Geauga Kiwanis recently distributed “100 Bags of Hope” in our community. These “hundreds of pounds” consisted of canned and boxed food items for those in need. The Kiwanis and other volunteers purchased, stored and distributed these Bags of Hope on Saturday, Feb. 10. The local recipients were the West Geauga Vets and Christ Presbyterian Food Pantry.
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with this project.
The West Geauga Kiwanis meets every Tuesday evening. All are welcome. Please visit wgkiwanis.org for more information.
George Minello
Chester Township
Chester Township Levy Needs
Ms. Judy Zamlen-Spotts has been a longtime supporter of our Chester Police Department and it is very much appreciated.
However, her recent letter to the editor regarding police levies needs a bit of correction or clarification.
In September/October 2023, when information came out about the property revaluation increases, it was the board of trustees original understanding that the new 1.5-mil levy was going to generate more money than expected, by an amount essentially equivalent to the existing 0.5-mil levy.
Because of this, the board of trustees, Mr. Purchase and Chief Young had multiple public discussions and deliberations regarding how to handle the unexpected increase in revenue. Rather than letting the 0.5-mil levy expire as originally planned (if the new 1.5 mil levy passed), the board rescinded the collection.
On Oct. 5, 2023, the board of trustees unanimously approved the following motion: “Mr. Richter moved to voluntarily request the reduction of the .50 mill 5-year police levy first voted on in 2021 to 0 mills for the remainder life of the levy contingent on the new 1.5 mill passing at the November, 2023 general election and contingent on the re-evaluation revenue confirmed by the County Auditor.”
When it was later learned amidst all the confusion the 1.5-mil levy was not impacted by the property valuations and no additional monies were to be received, after discussion, the 0.5- mil levy was rescinded for the year 2024 only. (Resolution 2023-460).
Trustees and all government employees have a fiduciary responsibility to be prudent with taxpayer money and the public actions the Chester trustees took did just that — leaving (unneeded) money in the hands of the taxpayers.
Ken Radtke Jr., Trustee
Chester Township
