He may be the youngest trustee in Geauga County, but that hasn’t stopped Chris Hare from bringing fiscal discipline, gratitude and a passion for community to his role.
A West Geauga Schools alum and lifelong resident of Russell Township, Hare, 23, is now a homeowner and trustee in the township.
“Living in Russell and being able to serve my neighbors on the board of trustees is something I am always very grateful for,” he said during an interview June 30.
Hare was appointed to fill the seat of former Trustee Matt Rambo after Rambo was elected to serve as Geauga County Common Pleas Court judge in December 2024.
The appointment was a second chance of sorts for Hare, who, at 19, ran for one of two open trustee seats in 2021 and lost to incumbent Jim Mueller and Rambo.
Hare is a “big believer” in getting involved in the community, not only as trustee, but also as a part of the Knights of Columbus at Communion of Saints Parish (St. Ann) in Cleveland.
“For some, it is as simple as registering to vote when you are 18,” he said. “For others, it is (in) another capacity, such as joining a school board or trustee board.”
The Kent State University graduate, who has bachelor’s degree in finance and is a fund accountant at KeyBank, believes his finance background and love for community engagement are assets to the board.
Having the freedom to be involved in local government isn’t something Hare takes lightly either, noting his grandparents were refugees from behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary.
“(They) could not have imagined such an exercise in freedom until they came to this country,” he said. “I think about this every day and it makes me value immensely that I can be a part of local government in any capacity.”
One of Hare’s favorite aspects of being a trustee is getting to know residents outside of meetings.
“If I am pumping gas at the Sunoco or walking at the polo field and I recognize someone or they recognize me, and we talk for a few minutes about any range of issues, I get a gauge and new perspective from a resident,” Hare said. “I have been out running on Chagrin River Road and someone had stopped their car because they recognized me, pulled over and had asked me questions related to one of our road projects. That kind of accessibility is amusing to me and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
One of Hare’s main goals as trustee is to be “cost conscious and fiscally responsible.”
“I am most proud of the budget that is coming out of this year’s workshops, using grants and portions of the general fund to help fund important capital priorities for the fire department, preventing a need for an immediate levy,” he said. “That is the model for lessening the need (for) more frequent levies going forward.”
He credited the township’s department heads for looking out for grants to offset expenses.
“I do not foresee too many large capital projects in the near future for our community and would like to make more common department assistance out of the general fund to both longer sustain individual departments from seeking levies and, when appropriate, offset a levy collection,” Hare said. “It’s the right thing to do with unvoted millage.”
Hare also meets regularly with department heads, he said.
“(I) learn how I can best support their operations, while being cost wise and working within existing budget limits,” he said, adding he enjoys the constant learning that comes from the role of being a trustee and can list every chief, department head and Russell Township employee.
When reflecting on his first months in the new role, Hare said it was like “trying to drink water from a fire hose.”
“I am working with police and fire chiefs, as well as a fiscal and road staff that (have) irreplaceable years of leadership skills and industry knowledge that anyone of any age would be grateful to be able to learn from and work with,” he said.
