Finance Manager Preps for Possible Property Tax Drops
Since the majority of Geauga County’s general fund money comes from sales and property tax, Finance Manager Adrian Gorton is looking at alternate funding sources in the event property tax is reduced, he said July 1.
Since the majority of Geauga County’s general fund money comes from sales and property tax, Finance Manager Adrian Gorton is looking at alternate funding sources in the event property tax is reduced, he said July 1.
Gorton, who presented his annual tax budget to Geauga County Commissioners, wants to explore other revenue stream options — such as changes in sales tax — as a protective measure against property tax or millage reductions, he said, noting the ongoing effort to abolish property tax in Ohio.
Currently, the total revenue projected for the county for 2026 is $163.8 million, which is less than the total revenue of $200.2 million expected this year, Gorton said in a follow-up email July 8, adding the decrease is a result of expenses related to various 2025 projects.
However, the projected $163.8 million is still higher than the total revenue collected in 2024, which was $152.4 million, Gorton added.
The amount of expenditures budgeted for 2026 came in at just under $169 million, approximately 6.2% less than the 2025 budget, he said during his presentation last Tuesday.
This is due in large part to the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades Project now being underway and the budgeted amounts for it no longer being needed, resulting in a $20 million decrease in expenditures, he added.
About $2.4 million was cut from the budget last year to account for payroll, equipment and contract services, which were not required this year, he explained.
The 2026 tax budget includes a modest increase in general fund revenue of $550,000 compared to the 2025 adopted budget due primarily to an increase in sales tax, Gorton said.
Sales tax is the largest source of income for the county, said Senior Financial Specialist Deborah Ashburn, adding property tax is the second largest source.
When combined, they provide about 70% of the general fund revenue, she said.
While Ohio’s sales tax is currently 5.75%, local governments can implement up to 2.5% in additional sales tax, she said, noting Geauga County’s sales tax is currently 6.75%.
“What that all means is that Geauga County receives 1% of the sales tax, while the state receives 5.75%,” she explained.
Ashburn also took a moment to break down how property tax collection works.
“For every dollar of property tax that a homeowner in Geauga County pays, about 0.167 cents is used to fund county programs. The other remaining 83.3 cents, the local school districts receive the largest chunk, 0.542 cents,” she said. “Townships receive 0.169 cents, the joint vocational school district 0.023 cents. Special districts, 0.008 cents, and that’s Riverside and Madison because they’re on the county lines.”
The library receives 0.03 cents and the park district 0.028 cents, she said.
The 0.167 cents for county programs is split between the Geauga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, children’s services, mental health services, roads and bridges, senior citizens services and the health department, Ashburn said.
Government expenses are primarily personnel related, with salaries, benefits and hospitalization comprising about 73% of general fund expenses, Gorton said.
Salaries, medicare and retirement increased by a little over $1 million in the general fund in the 2026 tax budget, he said.
Wage and staffing increases tend to be responsible for yearly payroll fluctuations, he explained, with 50% of the increase due to additional payroll in the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.
The Geauga County Automatic Data Processing board also saw an increase due to payroll expenses that were not part of the 2025 adopted budget, having been pulled back and provided in supplemental appropriations earlier in the year.
There is $3.2 million in the building improvements fund, Gorton said, adding that with multiple projects underway and with the maintenance department’s five-year projection showing about $4 million in projects, that fund may need additional money to complete everything.
There is $800,000 left in the fund that built the new county office building, with the building nearing a stage where there is unlikely to be much more spending on it, Gorton said.
As the money in the fund is the result of a bond issue, it cannot be put back into the general fund. Rather, it can be moved to the fund to pay the debt on the building, Gorton said.
