Fair board rights books with $500K in bed tax funds

FINDLAY — The Hancock County Agricultural Society moved to right its books this month by moving $509,000 of bed tax money into its general fund. The resolution, approved at the February fair board meeting last week, reimbursed the general fund for money spent on completed capital projects, including a remodeled shower house and track lighting added to the south grandstand, using bed tax dollars. The change was approved with a unanimous roll call vote. Board President Levi Beagle spoke about the resolution in the absence of Treasurer John Livingston. "This has to do with addressing the operating deficit that we've been facing," Beagle told the board. "We were trying to find the right way to manage that." The grandstand and shower house improvements were made in anticipation of the construction of a $2.9 million, 21,720-square-foot small animal barn, connected to the fairground's Legacy Building. However the board's plan to remove the dairy barn from the fairgrounds to make room for the construction was met with public opposition and the plans fell through. "There were a lot of decisions that were made related to planning for that building," Beagle said. "In the process of doing that, we utilized different dollars related to capital projects." As of Jan. 29, fair board financial records showed the operating account was still in the red by $122,469, with $514,408 in bed tax money. Historically, the fair board has received 1% of a 6% county tax on hotel/motel rentals. The other 5% is divided between the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts and the Hancock County Visitor's Bureau. The funds were first allocated to MCPA and HCAS in 2015 and must be used for capital improvement projects. The Hancock County Board of Commissioners began withholding bed tax funds from the fair board last year after the state flagged the board's 2021-2022 financials as "unauditable." The commissioners then voted in December to renew the agreement for one year pending future audit findings. A letter sent to the fair board as part of the agreement details stipulations the board must comply with before receiving future installments of bed tax money from the county. To receive future bed tax funding, the fair board's audit must have "no major findings pertinent to bed tax funding that cannot be addressed and/or corrected" for the 2023-24 financials. The distributions will be made only after the commissioners are provided with detailed financial statements "clarifying the appropriate use of the bed tax funding provided in calendar year 2025 and 2026." Commissioner Jeff Hunker said, according to the Ohio State Auditor's Office, that the fair board's audit has not yet been completed but is expected to begin soon.