Auditor, economic development director, recorder share updates at Highland County commission meeting

Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades held their first regular meeting of 2026 on Wednesday, Jan. 7, as the meeting included updates from several county department heads and other guests. 

In one of those updates, Highland County Auditor Alex Butler announced that the county broke a record for annual permissive sales tax receipts for a sixth straight year, topping $9.8 million in 2025.

For December 2025, the county collected $787,193.60 in regular receipts, up from $745,065.60. Additionally, Butler said the state released a “distribution to compensate for lost revenue during the sales tax holiday back in August” to the county Dec. 31. That added another $118,773.29, up from $85,792.40 received last December.

Combined, those totals brought the 2025 yearly total to $9,822,591.92, up from 2024’s record total of $9,661,773.64. The record has been broken each year since 2020, when the county collected over $7.5 million, and 2025 marks a fourth straight year of total receipts surpassing $9 million.

“It just amazes me it keeps creeping up every year,” Britton said. “That's good news.”

However, Butler cautioned that “the amount of growth is a little bit less” than that of 2024 to 2025, as the year-to-date difference was only 1.64-percent higher.

Also discussed during the commissioners’ conversation with Butler was a resolution agreeing to reduce the 2026 county budget, which was approved later in the meeting.

“For some of our fund — not the general fund, but some of our other funds — what was appropriated exceeded the certificate of estimated resources, which it cannot do,” Butler said. “It's no cause for concern. There's no money that's not coming in now that we thought was going to be anticipated revenue, just bringing down appropriations to levels that are under the certificate of estimated resources as required by ORC.”

At Butler’s recommendation, commissioners also voted 3-0 to approve a five-year engagement letter with Millhuff-Stang to “lock in pricing” for the county’s state audits.

In another report, Highland County Economic Development Director Julie Bolender discussed an upcoming six-week bootcamp for local entrepreneurs interested in starting or growing their own business. The Ignite Appalachia bootcamp and pitch competition is free and open to Highland County residents, with sessions being held on Tuesday evenings, Feb. 24-March 31 from 6-8 p.m. at the Highland County Administration Building in Hillsboro.

Sessions will help entrepreneurs “build your network, refine your business plan and gain expert guidance,” according to a handout from Bolender. 

“What you're going to learn during that six weeks is how to refine your business plan,” Bolender said. “You're going to meet with mentors, accountants, attorneys, all of the folks that you're going to need on your side when you start a new business. 

“This is the first of its kind in Highland County. We're really excited about it.”

The sessions will conclude with a pitch competition, similar to “Shark Tank,” with the winners receiving seed money, Bolender said.

“Come with a dream and end with a plan,” she added.

Space is limited to 15 participants, with applications available now at letsrepower.org.

In addition to participants, Bolender said she is also looking for local attorneys and certified public accountants to serve as mentors. She added that the bootcamp is being presented in partnership with the ECDI Women’s Business Centers and Ohio State University South Centers.

A third appointment with a county official saw Chad McConnaughey present his annual Highland County Recorder’s Office report with data on his office’s activity in 2025.

For a second straight year, the county saw a 1.1-percent increase in documents recorded from the previous year, with 6,039 documents recorded in 2025. E-recorded documents are now the majority, with 54.6 percent of the 6,039 documents being e-recorded last year, according to his report.

Along with the 1.1-percent increase in recordings, the amount of funds collected increased 1.16 percent with $426,113.50 in 2025. Sixty-two percent of the funds, or $263,317, were collected through e-recording.

McConnaughey said that the e-recording process “keeps getting quicker and better” since they began offering the option in 2018.

“That number just keeps climbing, and it will keep climbing,” McConnaughey said of the number of e-recorded documents. “I don't see that ever slowing down. It brings challenges with it, but it also helps my staff. It's a lot smoother process. It's a lot quicker. Money is easier to deal with.

“E-recording is becoming a bigger option. We have a lot of local attorneys even utilizing that.”

Of the $426,113.50 collected in 2025, McConnaughey said that $28,430 went to the records preservation fund through an additional $5 fee as allowed under Senate Bill 94.

“My goal for some of that money is to continually upgrade and update our books, books that are starting to show wear,” McConnaughey said. “Anything behind 1980 is in a book. It's not in the computer system. 

“That's an expensive process to fix those books. It's not something I've been able to do in my budget before, so probably a book or two a year is my goal, just to kind of get our books cleaned up.”

McConnaughey thanked commissioners for the updates to his office through the renovations to the administration building, which took place throughout 2025 and are currently wrapping up. McConnaughey also thanked his staff, chief deputy Emily Jackson and deputy Emily Barr, for their ongoing work.

“They are awesome,” he said. “They work very hard for me.”

In other discussion:

• Commissioners approved a proposed site plan for a long-discussed MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) tower on Butters Road, as presented by commission clerk Mary Remsing.

Remsing shared copies of the layout as submitted by the state, as she said they would “start to refine some of the grading work on the property” once she notifies them of commissioners’ approval.

After searching for a suitable location for the tower since receiving state funding in June 2022, commissioners selected the 5.11-acre parcel on Butters Road in Brushcreek Township in February 2025. The property came into commissioners’ possession in September 2024 after being forfeited in a high-profile drug trafficking case. 

Commissioners voted in October to award the project to Verdantas, including for environmental review, permitting, site preparation and bidding, according to Remsing.

• Greenfield Mayor Chris Borreson, who took office Jan. 1 as the village’s first mayor since residents voted in November 2024 to switch from a city manager system, introduced himself to commissioners.

As previously reported, in the November 2024 general election, voters opted to “abandon the City Manager Plan,” overturning the plan that was chosen by voters 17 years earlier. On May 8, 2007, Greenfield voters approved organizing the village under a new city manager form of government as provided in Ohio Revised Code 705.41-705.86. 

The following November, in the 2025 general election, Borreson — a former member of Greenfield’s village council — was elected as mayor.

“The whole entire elected officials and management team is all brand new starting this year, so we’re starting from scratch and rebuilding our town as far as the management side goes,” Borreson said. “I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, and we’ll be needing a lot of help.”

All three commissioners welcomed Borreson, as Daniels said they “look forward to a partnership” between the village of Greenfield and any county departments that can assist.

• David Weightman of Clearway Energy Group attended the meeting as part of what he called a “fact-finding mission” for a “potential” solar project located in Concord Township. No formal steps have been taken toward the project as of yet, he said, as Weightman said the company first wanted to determine “whether we would be welcome” in the county.

Daniels referred Weightman to the county’s policy as implemented in November 2021, which Weightman said he had already reviewed. He questioned the commissioners about a section limiting the size of projects in a particular area, as it says the commission’s policy is to “consider requiring a reduction of the geography size of a large solar facility” if said facility “would cause the aggregate acreage inside the perimeter fencing of all solar facilities in the township in which it is proposed to be located to exceed eight percent of the total acreage of said township.”  

Weightman said it is his understanding that the Willowbrook Solar project already takes up 7.5 percent of the acreage limit. Daniels told him to check with the county map office to make sure he had the latest acreage information but agreed that if that is the case,  “you would fall under those guidelines, so you could not build a project larger than the combined solar output from Willowbrook and your project.” Roades added that his records showed the 7.5-percent figure was correct.

Weightman asked commissioners if they had an “informal” idea of whether such a project would be “well received” if Clearway Energy Group were to move forward.

“If you fall within the parameters that we have outlined when we started doing this, I’ve got no problem with that,” Daniels said. “If you try to fall outside those lines or outside the perimeters that we've done, I have a problem with that. I think you are probably well aware that there are a lot of people that don't like it.”

Britton added, “I would agree,” and Roades said he did as well.

“If we're at 7.5 percent of our township acreage, and you're going to be under Senate Bill 52, that's only going to give you half a percent,” Roades said. “If you have a half-percent worth of acreage, I don't know if it's valuable to come in.”

Daniels also referred to part of the county’s solar policy that says they “oppose” any solar facilities under 50 megawatts that do not follow under Ohio Power Siting Board jurisdiction, saying the county is “not interested” in hearing such a proposal.

Commissioners also made the following other approvals, each by a 3-0 vote:

• A contract with the Montgomery County Microfilming Board for the 2026 calendar year for the recorder’s office.

• A planned service agreement with Wilkin Heating & AC, Inc. for work at the dog pound, totaling $505.

• A second amendment to the State Energy Program grant agreement for the Energy Efficiency Program for Ohio Communities through Amaresco, for work at the Highland County Jail.

• A satisfaction of mortgage request from Highland County Community Action for a homeowner who had rehabilitation work done through HCCAO and has since paid off her mortgage.

• The purchase of two 2026 Dodge Durango vehicles from Jake Sweeney for the Sheriff’s Office at a cost of $86,276.

• A grant amendment request submitted by Juvenile Court.

• A blanket resolution to cover all travel of McConnaughey to all state and district meetings as deemed necessary for 2026.

• A blanket resolution to cover all the travel of Christopher M. Fauber, P.E., P.S., Highland County Engineer, to the listed meetings and all additional meetings as necessary.

• A resolution authorizing the Highland County Engineer to use the existing county employee forces and proceed by “force account” in the construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance or repair of roads, bridges and culverts as determined by the county engineer in Highland County during the year of 2026.

• A resolution authorizing the Highland County Engineer to use the R.C. 325.19(F) to establish an alternative vacation leave schedule during four 10-hour days from April 2026 to October 2026 as set.

• A resolution to agree to the reappointment of Kimberly Douglas to the Highland County District Library Board of Trustees for a four-year term, beginning February 2026.

• A request from the Board of DD to establish new lines within the 2195 Multi System Youth Incentive Fund.

• A request for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the 2795 Policeman Rotary Fund in the amount of $32,578.50.

• A request for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the 7210 Prosecutor DETAC Fund in the amount of $2,867.78.

• A request for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the 2075 Youth Services Grant – DCC Fund in the amount of $2,780.50.

• A request from the Engineer for a budget modification within the 4110 Engineer Building Capital Improvement fund in the amount of $3,500,000.

• A transfer in the amount of $18,013.80.

• An additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the 2540 Victim Witness Fund in the amount of $1,500.

• A resolution to grant authorization for listed “then and now” purchase orders and authorizing the county auditor to issue warrants for their payment.

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