ELYRIA, Ohio — Lorain County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a preliminary 2026 tax budget that highlights the financial challenges ahead, projecting a multimillion-dollar deficit and signaling a shift toward more disciplined spending.
During the July 15 commissioners meeting, Commissioner David Moore presented a comprehensive 37-page budget analysis and discussed the non-binding budget that will serve as a working draft for the final budget set to be approved later this year.
The budget estimates
$81.6 million
in revenue for 2026, falling far short of the $97 million requested by county departments. Rather than approve the full amount requested, commissioners adopted a compromise budget of $86.7 million, which still leaves the county facing a $5.1 million gap.
Commissioner Jeff Riddell attributed much of the current fiscal challenge to what he termed an “ARPA hangover” — referring to unsustainable spending patterns that developed when American Rescue Plan Act funds were readily available.
“We have some spending habits that we developed during ARPA that weren’t healthy and it’s time to get back into a healthy budgeting and spending mode,” Riddell said.
The end of federal relief funding has forced the county to confront the reality that many expanded programs and services cannot continue without significant budget adjustments. Riddell made clear that departments were warned last year to prepare for 2026 operations with the same resources allocated for 2025.
The commissioners are implementing several changes to create a more transparent and realistic budgeting process.
They’ve identified 12 budget areas marked with “blue stars” that either received major funding increases or require potential adjustments — including their own office budget.
“We’re not making anybody do anything that we’re not willing to do,” Riddell said.
The county has also shifted away from the previous approach where the auditor provided conservative revenue estimates that typically fell short by 12-14%. This old system led to last-minute spending of surplus funds that were difficult to deploy effectively for planned projects.
“We’re trying to spend close to the revenue that we expect so that people who have very valid projects don’t get shorted in the budget process only to find out a windfall in November and December when it’s too late to make the make the project happen,” Riddell said.
Another major change is how employee healthcare costs are recorded. Starting this year, the county began allocating healthcare costs directly to each department rather than bundling them under the commissioners’ office. This change allows for more accurate year-to-year comparisons and greater fiscal accountability.
“We’re getting a little bit more of a true photograph of what each and every department and office looks like,” Moore said.
Riddell challenged assumptions that inflation and rising home values automatically generate more county revenue. Despite higher prices, sales tax revenues remain flat because consumers are purchasing fewer goods.
“People are spending the same amount of money but buying less stuff,” Riddell said.
Similarly, housing transfer taxes are stable but not growing. While individual home sales involve higher prices, fewer overall transactions are occurring.
Riddell did not comment on revenue collected from property taxes, which have increased throughout Northeast Ohio in the most recent assessments.
Despite the financial constraints, Riddell emphasized that the board is not planning layoffs. Instead, commissioners will spend the next 90 days working with departments to identify duplicated services and reallocation opportunities.
“At the end of the day, we’re not going to run a $5 or a $10 million deficit,” Riddell said.
Final budget discussions will take place this fall, with a binding 2026 budget expected to be adopted by late November or December.
