Two former commissioners pass away
In recent weeks, two former county commissioners passed away after lives of service.
Charles Simms passed away on March 3 at the age of 93. Charles served as a Montgomery County Commissioner from 1973 to 1976. Before his service as a commissioner, Charles was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force in West Germany, an Oakwood City Council Member, and a prominent figure in the home building industry.
You can read Charles' full obituary here.
Jeanne Marie Bento passed away on February 20 at the age of 91. Jeanne was the first female Ashtabula County Commissioner, serving for three terms beginning in 1984. She was active in a number of Ashtabula County organizations, including the Ashtabula General Hospital, the county's 4-H organization, and Catholic Charities.
You can read Jeanne's full obituary here.
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| Former Montgomery County Commissioner Charles Simms |
Former Ashtabula County Commissioner
Jeanne Bento |
ODJFS releases details on new SNAP County Payment Error Review (PER) Process
House Bill 434, passed in November 2025, requires the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to develop a methodology and system to determine county by county SNAP payment error rates (PER). This provision is in direct response to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by Congress last summer, which requires Ohio to have a statewide PER below 6% to avoid paying a cost of the state’s SNAP benefit share.
ODJFS convened a workgroup that included county JFS agency staff, the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors’ Association, and CCAO members and staff to develop a methodology that generally follows the Quality Control Review Handbook (FNS-310) published by the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
ODJFS announced the details of the new county SNAP PER calculation process last week:
- Start Date: April 5, 2026
- Monthly Case Reviews:
- Large counties: 25 cases
- Medium counties: 20 cases
- Small counties: 15 cases
- Timeline: Cases assigned on the 5th of each month for the previous month; reviews due by the 5th of the second month (approximately 60 days).
- The review will only be a desk review. Client interviews are not required.
- ODJFS will have a review tracking tool that counties will use for the reviews.
- ODJFS will review a subset of cases and return any errors for correction. Disputes can be escalated to the ODJFS Quality Control Unit.
- Counties with a cumulative payment error rate of 6% or higher after any quarter must implement a Corrective Action Plan.
- Each county JFS agency will designate one or more people responsible for conducting the review and certifying results to ODJFS.
- ODJFS must submit quarterly county PER reports to the General Assembly. The first report must be submitted by June 30, 2026.
Members with questions about this new process should contact Rachel Reedy at rreedy@ccao.org.
2026 CCAO Roster now available digitally
 The 2026 version of the CCAO Roster, the Association's flagship publication, is now available online! You can access it on our website's homepage or by typing "ccao.org/roster" into your browser's address box.
The Roster includes photos and contact information for all of Ohio's 258 commissioners, 22 county council members, and both county executives. It also has other information for each county, such as their meeting dates and key staff.
The physical version of the Roster is still in production. The Association will notify membership when the bound versions are shipped.
Two Association positions open and accepting accepting applicants
The County Employee Benefits Consortium of Ohio (CEBCO) is soliciting applications for the Managing Director, Health and Wellness position.
The Managing Director will lead and manage CEBCO in delivering health care, wellness, and employee benefits to CEBCO's member counties. The position is also a part of the CCAO Management Team.
The ideal candidate will have industry knowledge of the health insurance industry, knowledge of ACA, HIPPA, ERISA, and other health-related regulatory compliance reporting, and have more than five years experience in the health insurance industry.
More information about the position can be found here.
Additionally, CCAO is hiring an Accounting Manager to lead day-to-day accounting operations for CCAO, CEBCO, CORSA, the CCAO Service Corporation, and the CCAO Research and Education Foundation.
The manager will be tasked with supervising accounting staff, developing internal controls, and assisting with financial reporting, analysis, and audit preparation.
Applicants for the position must be Certified Public Accountants and have at least five years experience in progressive accounting, including three years of supervising staff. Knowledge of health and property/casualty insurance accounting is also ideal, as is experience with government accounting.
If you are interested in this position, please submit a resume and a letter of interest to CCAO Finance & Benefits Manager Thisbe Butcher at tbutcher@ccao.org. Top Top THURSDAY: Community project application deadline
The deadline to submit applications for community projects from the state's upcoming capital budget is this Thursday, March 12. If you have not submitted a request yet, you must do so by Thursday.
The community project portion of the capital bill provides an opportunity for local governments, nonprofits, and other community organizations to receive state infrastructure funding. Some of the community projects the Constitution allows funding for are parks, trails, theaters, jails, museums, and sports facilities.
Given limited funds and a highly competitive process, you should verify that any projects you submit are eligible for bonding. If a project is not bondable, it cannot be funded through the capital budget. Additionally, while you can submit multiple requests, it is recommended that applicants focus on a single strong project and provide all requested information by the required deadline.
Projects that are higher on a legislator’s list are more likely to get funded than projects lower on the list. Some members may add every proposed project in their district to their list, so it is important to work with your members to ensure the project ranks higher than others.
SERB releases 2025 Wage Settlement Report
The State Employment Relations Board (SERB) released its 2025 Wage Settlement Report last week. The report covers labor contracts that started in 2025. The report shares key statistics about public labor contracts and can be useful to counties entering labor contract negotiations this year.
Report highlights include:
- The average three-year negotiated wage increase percentage for county labor contracts was 3.83% in 2025, 3.20% in 2026, and 3.03% in 2027.
- Safety services (fire and police) averaged the largest wage increases by bargaining unit type.
- Counties averaged the highest one-time lump sum amounts in negotiated contracts for 2025 at $1,280 in 2025, and then the lowest in 2026 and 2027, at $730 and $410, respectively.
- Thirty-two county contracts beginning in 2025 included lump sum amount while 141 included a wage percentage increase (18.5%).
You can view prior reports and other useful resources on SERB's website.
$9.2 million awarded to support workforce housing
Last week, Governor Mike DeWine announced the first funding under the Residential Economic Development District (REDD) program. The program was created in the state operating budget to assist the development of affordable housing near major economic development projects.
A total of $9.2 million was awarded to the following projects:
- City of Hamilton (Butler County): $2.5 million for 100 new housing units to support demand from an Amazon facility in nearby Monroe.
- City of Youngstown (Mahoning Couny): $2.5 million for 220 housing units and public infrastructure improvements. The units will support demand from the Ultium Cells facility in Warren.
- Village of Antwerp (Paulding County): $2.3 million to develop 345 housing units and associated infrastructure. The units will support demand from First Quality Tissue in nearby Defiance.
- City of Lancaster (Fairfield County): $1 million to support 361 housing units through extension of key infrastructure improvements. The units will support demand caused by Anduril.
- City of Warren (Trumbull County): $851,000 to create 306 housing units, also in response to investments from the Ultium Cells facility.
The Department of Development reported that it received 48 eligible applications totalling $99 million in requested funding.
Federal government approves SNAP waiver on certain sodas
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved Ohio's SNAP waiver request to prohibit the purchase of full-sugar soft drinks with SNAP benefits. The prohibition will begin in October.
The state operating budget included a provision requiring the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to seek a waiver. Governor DeWine vetoed the provision for being overly broad and complex and instead convened a study group to better tailor the waiver request.
The approved waiver restricts the purchase of beverages with sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or similar caloric sweeteners as the primary ingredient (or the secondary ingredient if the primary is carbonated water). SNAP benefits will still be able to be used to purchase diet soft drinks.
The waiver will be in place for two years but can be extended in one-year increments to a total of five years. Top Ohio historical record preservation, access grants available
The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board is offering the Ohio Archives Grant Program, which is intended to fund projects to preserve and/or provide access to Ohio historical records.
Grants are available from $500 to $5,000 and must be used for one of three project types:
- Access, Arrangement and Description: identifying, organizing, and improving access to historical records.
- Website Development: Adding collections to online catalog, developing virtual archives, or creating an on-line database. Websites designed to support access to researchers (e.g., online catalogs, finding aids, and digitized collections, rather than curated web exhibits) will receive preference in funding.
- Projects focused on under-documented communities and topics, as well as underserved communities, are encouraged.
Applications for this grant must be submitted by March 31.
More information about this grant can be found here.
SAVE THE DATE: Cyber incident training
The Ohio Cyber Reserve has shared a save the date with CCAO for a cyber incident response training session that will be held on Monday, July 13, in Cincinnati.
The training will be open to CCAO members.
More information, including a registration link, will be available in April. For the time being, if you are interested in this training please put the Save the Date on your calendars. Top Each week Counties Current highlights the happenings in our counties in the words of their local media.
One story from each of the CCAO's five districts is highlighted, and on occasion other stories may be highlighted as well.
Northwest District
Putnam County discusses medical transportation needs
LimaOhio.com, March 5, 2026
As the need persists for medical transportation for Putnam County residents unable to transport themselves, Putnam County officials met Thursday to discuss how to ensure these people have access to the medical treatments they need.
Brian Hilvers, the Putnam County Office of Public Safety director, met with county commissioners about the office’s ambulette service, which provides transportation for county residents to and from medical appointments. These services only cover medically necessary transportation, which means transportation for work or other reasons would not be included.
One of the main issues with attracting and retaining staff, Hilvers said, is that the part-time position only pays $13 per hour. To that end, Hilvers and the commissioners agreed to raise that rate up to $15 per hour in hopes of attracting up to three additional drivers.
“Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are our busiest (days) because of dialysis,” he said.
As the population continues to age and the need for such transportation increases, other agencies are also looking for ways to ensure that residents in need get to their medical appointments.
“The (Putnam County) Council on Aging is trying to develop a transportation system for the county,” commissioner Brad Brubaker said,.
Commissioner John Schlumbohm added, “It would be through the four-county (Hancock Hardin Wyandot Putnam) Community Action Commission,” .
Northeast District
Groundbreaking set for new Ashland County Administration Building
Ashland Source, March 4, 2026
The Board of Ashland County Commissioners invites the public to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Ashland County Administration Building at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 20.
The event will take place at the future site of the building, located at 345 Cottage St. in Ashland.
The new administration building will house the auditor, treasurer, recorder, and tах mар offices. By consolidating these essential county services into one modern facility, the project is designed to provide residents with a more streamlined and efficient experience when conducting county business.
“For decades the Ashland County Commissioners and judges have talked about the need for non-court offices to relocate to another building,” said Commissioner Michael Welch. “This is not only going to give the court system ample room to reconfigure the expanding needs of the court, but will also enhance court security.”
Central District
Fairfield County Workforce Center ribbon cutting set for April 1
Lancaster Eagle Gazette, March 4, 2026
Lancaster residents will have a chance to tour the newly renovated Fairfield County Workforce Center at a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for April 1.
The facility, located at 4465 Coonpath Road NW, has undergone renovations that include a new healthcare area, construction lab and public meeting spaces. The event, hosted by the Fairfield 33 Development Alliance and the Fairfield County Workforce Center, will kick off at 10 a.m., according to a community announcement.
Established in 2020, the Fairfield County Workforce Center aims to bridge the skills gap in high-demand industries such as manufacturing, skilled trades and healthcare. It serves as a collaborative hub for economic development, offering training to both youth and adults to meet local employer needs.
The recent renovations address the evolving programming at the center while anticipating future needs, according to the announcement.
“The county commissioners have been supporting the mission of the Workforce Center since its inception and we are pleased to see this renovation come to fruition because it is an indication that the facility is being used to its full potential and benefiting students and the community alike,” Fairfield County Commissioner Dave Levacy said in the announcement. “The State of Ohio has been instrumental in the success of the Workforce Center. These renovations couldn’t have happened without the support of the governor’s office, Sen. Schaffer, and Reps. LaRe and Miller.”
Rick Szabrak, Fairfield County economic and workforce development director, said the changes at the center have been remarkable.
Southwest District
Montgomery County Job Center relocation moving forward
Dayton Daily News, March 4, 2026
As Montgomery County approaches the end of its lease for the Job Center, county officials approved a contract with a local architect to pivot services to other county-owned buildings.
The Montgomery County commission approved a $44,825 agreement with Englewood-based App Architecture to provide architectural and planning services for the temporary homes for the county’s Job Center services.
This agreement comes weeks after county officials announced the lease for Montgomery County Job Center would not be renewed with the building’s owner, St. Vincent de Paul, this May.
The contract with App Architecture, which runs through June 30, requires the business to develop a space plan for the four buildings included in the transition.
The relocation will pivot services to temporary spaces. Adult career services will move to the Business Solutions Center on Cincinnati Street. Youth services will move to the Employment Opportunity Center on West Third St. in Dayton, and the Job and Family Services office will move to the Southview Center on Thorpe Drive.
The relocation project will also move some employees from the Job Center to the Madison Lakes Learning and Conference Center in the Trotwood area.
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Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert said as of this week, a timeline has not been established for when services will move out of the 1111 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd. building, but that announcement will be made in the coming weeks.
The Montgomery County commission in late February approved a request for qualifications for the new build project, which county officials estimate could be a $40-45 million construction job.
Southeast District
A new water pump station brings clean water to over 2,400 customers
WHIZ, February 25, 2026
The newly operational Maysville Water Extension Pump Station was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.
The project was a collaboration between the Ohio EPA, Muskingum Water and Projects Departments, Muskingum County Commissioners, and the Maysville Regional Water District.
“It was a huge learning experience. I have been at Maysville Water for 31 and a half years, so this was a very large project for us” said Beth Shook, the general manager for Maysville Regional Water District.
The pump station was paid for through various programs and organizations like H2Ohio, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the U.S. EPA, and the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account managed by the Ohio EPA.
“Collaborating with all those different agencies and then being able to do the engineering and construction took some time,” said Melissa Bell, a commissioner for Muskingum County. “But it’s just been a great project. We have lots of great people working with us and we’re excited to be able to cut the ribbon and turn the valve and be able to serve another part of our county with something that’s very important and that is safe, good drinking water. ”
According to Shook the new pump station on Old River Road will serve around 2,400 customers in the area. Top MARCH 13
CORSA Board of Directors' Meeting
MARCH 20
CCAO Board of Directors' Meeting
MARCH 27
CEBCO Board of Directors' Meeting
APRIL 1 - APRIL 9
Passover
APRIL 5
Easter
APRIL 10
CEBCO Annual Meeting Top
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