Editorial Commentary by Joseph Jones
If your household budget suddenly tripled, would you buy a second house before fixing the roof? Would you splurge on a new computer while your furnace is about to fail? Most people would not. But that is how Lorain County has been handling your tax dollars.
Over the past several years, the county’s General Fund, basically its main checking account, has grown from about 17 million dollars in 2016 to more than 60 million dollars in 2021. Even at the end of 2024, the balance remained strong at roughly 59.4 million dollars. That is not the sign of a broke government. It is the sign of one that has been cash-heavy and spending freely.
So where did all that money go?
- The county loaned 13.9 million dollars to the Port Authority to buy the Midway Mall, a project that is still up in the air.
- Commissioners have said there is 22 million dollars available for the proposed “mega site” near the airport, a development that has not even broken ground.
- They handed out large payroll increases using one-time federal COVID-relief funds, money that should have been used for short-term recovery, not permanent raises.
- Since 2020, the average county employee salary has risen from about 48,800 dollars to more than 55,000 dollars, an increase of nearly 14 percent, while employees are being asked to absorb higher health-care costs as part of a proposed benefits change.
- The county appears to have added new positions and expanded payroll commitments that are now eating into the budget that used to have breathing room.
- General-fund payroll alone has risen from about 23.7 million dollars in 2022 to 35 million dollars projected for 2024: an increase of nearly 48 percent in just two years.
Now that the easy money is gone, the commissioners are asking residents to pick up the tab with a new 0.25 percent sales-tax increase, supposedly to fund the Sheriff’s Office and the jail. What they are not saying is that this increase is only to fill the gap in the general fund created by years of overspending. Once that hole is covered, another quarter-percent will likely follow — this time to build the new jail itself.
Meanwhile, the county still has about 17.5 million dollars in property taxes from 2015 to 2024 that have yet to be collected. Before asking residents for more, the commissioners should start by collecting what is already owed.
When families sit around the kitchen table to plan their finances, they start with essentials like food, shelter, health, and transportation. The county should be no different. You do not spend on luxuries first and then borrow for groceries. You do not buy a mall and promise a mega site before fixing what is broken.
The commissioners talk about transparency, but what residents are getting is translucency. People can see the outlines of where money is going, but not the full picture. Voters are told the money is for public safety, but once it goes into the general fund it can be shifted anywhere. They are told there is a shortfall, but financial reports still show healthy balances.
While county workers are being asked to pay more for their own health coverage, the commissioners have been unwilling to tighten their own belts. Payroll continues to rise, projects continue to expand, and spending continues to grow. The truth is that this board does not look much different from the Democratic leaders in the City of Lorain who have followed the same playbook of spending first and explaining later.
If the county had set priorities like most families do, taking care of what is necessary before chasing what is nice to have, we would not be in this position. The jail would not be falling apart. We would not be debating another tax hike. And we would not be wondering how more than 60 million dollars turned into another plea for help.
Taxpayers understand that costs go up and everyone wants a safe community. But when government spending starts to look like shopping with a credit card, buying now and worrying later, it is time to pause. If the county cannot tighten its own belt, why should taxpayers be expected to carry their extra weight?