Sheriff, commissioners talk budget issues for 2026 and beyond

ELYRIA — With just four months left in a year fraught with county budget issues, Lorain County Sheriff Jack Hall and commissioners continued discussions Friday about his budget for 2026 and beyond. Heavy with personnel expenses, the Sheriff's Office is largest piece of the county budget ever year. Hall asked for $35 million in 2026 — $23 million for the county jail and $12 million for road patrol and operations. He ended up with just over $32 million after commissioners cut out nearly $2.8 million in operations and jail spending. The Lorain County Jail has a dedicated revenue stream, with more than $13 million annually coming from a dedicated 0.25 percent sales tax passed in the 1990s. Any remaining funds to operate the jail, a legal requirement of Ohio sheriffs, come from the county general fund. Commissioners were expected to take $8 million or so from the general fund to pay for jail operations. With four months left in the year, they have only put $4 million into the jail fund, Hall said. Hall and Chief Deputy Tanya Czack, who is in charge of Hall's budget, attended Friday's commissioners meeting to discuss that and other matters with commissioners. Hall said he has been focusing on mandatory spending — duties required by state, like running the jail — and limiting discretionary spending. And yet "we don't have an appropriation (measure) funding the 'shalls' and necessities, to this day," he said, asking the board to send an official request to county Auditor Craig Snodgrass for certification. Hall said he also has been paying attention to the county's discretionary spending in other areas, including economic development, low- or no-interest loans to developers for stormwater or other projects and the proposed new wastewater treatment plant on the county's west side. Meanwhile, "we've scrapped, we've cut, we've done everything we can" to stay within a budget, Hall said. "We are managing our money in the best way we can." Commissioner Jeff Riddell said there have been "significant" improvements in the sheriff's budget as well as lapses — the county nearly defaulted on lease payments for a number of Hall's vehicles — but voters last year rejected a sales tax increase to support Hall's mission. "The taxpayers spoke," Commissioner Marty Gallagher said. "They don't want to give us more money. We have to live within our means." To be attacked over budget cuts, "that's what's naturally going to happen," he said. And "the people continue to speak about how they don't want more taxes," Commissioner David Moore said. Riddell said commissioners will continue to monitor expenses after taking a "leap of faith" to approve a $89.9 million county budget for 2026. With Hall's office an estimated 4 percent over budget as of Friday, Riddell said commissioners were trying to prevent a bigger budget problem by the end of the year. His board doesn't print money "and we can't run a deficit," Riddell said. With tax revenue in 2027 "looking flat," Riddell said commissioners will continue to monitor spending. Moore, who praised Hall and Riddell for talking about budget issues in a public forum, said the commissioners' annual appropriation schedule will shift to quarterly appropriations starting in 2027 for better control over spending. Czack said that would be helpful to her as she crafts Hall's annual budget. "That's far more fair to us and to the taxpayers," she said. With no new revenue streams anticipated, and taxpayers statewide up in arms over property tax increases and increased costs, commissioners will continue to encourage development, sewers, new homes and new businesses to grow the county's tax base, Moore said. "All we're trying to is watch the dollars, that's it," he said. Commissioners' first duty is to the budget and to live within their financial means, Riddell said. "Our second duty is to invest some money in the future," he said. "To just say we're going to worry about today is very short-sighted." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.