A meeting of the Geauga County Budget Commission was held on Feb. 22, 2023.
First on the agenda were school districts and township budgets.  Then the Geauga Park District was scheduled to certify an amendment to the parks’ 2023 budget. The Geauga Park District was also scheduled for “appropriation certificates” which are necessary for operation of the Park District.

There was no Geauga Park District representative present for any part of the agenda. Auditor Charles Walder made a motion to table the amendment until 10:00 AM on March 6th with the expectation that Park District Director John Oros or a representative will attend.

All Budget Commission members (J. Flaiz, Prosecutor, C. Hitchcock, Treasurer, and C. Walder, Auditor)  had strong opinions on wanting to meet  and discuss in person before signing the necessary permissions. The budget commission was concerned that GPD might not have budgeted operating funds for the beginning of 2024.

The Budget Commission opened Public Comment to the audience.  Dave Partington and Barbara Partington each spoke about the importance of public comment and fiscal responsibility in the operation of the park district and reminded the Budget Commission that the Park District Board has prohibited public comment at their meetings since July, 2016. 

Mr. Walder will be contacting the Park District with a letter of invitation to GPD expressing the importance of the March 6th meeting.