Cloverleaf Board to sue Medina County Auditor's Office over $200,000 in unpaid pipeline interest

WESTFIELD TWP. — The Cloverleaf School Board authorized legal action Wednesday against the Medina County Auditor's office, alleging a "clear violation" of state law regarding the collection of more than $200,000 in interest owed by the Nexus Pipeline. The unanimous vote followed a 10-month standoff documented in a series of emails and a legal memo. The dispute centers on whether the county has the discretion to waive interest on delinquent public utility taxes, a power the district's legal counsel argues does not exist under the Ohio Revised Code. "At this point, continued delay has become a decision in and of itself," Superintendent Daryl Kubilus told the board. "When the government moves faster to take money away from schools than it does to collect money lawfully owed to them, that's a problem." The conflict began in June, following an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that finalized the taxable value of the Nexus Gas Transmission Pipeline. While Nexus eventually paid the base delinquent taxes, the county failed to assess the mandatory interest for tax years 2019, 2020 and 2021, according to the legal memo. The memo from June 27 from the law firm Bricker Graydon warned the auditor's office that charging interest is a statutory requirement. According to the memo, the auditors' office initially stated it "didn't feel it was fair" to add interest to Nexus when it had not done so for other parcels. The district's legal counsel countered that the law provides "clear statutory authority" and does not allow a county to determine "if it feels it is appropriate or fair" to charge a taxpayer. Internal emails show that Kubilus attempted to resolve the matter without taking legal action for nearly a year and even offered to meet with Medina County Auditor Anthony Capretta. However, the auditors' office repeatedly cited staffing shortages due to property reappraisals and personnel turnover within the County Prosecutor's office as reasons for the delays. In an email from March 31 John Hunter, the auditor's director of information technology and strategy, told the district that the prosecutor's legal opinion was delayed because the person previously working on the file was "no longer with the office." By April 15, Kubilus issued an ultimatum, saying the board needed a definitive plan and timeline. The auditor's office responded on April 20 that it could not provide a timeline for a decision, resulting in the district moving towards legal action. "Indefinite delay cannot substitute for a decision, particularly when more than $200,000 lawfully owed to the district remains uncollected," Kubilus wrote in his latest response to the county. In Wednesday's board meeting, it was noted that Cloverleaf is not the only entity affected. Some of the townships, including Lafayette, Chatham and Seville, are also owed interest from Nexus. "I've said this before, this district is fortunate that we're on solid financial footing, and if we have to lead the charge against the county for the other entities, we'll do that on their behalf, and we're going to make this happen," board President Jason Myers said. Capretta declined to comment because it's a pending legal matter. Contact reporter Sam Russ at (330) 491-6962 or sruss@medina-gazette.com.