By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
The recent Lake County investment meeting leads us to say, regretfully, that conservatism is dead in Lake County, Ohio.
We recorded the meeting for our readers. The second video is the whole meeting. The first video was edited to only show the cash and securities in the County portfolio.
We have attended these investment meetings for years have we have seen a tremendous increase in taxpayer funding amassed by the County and the taxing authorities in Lake County. Here are some sobering statistics:
| DATE | CASH | SECURITIES TOTAL | |
| 3/31/18 | $163,567,436 | $126,862,000 $290,429,436 | |
| 12/31/18 | $147,794,750 | $128,818,000 $276,612,750 | |
| 6/30/22 | $265,023,986 | $171,838,855 $436,862,841 | |
| 9/30/22 | $203,163,757 | $222,205,571 $425,369,328 | |
| 12/31/22 | $176,888,935 | $242,836,188 $419,725,123 | |
| 6/30/23 | $212,809,061 | $245,184,644 $457,993,705 | |
| 9/30/23 | $202,140,396 | $246,515,008 $448,655,404 | |
| 3/31/24 | $369,258,169 | $249,586,793 $618,844,962 |
I spoke to Treasurer Zuren after the meeting and asked about the huge increase, and I was told that they just received the payment of property taxes and the numbers should go down. Strange, but that is what was told to me by officials back in 2022 when the investment amount jumped to $436,862,841. It is crystal clear to us that we are on the wrong path. The unending growth of government is caused by the breakdown of the family, and God has left many of the churches because the revealed Word of God is not being taught.
As a reminder, former Lake County Commissioner and Ohio State Representative, Ron Young tells the truth about government and politicians in his last meeting as a Commissioner….take it away Ron….
Here is the edited version of the investment meeting. The actions by the Treasurer and Commissioner Plecnik indicate to me that they not even thinking about returning the excess taxation to the taxpayers. Their conservative cards have been revoked.
Here is the complete video of the investment meeting.
I have had elected State officials believe that seniors should sell their homes because the home values are high, and then they can move into an apartment. The elite just do not understand the average American.
Update
Update: April 19, 2024…here is a correction to the statement made by the County investment committee about the Laketran cash reserves being in the County’s $618 million investments. That is not correct. Here is the response from Ben Capelle, CEO of Laketran to our email:
“Our funds are not managed as part of the Lake County portfolio.”
“We manage our own funds, which are part of the reports we prepare for our Board every month. We have our own investment policy adopted by our Board.”
Ben Capelle, CEO of Laketran
“If they are reporting on them I am not sure why, unless they are getting info from our public reporting, we do not send them anything special.”
We are funding our own demise.
Any tax that, if unpaid, causes a citizen to become homeless is immoral!
Categories: Community Activism, Lake County Politics