Portage County Budget Commission adopts meeting rules and signs off on numerous amendments totaling millions

The Portage County Budget Commission adopted a housekeeping resolution to establish its schedule and rules for regular and special meetings, approved minutes from its Jan. 6 meeting and voted to approve a slate of budget amendments and certificates on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, at the Portage County Auditor's Office.

"Let the record show that this regular meeting of the budget commission was called to order in the Portage County Auditor's Office at 3PM on Tuesday, 01/27/2026," said the Unidentified Speaker who opened the session and read the roll of members present: Joseph Bica (member), Connie Lewandowski (vice chairperson) and Matt Kelly (secretary chairman).

Why it matters: the amendments alter certified budget totals for multiple local governments and agencies in Portage County and create the administrative record for later fiscal steps. The agenda covered second- and first-stage amendments for a range of entities, from townships and fire districts to the Portage County Library and several school districts.

Key approvals and figures noted in the session (as read into the record): Portage County second amendment $2,281,796 (transcript-stated total appears garbled), Park District second amendment $536,522 (total $9,121,234), City of Aurora first amendment $46,589,802.73 (total $1,122,285,455.73), City of Kent first amendment $27,189,274.85 (total $163,913,413.85), Manaway Village first amendment $527,686.81 (total $3,488,197.81), Atwater Township first amendment $412,801.59 (total $2,138,594.59), Deerfield Township first amendment $634,777.32 (transcript shows a garbled total), Edinburg Township first amendment $1,004,792.14 (transcript total appears garbled), Franklin Township first amendment $2,259,863.53 (total $7,580,388.53), Nelson Township first amendment $464,565.75 (transcript read total as $1,202,240.75), Perris Township first amendment $636,274.79 (total $1,192,597.79), Randolph Township first amendment (transcript lists $101,113,904.01 but also lists a lower total — the figures conflict in the record), Shailersville Township first amendment $1,122,907.19 (total $2,269,135.19), Southfield Township first amendment $1,395,736.57 (total $4,052,440.57), Garrettsville Freedom Nelson Joint Fire District first amendment $181,859.23 (total $1,187,538.23), Manaway Shailersville Fire District first amendment $633,499.99 (total $6,124,705.99), Portage County Library first amendment $3,268,491.89 (total $17,105,680.89), library consortium first amendment $86,981.73 (total $747,518.73), Field Local School District fourth amendment $6,405.74 (total $48,826,274.58), Ravenna School District third amendment $371,000 (total $44,128,901.45) and Rittstown Local School District third amendment $5,047.58 (total $22,943,623.62).

Process notes: Several items were introduced individually and the meeting concluded with a motion "to approve the certificates as submitted," which received a motion, a second and a voice vote of 'Aye.' Earlier individual motions were also made at points in the record; the transcript records only voice votes and short verbal confirmations ('Aye') and does not include roll-call vote tallies by member name. The commission adjourned at 3:21 p.m.

The record contains several instances of unclear numeric formatting or inconsistent naming as read into the transcript (for example, some totals were spoken in a way that produced garbled figures in the transcript; Randolph Township's amendment and total conflict in scale). Where the transcript is unclear, this article reports the amounts as spoken and flags the entry as garbled in the meeting record. The transcript does not contain additional public comment, substantive debate, or named roll-call votes.