By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
We attended the Lake Metroparks Board of Commissioners’ meeting on June 20, 2024 and made the following recording for Lake County taxpayers. This may be the shortest meeting I have ever attended. When the Board fails to discuss anything publicly, we question if there is a need for a Board, and were decisions made illegally behind closed doors.
Here is the cash balance report distributed at the meeting:
Please note that they have $33,827,899.77 in CASH!
They went into executive session to discuss the purchase of more land. The common theme I hear throughout the County is: “How much land to they need?”.
You will hear me on the video ask the Board how much will Metroparks receive in additional property taxes next year due to the estimated 30% increase in property values in 2024. Stay tuned for their number.
We will send a public records request for the 2025 Tax Budget that was passed at the Board meeting. We wonder if the Board even thinks about the taxpayers being priced out of their homes. We had previously asked Metroparks the Executive Director, Paul Palagyi, to forgo the estimated $174,000 (our calculation) that they will collect in additional property taxes without a vote of the taxpayers. His response: “We need that money to keep the parks clean and safe”….this coming from an Executive Director sitting on $33 million in the bank!
Commissioner John Hamercheck is the ONLY official, elected or appointed, that has publicly stated that the ever-increasing property taxes are pricing people out of their homes.
ANY TAX THAT CAUSES A CITIZEN TO BECOME HOMELESS IS IMMORAL!
Updated: June 22, 2024 4:00 pm
Here is the response from Metroparks’ Executive Director Paul Palagyi. We thank him for his transparency and quick response to our public records request.
“In response to the question, what affect would a 30% increase in residential property tax values have on our inside millage revenue, the increase associated with a 30% increase in value would be $165,337.”
“I am also attaching the 2025 Tax Budget that was passed last night in response to your public records request that we received today.”
If the Metroparks is projecting an ending cash balance in 2025 of $24.3 million, and total expenses of $21.1 million in 2025 that means that they have over 12 months of cash reserves. Is that acceptable, or is it excessive?
The Metroparks collects property taxes of $702,986 annually from a .1 mill inside millage. Should the Metroparks forgo the collection of this inside millage until their cash position is “reasonable”?
Should every taxing authority in Lake County, including school districts, have cash reserves that equal one year of operating expenses?
Stay tuned, we have contacted the Lake County Budget Commission for the answer to our questions.
Categories: Lake County - General, Uncategorized