By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall. A Populist
When we discovered that the State of Ohio is number 1 in the country in the state funding of public libraries, we had to start “pulling back the curtain” for the taxpayers. We have also previously reported that until passage of the current budget, the State gave more money to the public libraries than the local government funds, which funds police, fire and local roads.
We asked for public records from the Mentor Public Library, and they complied very quickly. We thank them for their transparency.
Here is the Lake County Auditor’s office’s Schedule A for the Mentor Public Library.
Here is their annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025. Please note the cash balance as of the end of the year – $12,703,368.
The Schedule A states that the estimated revenue (90% of total possible revenue) is $3,323,953. Their reported cash receipts for 2025 property taxes was “only” $3,185,643, which is a drop of $138,310 (4.1%). We will have to ask the Treasurer’s or Auditor’s office for an explanation. Stay tuned.
Here is a listing of all their employees and their annual salary.
Here is an explanation of their employee benefits:
We will follow up with the other Lake County libraries. We have outstanding public record requests with the Willowick Public Library and the Morley Library in Painesville.
If Lake County citizens continue to vote for property tax levies they will be funding their own demise. We are on an unsustainable path.
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Categories: Lake County - General, Real Estate Taxes