Treasurer presents preliminary $90M forecast

by Judy Stringer

Aug. 24 school board meeting

Hudson City Schools Treasurer Phil Butto warned that a new state-imposed deadline is forcing districts to lock in financial forecasts earlier than usual, even as key revenue numbers remain in flux. Butto told the board of education that, for the first time, the district’s five-year forecast must be filed by Aug. 31, rather than the traditional October or November date he has worked under for three decades.

He described the current document as a “preliminary forecast” that will be fine-tuned in September, noting that “there’s a lot that’s going to happen the next four to five weeks” that could change the numbers.

In the forecast, district revenue grows from $82.1 million in 2026 to $87 million in 2031, buoyed primarily by property tax revenue. Butto noted that the state share of school funding in Ohio has dropped from 46% in 1975 to 32% today, pushing more of the burden onto property owners. Over that same 50-year span, the portion of property taxes shouldered specifically by homeowners rose from 46% to 67%, he said.

“All of us as homeowners are paying a lot more of a bill,” Butto told the board, noting that Ohio now ranks eighth in the nation for property taxes.

As for his latest forecast, Butto ascribed a 15% increase in property values tied to the 2026 countywide reappraisal, an assumption he believes is “conservative.” The treasurer emphasized, however, that not all value growth translates to higher tax revenue, as state law restricts voted levy growth and recent reforms now cap inside millage as well.

Under new statutory limits, inside millage revenue growth – the portion of property tax that historically scaled directly with market value increases – is now tied to the rate of inflation, which Butto said will cause Hudson’s effective inside millage collection to fall slightly from 4.23% to 4.15%.

On the expenditure side, Hudson’s expenses are expected to climb from $81.4 million to $90.7 million over the forecast period, and the district’s $31.7 million cash balance drops to $24.9 million as spending outpaces revenue.

Board Member Kirstin Toth pointed out that by 2031, the projected deficit of expenditures over revenues, about $3.7 million, represents roughly 4% of total expenditures, suggesting the district should be prepared to “keep that bogey in mind” and look at trimming spending.

Butto said he has been developing a “budget review framework” to track both positive and negative financial trends and expects to refine it with administrators before a more detailed forecast presentation in September. The board later voted to approve the forecast and its assumptions and directed the treasurer to file it with the state under the new statutory deadline.

Summer facilities projects

Operations Director Tom Barone said the district used this past summer to tackle a series of facilities improvements funded through its permanent improvement budget. A major focus was at the high school, where Hudson invested approximately $350,000 in four separate roofing projects.

Other summer projects financed through permanent improvement funds include:

• East Woods Natatorium: Just under $27,000 to replace and seal a long-leaking window well near the Ada Cooper Miller Natatorium diving well.
• East Woods entryway: Approximately $10,000 to reconstruct Door K, a heavily trafficked main entrance, creating a safer entryway and an easier area for custodial staff to maintain year-round.
• Ellsworth Hill Elementary: Ongoing upgrades featuring modified playground equipment, replacing monkey bars and redoing the basketball court with age-appropriate adjustable hoops, along with ADA-compliant curb and sidewalk modifications for accessibility.
• Districtwide maintenance: General asphalt repair, seal coating, restriping, concrete work and routine interior patching and painting.