MANSFIELD — Pat Dropsey and Tony Vero agree it’s wise to estimate conservatively when it comes to Richland County’s revenue.
But that doesn’t mean Dropsey, the Richland County auditor, and Vero, a county commissioner, don’t enjoy a friendly competition when it comes to calculated estimates.
For years, the two have frequently renewed their annual lunch bet on how they think the county’s general fund revenues will end the year.
The difference in their predictions Thursday was only about $124,000.
Dropsey predicted $49,523,703.53 and Vero settled on $49.4 million.
“I want you to win, because that means we’ll do better in revenue,” Vero told the auditor.
The biggest difference between the two prognostications is the commissioner forecasts slightly lower revenues in sales tax, which makes up the bulk of a county’s general revenue fund.
Regardless, Vero said the county will not end the year anywhere near the $9 million carryover it had at the end of 2024. While not ready to offer a hard prediction on that number, Vero said expenses are up in 2025, largely due to payroll increases.
“I will know more after November, but I think salaries will be 8 to 9 percent higher (in 2025) than last year,” he said.
He said the county will finish the year in the black, a number that included a revenue projection of $46 million entering 2025.
“We wont have anywhere near the surplus we had last year. We expect revenues to be higher, but that’s only only going to be 1 to 2 percent, and expenses will be more,” Vero said.
He said he expects a year-end surplus of $3 to $4 million, a number that will be firmer in December.
Vero and Dropsey also sparred briefly over sales tax estimates for 2026. Vero said he foresees sales tax receipts of $27 million in 2026 while Dropsey is predicting around $25.6 million.
“Which is still low,” the auditor said, agreeing with Vero that there’s “room to move” on the estimated amount of sales tax revenue.
Cuts necessary to reach balanced budget
Regardless of who wins the wager, commissioners are also wrapping up 2026 budget sessions with department heads and other elected officials.
The three-member panel has a balanced budget policy, meaning they won’t appropriate more in expenses than estimated revenues in a given year.
Currently, Vero said department requests total about $52 million — which will need to be trimmed by about 8.82 percent, or around $4.2 million.
Commissioners will finalize the 2026 spending plan by the end of December.
“They (Vero, Darrell Banks and Cliff Mears) are the only commissioners I’ve ever worked with that have stuck to that schedule and have done it every single year and I didn’t have to deal with a temporary budget in the next year,” Dropsey said.
He also said former commissioner and current State Rep. Marilyn John helped establish the board’s balanced budget policy.