Commissioners OK 2025 budget resolution, final ARPA commitments

Highland County commissioners David Daniels, Brad Roades and Terry Britton approved the 2025 budget resolution and other end-of-year business during their final regular meeting of the 2024 calendar year Wednesday, Dec. 18.

Commissioners will meet again Dec. 23 to approve a final bill file and take care of any other outstanding business, but Dec. 18 marked the “closing of the books” and the commission’s final regular Wednesday meeting of the year, which was held in two sessions.

Upon reconvening Wednesday afternoon at 3:25 p.m., commissioners approved the 2025 annual appropriation resolution, which is $2 million higher than the 2024 budget with a $16,750,000 general fund budget and $66,756,108.36 overall.

As previously reported, Highland County Auditor Alex Butler told commissioners Dec. 2 that he has calculated the county’s resources for 2025 at $16,750,000, an increase over 2024’s $14 million.

The figures submitted by Butler included $2,650,000 for real estate property taxes; $9.5 million for permissive sales tax; $620,000 in casino revenue; $95,000 for PILOT [Payment in Lieu of Taxes]; $400,000 in local government funds; $1 million in fees; and $2,485,000 in other receipts.  

Commissioners thanked Butler, and especially the commissioners staff — American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding coordinator Nicole Oberrecht and clerks Mary Remsing and Ashleigh Willey — for their work on preparing the 2025 budget.

“I want to thank Nicole and the office staff and everybody for having their hand in this,” Daniels said. “Alex gave us a number, and this takes a long time to go back through and look at where we stand, how much each department has spent, whether they overbudgeted last year, whether they underbudgeted last year, and to make those changes necessary so that we can get the total amount to balance out and still provide the resources that every department needs to fully operate. I think that we've found that balance here.”

Britton agreed and recognized Oberrecht’s work in particular (although she said it was a “team effort”).

“We’ve done our little due diligence that we do, but all the praise goes to them,” Britton said.

Daniels added that he also wanted to acknowledge the department heads and elected officials for their cooperation.

“Nobody really comes in here and asks for more than they need,” Daniels said. “They do a real good job of keeping their request and their funding for their offices within line. They do the best they can, they've been very good to work with and they've been very reasonable in their requests to us each and every year. I think that they deserve an awful lot of credit for the operation of the county as a whole as well.”
 
In other business, also approved were the final two resolutions related to committing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, as the deadline to obligate funds is Dec. 31.

Commissioners voted via resolution to direct $200,000 of the county’s Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund payment to the second phase of the Rocky Fork Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement project.

As previously reported, commissioners voted in October to award the project to Mechanical Construction Co., Inc., in the amount of $1,172,800.

Also approved was a resolution directing $85,678 in ARPA funding to the Zetron Max Radio Console System Upgrade Project for the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, as commissioners also voted Wednesday to accept a $122,740 quote from Advanced Radio Technology for the purchase.

“This is to upgrade their 911 radio console out there,” Oberrecht said. “It's also got a component of it that ties back to that MARCS upgrade that needs to be done by June of next year.

“It's for $122,740, and then we're going to be contributing about $85,000 worth of ARPA toward it. We'll have to either take the rest from capital improvement or general, but we're making a dent in it by using the remaining ARPA funding.”

As reported last year, EMA Director David Bushelman said that all Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS) radios will be required to have Link Layer Authentication (LLA) upgrades by July 1, 2025.

After a discussion July 3, Oberrecht said that the Sheriff’s Office would be covering $93,565 for their upgrades, with Highland County Sheriff Randy Sanders saying that they still needed the 911 console upgrade as well. Daniels and Britton said during the July 3 meeting that Oberrecht was “working on a funding solution.”

In other discussion:

• Commissioners voted 3-0 to accepted the lowest quotes received to install six new water bottle filling stations on county water fountains.

As previously reported, the Highland County Health Department is providing 31 water bottle refilling stations to various local agencies and organizations, including the Board of Commissioners.  Part of the grant agreement is that “those awarded a water bottle refilling station will be responsible for installing and maintaining the station,” but there is no cost to the commissioners.

According to Daniels, the lowest quotes came from Cornele Plumbing and included $827.50 for a station at the Hi-TEC building; $1,655 for two stations at the Highland County Courthouse; and $2,350 at the Highland County Administration Building, for a total of $4,832.50.

• Commissioners also approved a standard annual grant agreement contract with the Ohio Department of Development for the PY 2024 Community Development Block Grant program.

As announced by the Ohio Governor’s Office, “Highland County will receive $240,000 to construct a courtyard and install outdoor equipment at Highco, Inc., which is a center for persons with disabilities. The county will also provide funding to repair the roof of the Because He Lives food pantry, located in Lynchburg.”

• At 9:45 a.m., commissioners entered an executive session to discuss employee compensation.

• Daniels wished a “merry Christmas and happy new year to all the citizens of Highland County.

“I hope everybody has a good holiday, however they spend it, however they celebrate it, with their family and friends,” Daniels said.

Commissioners also approved the following end-of-year resolutions, each by a 3-0 vote:

• An additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the 2220 Sheriff Donation Fund in the amount of $5,783.26.

• A request from Highland County Sheriff for a budget modification within the 1000 County General Fund in the amount of $5,889.

• A resolution for county offices (County Auditor, Recorder, IT Department, and Job and Family Services) to declare a list of items no longer needed by the County and obsolete, ORC 307-12
(A)(1). Therefore, the Commissioners declare the listed items to be surplus property and no longer needed by the County.

• A request from Victim Witness for a budget modification within the 2540 Victim Witness Assistance fund in the amount of $213.58.

• A request from Highland County Veterans Services for a budget modification within the 1000 County General fund in the amount of $42,000.

• A request from the Highland County Engineer for a budget modification within the 2065 Repair MVL fund in the amount of $319,476.93.

• A request from the Highland County Treasurer requests a budget modification within the 1000 County General fund in the amount of $3,000.

• A request from JFS for a transfer from Public Assistance Fund (2050) to Children Services Fund (2115) in the amount of $25,000.

• A budget modification within the 1000 County General fund in the amount of $8,130.50.

• A  budget modification within the 2187 Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery fund in the amount of $363.85.

• A budget modification within the 2280 Records Preservation fund in the amount of $182.95.

• A request from the Land Bank for a budget modification within the 2505 County Land Bank fund in the amount of $222.91.

• A budget modification within the 2510 Chore Services fund in the amount of $393.76.

• A request from Victim Witness for a budget modification within the 2540 Victim Witness Assistance fund in the amount of $479.31.

• A request from EMA for a budget modification within the 2780 Emergency Management Agency fund in the amount of $262.32.

• A request from the Treasurer for a budget modification within the 7200 DETAC-CO. Treasurer fund in the amount of $92.26.

• A request from the Auditor for a budget modification within the 1000 County General fund in the amount of $150.

• A request from the Auditor for a budget modification within the 2055 Real Estate Assessment fund in the amount of $7,770.96.

• An additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the 2055 Real Estate Assessment Fund in the amount of $3,000.

• A request from Probation for a budget modification within the 2615 CCA 2.0 FY24-25 fund in the amount of $3,000.

• A resolution to authorize the establishment of a new line within the 1000 County General – Treasurer fund – Equipment.

• A budget modification within the 5030 Rocky Fork Lake Sewer District fund in the amount of $7,000.

• A request from the Board of Elections for a budget modification within the 1000 County General Fund in the amount of $4,210.

• A resolution to authorize the establishment of a new line within the 2640 RPIG PY23 fund – Other Expense.

• A resolution to approve the appointment of Patty Day and Autumn Eads to the Board of Developmental Disabilities for a four-year term.

• A transfer from Transfers Out to 2000 Dog and Kennel Fund in the amount of $25,000.

• A transfer from Transfers Out to 2540 Victim Witness Fund in the amount of $82,000.

• An additional appropriation from unanticipated revenue to County — Transfers Out in the amount of $2 million. Also requested is a transfer from Transfers Out to 4050 Capital Improvement Fund in the amount of $2 million.

• A transfer from Transfers Out to 4220 Airport Capital Improvement Fund in the amount of $20,000.

• A budget modification within the 1000 County General Fund in the amount of $12,098.33.

• A budget modification within the 2280 Records Preservation Fund in the amount of $301.20.

• A budget modification within the 2230 Concealed Carry Law Fund in the amount of $750.

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