Cuyahoga County Office of Budget and Management analyzes financial issues, prepares capital and operating budgets, determines tax rates, and distributes over $2.4 billion in annual tax revenue.
The Cuyahoga County Office of Budget and Management (OBM) serves as the strategic financial planning center for county government. Operating under the Fiscal Officer, OBM analyzes complex financial issues, prepares both operating and capital budgets, determines tax rates for local governments, and oversees the distribution of more than $2.4 billion in property tax revenue to schools, municipalities, and other taxing authorities throughout the county.
Financial planning and management are essential to effective government. OBM provides the analysis, forecasting, and oversight that allows county leaders to make informed decisions about resources and priorities. The office serves both internal county operations and the broader community of local governments that rely on property tax revenue distributed through the Fiscal Officer's Office.
The Office of Budget and Management performs several critical functions that impact county operations and local government finance throughout Cuyahoga County.
OBM leads the county's budget process, working with all departments to develop a comprehensive financial plan for each fiscal year. The budget development process includes establishing budget guidelines and priorities, collecting and analyzing departmental budget requests, reviewing requests for alignment with county goals, preparing budget recommendations for the County Executive and Council, presenting and defending budget proposals in public hearings, and monitoring budget execution throughout the year.
Budget monitoring continues after adoption. OBM tracks actual revenues and expenditures against budgeted amounts, identifies variances that require attention, and recommends budget adjustments when circumstances change.
Beyond annual operating budgets, OBM prepares capital improvement plans that address the county's long-term infrastructure needs. Capital planning involves inventorying county facilities, equipment, and infrastructure, assessing conditions and identifying needed improvements, prioritizing capital projects based on urgency and available funding, developing multi-year capital improvement plans, analyzing financing options including bonds and grants, and coordinating capital project implementation.
OBM provides sophisticated financial analysis to support decision-making. Analysts examine the fiscal impact of proposed policies and programs, forecast revenue trends based on economic indicators, model different scenarios for budget planning, evaluate program costs and effectiveness, compare Cuyahoga County finances with peer counties, and identify opportunities for cost savings or revenue enhancement.
The office works to maximize county resources through analyzing existing revenue sources for optimization potential, identifying new revenue opportunities, monitoring state and federal funding programs, coordinating grant applications, and projecting tax revenue based on economic and real estate trends.
One of OBM's most significant responsibilities is staffing the Cuyahoga County Budget Commission. This three-member body, consisting of the County Prosecutor, County Treasurer, and a designated board member, performs essential functions for local government finance.
Every local government that levies property taxes must submit an annual tax budget to the Budget Commission for review. The commission receives and audits tax budgets from 105 taxing authorities, reviews revenue estimates and expenditure projections for reasonableness, ensures budgets comply with Ohio law, and certifies approved budgets to the appropriate authorities.
Taxing authorities subject to Budget Commission oversight include 38 cities, 19 villages, 2 townships, 33 school districts, 9 library systems, and 4 county-level entities (County Executive, Port Authority, Cuyahoga Community College, and Cleveland Metroparks).
The Budget Commission plays the crucial role of determining official property tax rates each year. This process involves calculating the tax rate needed to generate approved revenue for each taxing district, applying House Bill 920 reduction factors to voted levies, certifying official tax rates to the Fiscal Officer for the tax duplicate, and ensuring compliance with legal limitations on tax rates.
Ohio's House Bill 920 prevents property owners from experiencing tax increases solely due to reappraisals. When countywide property values increase during reappraisal, voted millage rates are reduced proportionally so that taxing authorities collect approximately the same total revenue as before.
OBM calculates these reduction factors for every taxing district. The process maintains revenue stability for local governments while protecting taxpayers from windfall increases due to rising property values.
After property taxes are collected by the County Treasurer, the funds must be distributed to the appropriate taxing authorities. OBM oversees the calculation and distribution of more than $2.4 billion annually to local schools, cities, villages, townships, libraries, and special districts.
The distribution process ensures each taxing authority receives its proper share of collections, coordinates timing of distributions with local government cash flow needs, reconciles distributions with actual collections, and handles adjustments for refunds, corrections, and delinquencies.
The Budget Commission issues certificates of estimated resources to each taxing jurisdiction. This official document lists all revenue sources the jurisdiction can expect, establishes the maximum amount that can be appropriated, must be updated as revenue estimates change, and serves as the legal basis for local government appropriations.
OBM prepares amended certificates throughout the year as actual revenues become known, grant awards are received, or other changes affect available resources.
Modern government management requires data-driven decision-making. OBM administers the county's performance measurement program, which involves establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) for county services, collecting performance data from all departments, analyzing trends and identifying areas for improvement, reporting performance results to leadership and the public, and benchmarking against peer organizations.
Performance measurement helps ensure that county resources are used effectively and that services meet community needs.
OBM manages the county's debt portfolio to finance major capital projects at the lowest possible cost. Debt management responsibilities include analyzing debt capacity and maintaining favorable debt ratios, coordinating with financial advisors on bond issuance, preparing official statements for bond offerings, monitoring debt service requirements and ensuring timely payments, maintaining relationships with credit rating agencies, and ensuring compliance with bond covenants and tax law.
Cuyahoga County has maintained strong credit ratings, reducing borrowing costs for essential infrastructure projects.
When new legislation is proposed at the county, state, or federal level, OBM analyzes the financial implications. This includes reviewing proposed state legislation for fiscal impact on the county, providing fiscal notes for county council legislation, analyzing federal policy changes affecting county finances, and recommending positions based on fiscal considerations.
OBM is committed to making county financial information accessible and understandable to the public. The office publishes detailed budget documents on the county website, provides budget information in accessible formats, participates in public budget hearings, responds to inquiries about county finances, and produces financial summaries for general audiences.
Financial transparency helps residents understand how their tax dollars are used and promotes accountability in government spending.
The Office of Budget and Management can be reached through the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer's Office. Budget documents, financial reports, and related information are available on the county website. Staff can assist with questions about county budgets, tax rates, revenue distribution, and financial planning.
Your property tax rate is determined by the Budget Commission based on the levies approved by voters in your taxing district. The commission calculates the millage rate needed to generate the approved revenue, applies HB 920 reduction factors where applicable, and certifies the final rates to the Fiscal Officer.
House Bill 920 (1976) prevents automatic tax increases from rising property values. When property values increase countywide during reappraisal, voted millage rates are reduced so that taxing authorities collect roughly the same total revenue. This protects you from tax increases solely due to reappraisal, though new levies and inside millage aren't affected.
Cuyahoga County distributes more than $2.4 billion in property tax revenue annually to local governments including 38 cities, 19 villages, 2 townships, 33 school districts, 9 library systems, and 4 county-level entities. The distribution is calculated based on each jurisdiction's certified tax rates and the property values in its district.
The county budget is published on the Cuyahoga County website. You can find the current adopted budget, historical budgets, capital improvement plans, and related financial documents. Budget hearings are open to the public and provide opportunities to ask questions about county spending.
A certificate of estimated resources is an official document issued by the Budget Commission listing all revenue sources a local government can expect. It establishes the maximum amount that can be appropriated and serves as the legal basis for local budgets. Certificates are updated throughout the year as revenues change.
Taxing authorities are primarily funded through property taxes levied on real property within their boundaries. Each authority submits an annual tax budget to the Budget Commission, which reviews and certifies the budget. Tax rates are then set to generate the approved revenue, and collections are distributed by the Fiscal Officer's Office.
Yes, county budget hearings are open to the public. These hearings provide opportunities to learn about proposed spending, ask questions, and provide input. Hearing schedules are published on the county website. You can also submit written comments on budget proposals.
The Budget Commission is a three-member body (County Prosecutor, Treasurer, and a designated board member) that reviews and approves local government tax budgets, determines property tax rates, issues certificates of estimated resources, and oversees the distribution of property tax revenue to the 105 taxing authorities in Cuyahoga County.
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