County finances, broadband updates among topics at Highland County commissioners' meeting

Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades heard updates on the county’s permissive sales tax totals, which have topped $4.2 million on the year, and its investments during their Wednesday, May 27 meeting.

Highland County’s permissive sales tax receipts for May were nearly identical to those collected a year ago, with this year’s $768,507.84 being a .44-percent increase over last year’s $765,118.79.

Year to date, however, the county’s totals are 5.05-percent higher than the first five months of the current-record year of 2026, with the county now having $4,225,730.77 collected through May. 

In other financial updates, Highland County Treasurer Vickie Warnock conducted an investment advisory committee meeting, sharing first-quarter figures for 2026.

Totals as of March, as presented by Warnock, included:

—STAR Ohio, $23,394.48 interest and 3.79-percent interest rate;

—STAR Plus, $6,781.14 interest and 2.25-percent interest rate;

—Fifth Third (CDs): $34,025.33 interest and 3.54-percent average interest rate;

—Checking account: $29,722.03 interest and 3.44-percent interest rate; and

—ICS account: $139,734.66 interest and 3.8-percent interest rate.

The total interest for March was $233,657.64, with $575,684.02 reported for the quarter.

Warnock said that she spoke with representatives from Fifth Third last week to discuss moving some funds around.

“We did have $2.9 million in the money market where CDs had come due, and they just put it in the money market account,” Warnock said. “We transferred $1.5 million into other investments there at Fifth Third. One is paying 4.20 percent, and the other one is paying 4.40 percent. We had another million that we put into some other investments there that is paying 4.60 percent. 

“We still have approximately $400,000 in the money market account there, and it is paying 3.76 percent on the money market, but it is accessible funds if we would need it for anything.”

In response to a question from Daniels, Warnock said the combined $2.5 million recently reinvested “will not come due until 2029,” while the county has “seven more CDs that will be coming due” this year.

“With Fifth Third, we normally always try to set it up to where we have at least four to six CDs coming due all the time, so that we always have money accessible,” Warnock said. “These will be coming due anywhere from June, July and November, and then hopefully the interest rates will still be close to four percent and we can roll those back over.”

For their ICS account, Warnock said that she may have some recommendations after the second-half property tax settlement.

“There may be enough funds in there that we can reinvest if we can find a good interest rate for it,” she said. “The bank is paying us 3.79 percent. They’ve agreed to give us a good rate on the ICS and the checking account, so we'll have to look at that after second half, possibly, and see what interest rates are at that time.”  

In other discussion:

• Charter Communications/Spectrum Director of Government Affairs Sam Bain gave an update on the company’s work to offer fiber internet to underserved households, as the county previously committed funds to assist with the project.

As previously reported, in November 2021, commissioners approved a resolution in which they “pledged to contribute … $500,000 for Charter’s Residential Broadband Infrastructure Project in Highland County,” in addition to offering a letter of support for the company’s application for an Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant Program. Spectrum was awarded $5.8 million from that state grant program in March 2022. 

In December 2023, commissioners authorized their funding for the project, using American Rescue Plan Act funds, with a 50-percent payment. The ARPA funds must be expended by the end of this year.

Bain told commissioners that in the past few years, Spectrum has worked on planning, designing and permitting as “a significant portion of the project,” and now they are in the process of “activations.

“The total amount of passings are about 940 that are part of this grant project, and so that's what we'll be building as part of the grant, but we also anticipate building to what we call synergy locations,” Bain said. “These are locations that are nearby that we pick up on our own dime, because they're close enough that it makes sense to just build them, so when you include those synergy addresses, it doubles it to about 1,900 locations that we'll be building to in the county. 

“The good news is the project is on track. We hit the 50-percent milestone for activations, back earlier this spring. We reported that up to the state, and we're continuing to build out and expect to be wrapped up by the end of August.”

Daniels asked if the 50-percent milestone meant half of the 940 figure or half of the 1,900 figure.

“It would have been a mix of both of those,” Bain said, adding that all 1,900 should be completed by the end of the summer.

ARPA funding coordinator Nicole Oberrecht said that the county is prepared to make the other 50-percent payment “once the project area is activated, so it appears that we're going to be on target for that other $250,000 to be expended this fall.”

The “significant activations” completed thus far are in Salem, Dodson, Union, Penn, Fairfield, Hamer and New Market townships, Bain said, with “a few” in Marshall, Liberty and Brushcreek townships.

“As far as what we're still doing some construction on throughout the summer, that's related to the north and central part of the county,” Bain said. “Those are in the townships of New Market, Liberty, Washington, Dodson, Union, Penn and Paint.”

In addition, Bain said the company has another project, through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which will impact approximately 4,000 households. They also offer Spectrum Internet Assist with $25/month plans for households on at least one of the following assistance programs: National School Lunch Program, Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the NSLP and/or Supplemental Security Income.

“We're doing a lot of buildout here in Highland County, in addition to the state grant,” Bain said. 

Bain thanked commissioners for their “partnership” in benefiting Highland County residents.

“I think the whole effort for getting internet out to rural Highland County has been a great thing,” Britton said. “There's a lot of homes that didn't really have access to anything.”

• Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins told commissioners she is doing more research into a potential county IT (information technology) and cybersecurity policy, as discussed at commissioners’ May 20 meeting. During the debate with several county department heads, Daniels pointed out the county doesn’t “have to reinvent the wheel” and can use the help of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio and other state groups, including the Prosecuting Attorneys Association and Sheriffs’ Association, for “examples.” 

Collins said that she has some sample copies that she can use as a reference for Highland County.

“I reached out to some different prosecutor’s offices, and they've sent me a couple,” Collins said.

In an unrelated update, Collins also told commissioners that they can expect to receive a deed to be signed soon, after a property forfeited to the county in a drug case sold at auction recently.

“I did the deed yesterday, and it's at the other attorney's office right now being checked,” Collins said. “Once it's double checked and everything's good, I'll send it over to be signed. You guys don't have to do anything on it, because you've already voted to sell it long, long ago. The check from the sale will come to the commissioners’ office. 

“It’s all laid out in the settlement, but there’s some reimbursement for taxes. I think $18,000 is for you guys, and then the remainder of what's left will be one big check, and then that can just go to the LETF [Law Enforcement Trust Fund], the sheriff's office and prosecutor, and then we will divvy the money up between the task force and the sheriff's office and the prosecutor's office.”

• Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve a $10,719.16 quote from Weller’s Plumbing and Heating for air conditioning work at the Highland County Courthouse. Collins had advised that there was an issue with the air in the building during commissioners’ May 20 meeting.

“We had half of our boiler coil go out, so it's running on half of the coil,” Britton said. “Weller’s is telling us that if it gets somewhere over 80 degrees [outside], it's not going to keep up. We really don't have any other option.” 

Britton added that the parts are not expected to come until June 9.

• On Thursday morning, commissioners met with the engineer for the courthouse renovation project, as well as the two current and two future Common Pleas Court judges, to discuss plans moving forward, according to commission clerk Ashleigh Willey. In a separate session Thursday, commissioners also gave updates on courthouse renovation plans to Vicki Knauff and Tara Beery of the Highland County Historical Society. No action was taken, Willey said.

• Although not discussed in open session, a records request from an area attorney in reference to the long-discussed Marriott Hotel project was listed under correspondence on the May 27 agenda.

James Schroeder is seeking “all public records” from county offices relating to the Hillsboro parcels owned by Leo Capital, the proposed hotel developers.

As previously reported, commissioners voted in October 2023 to approve an open-end mortgage, Cognovit promissory note and loan agreement contract with LEO Capital Investment LLC in the amount of $1 million for the planned Marriott Hotel project in Hillsboro. At the time, county economic development director Julie Bolender had said that the plan was to “take the $500,000 that we were awarded from Department of Development, add that to our revolving loan fund, and then we would have an agreement then with the Leo Capital Investments organization for the loan for the entire year.”

At the recommendation of Bolender, commissioners voted April 8 to issue a notice of default on the promissory note. As pointed out by developer Ankur Patel several times at commissioners’ April 29 meeting, their vote came eight days after Hillsboro City Council agreed to extend a separate promissory note to the end of May and heard updates on progress on the impending sale of tax increment financing (TIF) bonds.

Schroeder’s records request includes information and action from meetings as well as correspondence, including “emails, letters, memoranda, text messages and attachments, between or among Highland County officials, employees, agents or representatives and any principal, member, employee, attorney or representative of Leo Capital Investments LLC.” The three-page request, dated May 21, is for “Jan. 1, 2019 through the present.”

Commissioners also made the following approvals Wednesday, each by a 3-0 vote:

• A contract with Miller-Mason Paving for the 2026 Highland County chip/seal program.

• A budget modification within the 5030 Rocky Fork Lake fund in the amount of $4,000 from Contracts and Services to Refund.

• A budget modification within the EMA fund in the amount of $2,000 from Equipment to Building Maintenance.

• The approval of an application submitted to the Ohio Department of Transportation for a replacement runway project and commitment of matching funds of $13,496 for the project.

• A resolution to authorize a “then and now” purchase order and authorizing the county auditor to issue warrants for payment.

• Commissioners voted to rescind Resolution No 26-109, authorizing the creation of line items within the 2585 fund for Highland County Community Action, which was approved May 20.  Requested is the establishment of the following line items, Rehab Expense and Admin Expense and an appropriation from unappropriated funds in the amount of $125,000. Daniels said that HCCAO “gave us the wrong fund number, so we’re just making that correction.”

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