Concord Bob reminded us to the Willoughby-Eastlake results of the special August election. Local politicians have told me that this is a “real beating”, and will be tough to overcome at the polls in November, where the same levy is… Read More ›
Lake
Follow-up with the State Auditor’s Office
We followed-up with the State of Ohio Auditor’s office. We wanted to be sure that the received our first message regarding the current problems in the Lake County Auditor’s office. Here is the email we sent to them: This is… Read More ›
Cicconetti Out…O’Leary In
According to Concord Bob it looks like Governor DeWine will appoint someone to replace the retired Municipal Court Judge Michael Cicconetti . The 68 year old judge has been the Painesville Municipal Court Judge since January, 1994. It had been… Read More ›
Lakeland Community College…saved by CCP “free” program
Thanks to one of our Kirtland lobbyists for this current information on Lakeland Community College: Fall enrollment highlighted by increase in College Credit Plus students Fall 2019 enrollment is down 3.4% in headcount and 4.3% in FTE, slightly better than… Read More ›
Who is Derek Merrin?…a legislator fighting for us
Who is Derek Merrin? Derek Merrin is the state representative for the 47th District of the Ohio House of Representatives. He is a Republican. The district comprises portions of Fulton County and Lucas County. He caught our attention when we… Read More ›
Kirtland School Levies…
Here are the current Kirtland School District’s levies. You will see that they also have a levy passed in 1976 for 42.95 mills that now has an effective tax rate of 12.110783 for Class 1 (residential/agricultural) property. It appears Superintendent… Read More ›
W-E School Levies…
We had a request for information about the existing Willoughby-Eastlake School District’s property tax levies. Here is the Lake County Auditor’s Schedule A that provides the details. Please note that the school district likes the “emergency” levies because they are… Read More ›
Concord Taxing District 8-9-10…how your property taxes have grown
By request, we are providing the property tax schedules comparing 2018 vs 2008 for Concord Township’s taxing districts 8, 9, 10, and in total. You will see that the taxing district revolves around the school district and public library that… Read More ›
State Auditor’s Office Gets Involved…let’s see what happens
Some time ago LFC filed a complaint with the State of Ohio Auditor’s office and the Internal Revenue Service because of what we believe is improper financial activity among the Visitors Bureau, the Lake County Commissioners, and the Lake County… Read More ›
Wickliffe Real Estate Taxes…taxing district 29
We were asked by a Wickliffe lobbyist if we had any information on real estates taxes, specifically for Wickliffe schools. Here is what we have on file for those in taxing district 29. You can find your taxing district on… Read More ›
LakeTran covering their bases…
Saw this image on the LakeTran Facebook page, and on signs posted in Lake County. We see that they are paying attention to ensure voters know that it is not a property tax on the ballot. As a reminder, if… Read More ›
Lake Metroparks Alcohol Policy
We received a prompt, and complete reply from Mr. Paul Palagyi, Executive Director of the Lake Metroparks, to our inquiry about their alcohol policy in the parks. Kudos to the Director, the board, and his entire staff for maintaining a… Read More ›
W-E School Cover-Up….updated 9/20/19
We asked Mr. Thompson, Willoughby-Eastlake School Superintendent, for the chart that the school Treasurer showed at the last school board meeting. He sent the following chart to us. We, respectfully, disagree. This is not the chart that we remember being… Read More ›
W-E Schools…5 Year Financial Forecast
From the Willoughby-Eastlake website we found their 5 year financial forecast… http://fyf.oecn.k12.oh.us/genForecast.asp?IRN=45104&Format=HTML Here are some interesting numbers from the report: Category 2016 … Read More ›
Auditor’s Office…policing itself?..Not in taxpayers’ best interest
We read this article in the News-Herald today: We had been informed of this problem many, many weeks ago, and we were assured that the problems had been solved. Since that obviously was a “lack of candor” moment, we will… Read More ›
Why Do Schools Keep Asking for Money?…we are way past the 3 R’s
Our last analysis of the Lake County Property Taxes by political sub-division revealed that ~68% of all property taxes (Class 1, Class 2, Class 3) are for schools. We wanted to make everyone aware of a book, given to us… Read More ›
Wickliffe Schools…draining the lifeblood out of their seniors
Thanks to one of our many Wickliffe lobbyists for this letter from the Wickliffe School Board. Let’s check their math: 11.47 mills x $35.00 = $401.45 per $100,000 valuation per year $401.45 / 12 = $33.45 per month For those… Read More ›
Open Meeting Act Violations…can be expensive
A special thanks to one of our Portage lobbyists for making us aware of this article dealing with open meeting act violations in Clermont County. https://www.wcpo.com/clermont-governments-pay-221k-in-suits-over-alleged-secret-meetings-and-silencing-citizens For the budding community activist, you can read all about the “Sunshine Laws” on-line… Read More ›
November Property Tax Levies’ Cost…hot off the press
Hot off the press: Here is the Lake County Auditor’s worksheet detailing the financial impact of each of the property tax levies on the November 5, 2019 ballot. [updated 9/17/19] Copy of Auditor’s Calculation BALLOTLEVIES (Revised) Note to the Willoughby… Read More ›
W-E Schools…not nice to fool the public
We previously wrote about attending the recent Willoughby-Eastlake school board meeting. https://lobbyistsforcitizens.com/2019/09/10/willoughby-eastlake-school-board-textbook-on-how-to-lose-touch-with-taxpayers/ During the meeting, Superintendent Steve Thompson and the Treasurer discussed the need for the 4.99 mill, additional, current expenses, CPT, levy commencing with the 2019 tax year. Here… Read More ›
House Bill 6…to repeal or not to repeal
Have you been wondering what all the TV advertising and flyers received in the mail about the repeal of House Bill 6 – the corporate bailout of First Energy – is all about? Well, we received a tip from a… Read More ›
Tax Working Group…how to “push back”
Citizens from Lake, Geauga, Portage, Cleveland and Lorain counties, concerned about the ever-increasing property taxes, have formed a new group to help residents understand property tax issues, and how to defeat a levy. Achieving success in defeating a levy requires… Read More ›
Affordable Concord Taxes…a more sensible solution is needed
We are pleased to support the efforts of Concord’s ‘Affordable Concord Taxes’ group of dedicated volunteers by spreading the word about their fundraiser. Like any venture it takes money to get the word to the people. We ask that you… Read More ›
Willoughby-Eastlake School Board…textbook on how to lose touch with taxpayers
We attended the Willoughby-Eastlake School Board meeting last night, and left wondering if the board members really understand how to connect with people. We are not sure if we have ever, we mean EVER, been to a meeting led by… Read More ›
Lake Tran…by the numbers
Sorry if we seem to be “getting into the weeds” on this story. There may be more detail than you need to decide whether to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the increase in sales tax on the November ballot. We… Read More ›