Kent-Brimfield JEDD doesn’t want funds used for dispatch services

It’s up to the state auditor’s office now. Brimfield Township, which manages the Kent-Brimfield Maintenance and Improvement fund for the mutually beneficial Joint Economic Development District, may be in for some more bad news.

The Kent-Brimfield JEDD is south, east and west of Kent, but north of a separate JEDD the township has with Tallmadge. The M&I Fund is to be used for maintenance and permanent improvements anticipated to last five years or more, Kent Community Development Director Bridget Susel said at a May 19 JEDD board meeting.

Susel noted that the final use of M&I monies rests with Brimfield Township, which in September 2025 pulled $44,044 from the fund to pay for fire and emergency dispatch services Kent police provide. Susel stated that the JEDD board was never advised, as it should have been, of that expenditure. She also referenced other expenditures, including unspecified credit card payments Brimfield had made.

“Some of the items that were paid for out of the M&I do not seem to be associated with the JEDD,” she told the JEDD board members. “Every expense out of the M&I is supposed to come to this board to be advised, and that has not been occurring. So on the record, all future M&I expenses need to be voted on by this board to advise the township on the use of M&I funds before anything is taken out of that fund.”

Recognizing that its vote was advisory rather than binding, the board formalized its opposition to allowing Brimfield to use the JEDD M&I fund for emergency dispatch services.

Supporters were Susel, JEDD Chairperson David Heflinger (who is Field schools' superintendent) and JEDD Secretary Scott Ridenour (co-owner of Kline and Kavali Mechanical Contractors). Casting the sole vote in opposition was Brimfield Trustee Sue Fields.

Though Brimfield Fiscal Officer Jasmine Golden hopes the auditor’s office sides with the township, she said the bill can be paid from the fire department’s current budget if need be. 

“We have already decided that, moving forward, we will not utilize the JEDD,” she said.

The missing years

The fire department may be able to withstand a $44,044 hit, but it can’t absorb the missing $132,000 for three years of dispatching services from 2022 to 2025, Golden said.

In that matter, Kent police, which provided the service, somehow never invoiced the township, which never noticed it wasn’t paying. John Dalziel, not Golden, was Brimfield’s fiscal officer during the length of that contract.

The township and City of Kent remain in negotiations regarding that repayment plan, Golden said.

Tallmadge-Brimfield JEDD woes

Then there’s the Tallmadge-Brimfield JEDD. It comprises 70% of Brimfield Township, mostly in the commercial/industrial areas south of I-76, but it also includes the area north of 76 west of Mogadore Road and south of Howe Road. Industrial and commercially zoned areas of Brimfield are also included in the JEDD.

The township pulled about $150,000 from that fund to cover costs for police, road department and fire vehicles, but the state auditor flagged the expense, saying the M&I fund could only be used for capital improvements or maintenance.

With other debts also ruled as improper, Brimfield late last year reimbursed the fund $426,298. That gutted the township’s general and police and fire special levy funds, so Brimfield petitioned Tallmadge to retroactively change the JEDD agreement’s verbiage to make the vehicle purchases allowable. Tallmadge did so May 28, specifying a Jan. 1, 2024, cut-off, but Finance Director Mollie Gilbride said the city isn’t cutting the township a check.

“It's not about Tallmadge giving them more money. It's about what they are allowed to spend that money for,” she said. “You're going to have to speak with their finance director on the circumstances of how they're going to account for the fact that they can use that money for vehicles in those years.” 

Golden said she is waiting for the state auditor’s guidance as to if and how the JEDD’s financial books can be readjusted regarding the vehicle purchases.

“From a budgeting standpoint, this would allow the township to utilize JEDD M&I funds for vehicle purchases, which would help alleviate financial strain on department budgets,” she said. “If an adjustment is pursued, it would primarily affect the fire and police funds.”