Prosecutor Julia Bates did not attend a county budget hearing Tuesday in Toledo. The absence stalled public reviews of requested spending reductions across local government departments. The Board of Lucas County Commissioners planned to review the 2027 budget for the office.
County leaders are managing a tight financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Commissioners requested a 13 percent cut to all county department budgets. The commissioners faced a deficit. The county faces a $27 million deficit next year, according to commissioners.
Bates sent a letter calling the proposed cuts legally impermissible. She wrote that reductions would harm prosecutions and questioned which crimes to sacrifice. Commissioners could not complete the review without Bates present.
County leaders expressed frustration over the missed morning hearing. Lucas County Commissioner Lisa Sobecki said the board reduced its own budget by 16 percent. Sobecki said board members showed up because they are leading the county.
Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken raised concerns about current office spending. Bates disputed that stance. Gerken said the prosecutor made mid-year salary changes without standard budget approval.
“You make mid-year changes and give salaries in secret,” Gerken said.
Bates released a statement late Tuesday afternoon defending her elected tenure. She criticized the remarks made by commissioners during the public session.
“Today, the Board of Lucas County Commissioners engaged in name-calling, petty criticism and abusive and disrespectful characterization of my background, my competence and my 30 years of elected tenure,” Bates said.
The prosecutor stated that Ohio courts require commissioners to fund mandated office duties. Her office said Bates answers to voters and must protect victims. Bates wrote that budget cuts could eliminate 10 to 13 prosecutors in Toledo.
County budget hearings allow elected officials to present annual spending requests before public adoption. Commissioners oversee local appropriations across all county agencies and court systems. The general process requires cooperation between separate elected officeholders to allocate revenue.
Officials expect to complete and vote on the final Lucas County budget by late November or early December.
