Public access to fair board financials cut

FINDLAY — Public access to the Hancock County Agricultural Society's financial reports has recently been curtailed as the organization undergoes an audit by the Ohio State Auditor's Office. Representatives of the auditor's office confirmed the audit is ongoing and said no estimate is available for when findings will be released. Multiple requests made by The Courier seeking the dates of financial committee meetings have been unsuccessful. Jeff Beach, board vice president, said the board doesn't maintain a set schedule for budget and finance committee meetings and that meetings are work sessions, open only to committee members. A March fair board agenda shows the board approved updates to its policy and procedure manual and planned to send the document to legal counsel. The Courier requested a full copy but was told it was available on the fair's website. As of publication, the manual had not been posted on hancockfairgrounds.org. The fair board routinely notifies the newspaper of its regular monthly meetings, but agendas are not made public in advance. Fair officials have said agendas can be requested after the meetings. No notice is given for financial committee meetings. Ohio's Open Meetings Act requires public bodies to give advance notice of when and where they will meet; however, in a statement issued at the March regular meeting, fair board officials said they are not subject to the rules because the agriculture society is a privately owned, nonprofit corporation. "HCAS is not a governmental entity, political subdivision, or public body," the statement reads. It "is not owned, operated, or controlled by any county, municipal, state, or federal authority." It also states that acceptance of public funds "does not convert HCAS into a public body nor subject it to public records or open meetings requirements" beyond what is required by law or specific funding agreements. The statement asserts the board "voluntarily conducts its affairs in a transparent and accountable manner." A note at the end of the statement says the position "does not reduce transparency — it prevents over-application of Sunshine Law standards that do not legally apply to private nonprofits." The March agenda also included updated rules for executive sessions, a practice typically reserved for public bodies. The policy mirrors Ohio's open meetings law but emphasizes that it "does not concede public-body status." It outlines who may attend executive sessions, prohibits voting during them and warns against disclosure of confidential information. The fair board has faced financial challenges in recent years. It previously operated at a deficit before using a supermajority vote to unrestrict the Flinchbaugh estate, an unmatured bank CD, forfeiting six months of interest to cover the shortfall. A Jan. 29 balance sheet included with the February meeting agenda showed the operating account at $122,470 in the red. A Feb. 24 balance sheet in the March agenda reported the account at $309,272 in the black. Both documents list the Flinchbaugh estate at approximately $212,448. At a February meeting, the board moved to right its books by moving $509,000 of bed tax money into its general fund. Bed tax funds from the county can only be used for capital improvement projects made to the fairgrounds. The money reimbursed the fund for capital projects paid out from the general fund. The change was approved with a unanimous roll call vote. Hancock County commissioners began withholding bed tax revenue from the fair board last year after the state deemed the board's 2021-22 financials "unauditable." Commissioners renewed the funding agreement for one year in December, pending audit results and with added stipulations.