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YOUNGSTOWN -- The county treasurer is questioning the expertise and responsibility of the budget commission to assess the finances of local taxing districts.
The memo from Mahoning County Treasurer Dan Yemma, dated Oct. 15, sent to Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham and Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro - Yemma's colleagues on the Mahoning County Budget Commission – and to at least some of the taxing districts the commission oversees, reiterates his opposition to the state's mandate that local taxing districts be subjected to budget reviews and possible millage reductions.
But it goes a step or two further, suggesting that the commission is ill informed on subdivisions' budgetary situations and has no responsibility to become educated on those matters.
"I don't feel the Budget Commission possesses the same level of background and expertise the representatives of the district have with regard to their budgets, and do not feel members of the commission have or should be expected to invest the time necessary to acquire such expertise," Yemma wrote.
House Bill 309, which took effect in March, gave county budget commissions expanded authority to review local property tax levies and determine whether the revenue they generate exceeds what taxing authorities actually need.
If, for example, a township has accumulated substantial general fund reserves from a particular levy, and the commission determines that continued collections exceed the township’s reasonably anticipated financial needs, the commission may reduce the levy's effective millage, thereby reducing the amount residents pay in property taxes.
County budget commissions can review local taxing districts' financial needs, including existing fund balances, projected expenditures and other available revenue, to make those determinations.
The law protects voter-approved levies from reduction during their first year of collection, but allows commissions to review them in subsequent years. Other restrictions generally prohibit reductions that would bring collections below the previous year’s level for certain taxing authorities, and school districts also retain certain protections involving the 20-mill minimum operating levy requirement.
Since Oct. 5, the commission has been meeting with county boards, townships, villages and other taxing districts like the library.
Meacham said the commission has no intention of making any cuts to levies this year.
"We have no intention of reducing their reserves, because we want to make it clear that we are seeking open lines of communication and let the subdivisions know what is expected of them," he said. "Some come in from the townships and they're on a shoestring (budget). Others have a lot of reserves, and so we ask why they are carrying them. We tell them we'll review it again next year, and we hope you’ll have addressed it by then."
Meacham said in many cases, it's as simple as something like a township planning to buy a new fire truck, but not having moved reserved monies from the general fund into an allocated account.
In other cases, though, he said there are excesses and those will need to be addressed.
"There are no votes being taken. It's all an exchange of information right now - what their expectations are and us letting them know what information we need," Meacham said. "If they're not spending and reserves keep building, you have to ask how they're going to dissipate them in an orderly fashion. They're serious conversions now, but next year they will be even more serious."
Yemma's memo said he also takes exception to the meetings this month, or at least with their format.
"We are not conducting the public meetings referenced in the legislation. Our meetings are informational as no decisions have been made with regard to reducing any levies," he wrote. "We do not have sufficient knowledge to consider reducing any levy and I would agree that holding these meetings is one way to gather information."
Yemma said subdivisions should be allowed to provide any information they feel is relevant, and an "opportunity to present a summary of their budget, its goals and objectives and any issues that may be considered unusual or unique."
He suggested they should be told such a format is expected of them, and the commission should arrange the 30-minute meetings to include a 10-minute presentation summary and 20 minutes for questions and further explanation.
Yemma did not return a call from The Vindicator on Wednesday.
Meacham reiterated that the meetings are purely for informative purposes, so that the subdivisions’ officials know what to expect, and the commission knows where it needs to focus its attention next year.
“I think it would be rather excessive to come in on day one and just say it's too much and we're cutting,” he said. “Cutting a millage is a big deal. That millage is what taxpayers voted for, but on the other hand we have to give oversight, and that’s what we're doing.”
DISSENT AND TENSION
The Vindicator has documented the turmoil between Meacham and Yemma. Just last week, Meacham criticized the handling of about $835,000 in unapplied real estate tax payments remaining in a county surplus fund, saying the money should be credited to taxpayers. The fund, which contains duplicate, excess and other payments that could not be properly applied to individual tax parcels, reached about $1.2 million in 2024. Meacham said a six-month review by his staff identified about $329,000 that was transferred to unclaimed funds, leaving $835,000 that has yet to be credited.
He said his staff has identified the parcels to which the remaining money belongs, but the credits have not been processed. He placed responsibility for completing the work on Yemma’s office.
In June, Mahoning County Commissioners approved the hiring of outside attorneys to represent both the auditor and treasurer, because Maro's office cannot represent both. The matter of the unprocessed funds could go to court if attorneys cannot bring them to an agreement.
In December, Yemma also hinted that he might run for Meacham's seat.
Meacham said Yemma does not actively participate in the budget commission meetings, and said he takes exception to the idea that he is not qualified to understand the budgets of the taxing subdivisions being reviewed.
"I don't feel at all incapable of reviewing and analyzing these statements and coming to a determination. I feel fully capable of doing that," Meacham said.
A certified public accountant for the past 47 years, Meacham holds an economics degree from John Carroll University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
His career includes positions with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Ernst & Ernst and Mellon Bank. He also served as chief financial officer of the Pittsburgh Steelers and held financial management positions with Butler Wick and Packer Thomas.
"I bring with me my staff members, especially my chief deputy (Stacy Marling), who is also a fiscal officer for Bazetta Township, and is intimately familiar with township finances, and with the county boards because she works with them every day," he said. "One of my guys has been working on the finances of the school districts for a couple years now. We know how they're operating and we have a pretty good base of knowledge."
While the commission is addressing the budgets of local governments, county boards and similar entities this year, it will begin assessments of local school districts in 2027.
"If I felt incapable, I certainly would obtain that knowledge or bring someone along who could help me understand. But in my case, I have a very capable staff who knows how to do this," Meacham said.