Auditor Craig Snodgrass calls commissioners' cuts to his 2026 budget 'draconian'

Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass said he could have to cut loose as much as one-third of his staff, or about 20 employees, if he doesn't get more money out of the 2026 county budget. The commissioners voted Dec. 19 to approve a budget just over $89.9 million for 2026, about $7 million less than officials and department heads had requested for 2026. Snodgrass will receive $1,789,627 from the general fund in 2026. That's split into $1,545,802 for personnel and $243,825 in other expenses. It's also a cut of $812,200 from 2025, when the auditor's share of the general fund budget was $2,601,827, most of that ($2,365,601) in personnel expenses. With a staff of just under 60 employees, Snodgrass said the more-than 30 percent cut to his budget is "draconian." "I don't know what analysis they did to come up with these numbers," he said, referring to the commissioners. Snodgrass said he was consulting the county Prosecutor's Office on his next steps. Furloughs are a possibility, he said. Commissioners have said there would be hard decisions to come in the 2026 budget process, particularly after a proposed 0.25 percent sales tax increase meant to raise $13 million to 14 million for the county Sheriff's Office was defeated by voters in November. The failure of the tax increase meant less funding was free to go to other county departments. An elected Democrat and certified public accountant, Snodgrass is the county's top financial officer, property tax appraiser and assessor and oversees weights and measures. Auditor staff process payroll for more than 2,000 county employees, pay the county's bills, keep watch on how much money is in county accounts and distribute tax dollars where they're supposed to go. Two of his main sources of funding are the county general fund and his real estate assessment fund. Snodgrass said he tries to give back what he can to the general fund at the end of the year as revenue and his budget allow. But with the commissioners' cuts in the 2026 budget, "20 positions are really in question here," he said. That includes in his accounting, weights and measures, settlements and payroll departments, all of which are paid from the county general fund. Forcing the remaining 40 or so to also do the jobs of those 20 would be impossible and possibly illegal, Snodgrass said. "I can't stretch that many employees. It would not be permissible. You're asking me to break the law," he said, saying that mistakes will be made if the commissioners ask him to do more and do it faster with less. Snodgrass said state law limits what he can and can't pay for with his real estate assessment fund revenue. He said he can't just take money out of the fund and transfer it to the county general fund. The Ohio Administrative Code also has rules for what the money can and can't be used for. Snodgrass said he has made a few staffing changes in the meantime. One position will not be filled, a retiring employee won't be replaced and Snodgrass' overtime budget has been eliminated. Commissioners have said this past year they want the county's bills to be paid faster. Snodgrass said fewer staff means that won't happen, and time-sensitive bills like end-of-the-month indigent defense fees will have to be paid by the county, then reimbursed later by the state. "I won't sacrifice accuracy to get bills out the door," Snodgrass said. "I won't do that. "We won't have the staff to do some mandated services. Something has to give. Things will slow down in other areas." Commissioner David Moore was the only one of the three elected commissioners, all Republicans, to respond Tuesday to a request for comment on Snodgrass' concerns. Moore criticized Snodgrass for going to the prosecutor's office. He said Snodgrass "refused to work with us," while Snodgrass said he wasn't consulted by the commissioners in the three weeks between when they last talked about his 2026 budget and when they passed it. A full recording of Snodgrass, Moore and Commissioner Jeff Riddell discussing his budget at a Nov. 25 session is titled "Lorain County Commissioners' Budget Worksessions 11/25/25" and is available on the Commissioners' YouTube page. "My guess is if he refuses to work with us then he has all year to explain his position as he runs for re-election," Moore said. "The voters were very clear and we all have to work with the limited funds we have." Moore said the board is waiting on legal opinions on the auditor's revenue sources and what they can be used for. "Like what was said in our meeting when we passed the budget," he said, "it is a living document and can be changed either up or down as we continue to monitor revenue every month." Snodgrass said in the meantime, he's asking the public for patience so his office can "do what we need to do to get our jobs done." "I've talked to my staff. We're a very resilient group," Snodgrass said. "We'll power through it and at the end of the day, we're going to do what we have to do to serve the public." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.