CCAO/CEAO Winter Conference
Thank you for attending the 145th Annual CCAO/CEAO Winter Conference!
Counties at the Heart of America’s 250th
Copies of presentations are available below.
| Session Title & Summary | Speakers & Presentations |
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Potential Ramifications of Property Tax Elimination Property tax experts share information about the scope of property taxation in Ohio and the impact that a potential loss of this revenue stream would have on local services. |
Tim Keen, CFO and Senior Advisor to Auditor of State Keith Faber Chris Kline, Lawrence County Deputy Auditor Brian Perera, Senior Policy Advisor, Zaino Hall & Farrin, LLC |
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Planning Before the Panic: A Smarter Way to Manage County Capital Spending Because the best time to plan for tomorrow’s crisis is before it starts. |
Joe Sokol, Director of Program Services, County FIRM Dan Schall, Director of Capital Planning, Bradley Payne Advisors |
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CEBCO / Aon - Recent Trends & Strategies to Control Healthcare Costs Key Takeaways:
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Terri Copley, Vice President and Consulting Actuary, Aon Health Solutions Tony Roberts, Senior Vice President, Aon Health Solutions Justin Grant, CEBCO Lead Benefits Specialist |
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Understanding Ohio's New Cyber Law for Local Governments This session will explore the implications of House Bill 96 and how it impacts cybersecurity responsibilities for public entities. We’ll break down the key provisions of the bill, discuss practical steps counties can take to comply, and highlight resources available through CyberOhio to support local governments. |
Kirk Herath, Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor and Chairman, CyberOhio |
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Data Centers & What Counties Should Know The proliferation of data centers to meet the demands of the AI revolution has developers knocking on counties’ doors seeking to build them in your county. This session will look at what data centers are, what their developers require, what incentives or services they seek from government, and what their economic impact is upon the local community. |
Mark Frye, President, Palmer Energy Jeremy Hoyt, Public Service Director, City of Marysville Gary Thompson, Executive Vice President and COO, Northwest Ohio Regional Growth Partnership |
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How Counties Can Be More Efficient Plus What to Consider if Property Tax Disappears – Reductions in Expenditures, Revenue Enhancements & What is Mandated The looming potential of real property tax abolishment raises many questions about how counties would operate without this vital revenue stream. While there are no simple answers to what commissioners should consider if property taxes are eliminated, this session will explore local government efficiencies, what spending is required by law, and what options counties have to raise other revenues and reduce expenditures. |
Matt Old, Erie County Commissioner Sherry Carnahan, Defiance County Administrator Andrew Keller, Richland County Administrator |
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Children Services: Wellness Campuses, Rate Transparency, and Placement Costs This session will explore the pressures on Ohio’s children services system, highlighting how the development of wellness campuses can help stabilize youth and reduce reliance on costly out-of-state placements and the need for youth to sleep in government offices in the short term. The panel will also discuss strategies and policy solutions to improve outcomes and strengthen local systems, at a time when foster costs have risen 68% in the last five years while the number of youths in paid foster care placements have decreased 9%. |
Jeff Van Deusen, Assistant Director, Department of Children and Youth Angela Sausser, Executive Director, Public Children Services Association of Ohio |
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OSU Extension: Land Use & Planning for Economic Development Learn how strategic land use planning can shape your county’s economic future. Presented by Ohio State University Extension, this session explores proven approaches and planning frameworks that help counties manage growth, attract businesses, and strengthen local economies. |
Joe Lucente, Acting Assistant Director for Community Development, OSU Extension |
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Artificial Intelligence: County Use Cases Discover how counties can leverage artificial intelligence to boost productivity and improve government services. This session will introduce practical AI tools, demonstrate real county use cases, and help you learn how to work effectively with today’s leading GPT technologies. |
Adarsh Desai, Principal, Deloitte Jack Spiller, Executive Vice President, AIOwl |
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Workforce Transitions: Layoffs, Furloughs, and Retention Strategies This presentation will focus on a review of civil service and collective bargaining aspects regarding layoffs. It will include a discussion of strategies to allow counties to be ready for the possibility of layoffs. |
Marc Fishel, Partner, Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff LLC |
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Policy Team Legislative Update The CCAO Policy Team provides a review of the first year of the 136th General Assembly and gives a look ahead at what 2026 may bring. |
CCAO Policy Team |
None at this time.
Roster
Meet the commissioners, executives, and council members leading Ohio’s 88 counties and working to build a stronger Ohio.
more informationCommissioners Handbook
The Commissioners Handbook is your resource for understanding the basics of the roles, responsibilities, and powers that come with a position of leadership in county government.
more informationBill Tracker
The Bill Tracker is CCAO's list of legislation that the Association is monitoring. Each bill has a page with summaries, key information on county impact, and links to documents.
more information
