Medina County Budget Commission tables discussion on school tax budgets, pending legal review

MEDINA — The Medina County Budget Commission tabled any further actions regarding the fiscal year 2027 school tax budgets on Wednesday, allowing legal counsel to review the potential ramifications of any decisions. On Wednesday, the Medina County Budget Commission held a special meeting to discuss final decisions for the fiscal year 2027 school tax budgets. The meeting initially was scheduled to be held in the county administration building's balcony room B, but was shifted downstairs to the building's auditorium for more space due to the number of people in attendance. At the start of the meeting, Medina County Commissioner Colleen Swedyk welcomed everyone attending and stated she valued their input. Swedyk then said, based on a letter received from an attorney represented Highland Board of Education, that she recommended that the budget commission pause and investigate the legal ramifications of any decisions regarding the school districts' tax budgets. Christian Williams of Pepple & Waggoner Ltd., who represents the Highland Board of Education, sent a letter on Monday regarding the Medina County Budget Commission's consideration of the Highland Board of Education's submitted alternative tax budget information. The letter states that once a county budget commission has completed its work with respect to the district's budget or the information required to be provided through Ohio Revised Code, it must certify its action to the district, along with an estimate by the county auditor of the rate of each tax necessary to be levied by the district and a summary, which is the "official certification of estimated resources." According to the Ohio Revised Code, the certification of the budget commission to the taxing authority must be filed by the county budget commission with such taxing authority on or before March 1, in the case of school districts. The letter states that the Highland Board of Education approved an alternative tax budget for fiscal year 2027 on Jan. 12 and further submitted the alternative tax budget information to the Medina County Budget Commission on Jan. 13. The letter continues, stating that the Medina County Auditor's Office sent correspondence to the Highland Schools' treasurer on March 11, stating the decision was tabled until March 25, and that the budget commission was looking at $2.8 million as possible excess or unnecessary tax revenue collection for 2026-27. "Based on the foregoing, it is my belief that the commission may be delaying the performance of its statutory duties in an attempt to utilize the newly established authority created by Ohio House Bill 309," Williams wrote. House Bill 309, which became effective on March 20, authorizes the county budget commission to modify tax levies that previously could not be modified if the commission determined as unnecessary or excessive collections. The letter states the county budget commission cannot use the change in law for purposes of the board's fiscal year 2027 tax budget, since the changes went into effect after the March 1 deadline for certification. Finally, the letter states Highland Schools declined to voluntarily forego any tax collections for the calendar year 2027. Additionally, the Highland Board of Education requested via the letter that the county budget commission provide the certifications and information required by the Ohio Revised Code based on the information provided by the district in the alternative tax budget information document and during the Feb. 24 hearing. "We really need to do research on whether the commission has the authority to do what it's done and what it may propose to do," Swedyk said. After Swedyk made the motion, Medina County Prosecutor Forrest Thompson explained to the other budget commission members, Auditor Anthony Capretta and Treasurer John Burke, that the letter could not only have a bearing on what was scheduled for discussion on Wednesday but also on what had previously been decided. The motion to table the discussions was unanimously passed. Earlier, Swedyk made a motion to rescind the Medina County Budget Commission's March 6 decision regarding Cloverleaf Schools, which imposed an additional $546,000 reduction. The budget commission's imposed reduction came after Cloverleaf voluntarily lowered its own tax collections by roughly $3.5 million in December through a 3.22-mill rollback. The motion failed after both Capretta and Burke stated they would not second her motion. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.