Conference Agenda

Time

Event

Location

Breakfast

Staying over the night before? Driving in the day of the conference? We'll be providing breakfast and coffee for all registered attendees. Venture down from your sleeping room to grab a bite to eat and coffee before registration opens. Breakfast will be held in the Polaris Ballroom.

Polaris Ballroom A & D

Registration Opens/Badge Pick Up

Stop by the CTAO Registration table just outside the Polaris Ballroom to pick up your name badge and conference materials.

Polaris Ballroom Foyer

Polaris B, C, E & F

Lunch/Visit Exhibitors

Polaris Ballroom A & D

The View from the Other Side – An overview of the Duties & Responsibilities of the County Auditor, and their interactions with County Treasurers – (1 hr AOS)

At our Fall 2024 Conference, we hosted a session entitled Treasurer 101: The Duties & Responsibilities of the County Treasurer's Office.  This session is a follow up, and examines the role, duties, & responsibilities of the County Auditor, emphasizing their statutory responsibilities, the differences between the two offices, how they work together currently, and suggestions for working more closely together in the future.  Specific topics covered include the county auditor’s responsibility for financial oversight, property tax administration, maintaining county financial records, preparing the budget and annual financial report, and conducting real estate appraisals, among other duties. The panel will feature two former County Treasurers who are now County Auditors, Nancy Nix, Butler County Auditor, and Rachel Gilroy, Allen County Auditor, along with Union County Auditor Andrea Weaver.  There will also be a Q&A session after their formal presentation.

Resilience by Design: Public Funds Portfolio Strategies for Every Market Cycle (1 hr CPIM)

Presenters: Eileen Stanic & Jim McCourt, Meeder Public Funds, Angie Maki-Cliff, Ashtabula Co. Treasurer; Kyle Ruddick, Clinton Co. Treasurer; and Dan Yemma, Mahoning Co. Treasurer.

This panel discussion will provide an engaging discussion for constructing resilient County portfolios across varying market conditions. Panelists will share insights on the critical role of investment policy as the foundation for portfolio planning, setting liquidity guidelines, the implications of maintaining excess liquidity, and the application of interest rate outlooks and break-even analysis in portfolio design. This interactive session offers practical strategies from practitioners facing similar challenges, helping you balance safety, liquidity, and return while ensuring portfolios remain adaptable through changing economic environments.

Polaris B, C, E & F

District Meetings

Gather with treasurers and staff from your geographic region to discuss the issues facing your offices and communities.

Look for posted signs for locations

Buses leave for Smash Park Westerville

Front Entrance

Smash Park Westerville

Be among the first to visit a brand-new event venue, Smash Park! We'll have a private space for our dinner buffet, and plenty of time to check out all it offers - including duckpin bowling, pickleball, axe throwing, darts, arcade games, karaoke, and more! There's a little something for everyone, so don't miss out on the fun! The venue is less than two miles from the hotel.

After-Hours Networking

Not ready to call it a night? The hotel restaurant and bar, 17 Arrows, will be open to our attendees for drinks and light snacks after our evening activities. Each attendee will receive three drink tokens each evening. Additional drinks are on your own tab.

17 Arrows
(Hotel bar)

Time

Event

Location

How To Get Your Substance Use Program, Workplace Violence Program and Training for FREE! (1 hr AOS)

Presenter: Scott Warrick, Scott Warrick HR Consulting & Employment Law Services

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

The Ohio Department of Taxation: An Overview of Their Role in Real Property Taxation in Ohio (1 hr AOS)

Property taxes have been front and center in legislative deliberations in Ohio for the past 3 years. Rising property values, which have led to skyrocketing property tax assessments, have caused over 3-dozen property tax reform bills to be introduced this year alone. In past conferences we have discussed this issue from several perspectives, but we’ve never had a session that looks at it from the perspective of the Ohio Department of Taxation. Kelly Tennant, Executive Administrator, Division of Tax Equalization, Ohio Department of Taxation, will do a deep-dive into the history of Ohio’s real property tax, the role of the Tax Commissioner, the role of the Department of Tax Equalization (DTE), why they need to reappraise property’s in Ohio, how it is done, and recent data trends from the department.

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

Break/Visit Exhibits

Ballroom Foyers

Modern Disaster Recovery and AI-Driven Threats (1 hr CPIM)
Presenters: Sam Collis, Philip Soeder, and Greg Mullins, JP Morgan Chase

As artificial intelligence accelerates the pace and complexity of cyber threats, understanding modern disaster recovery is essential. This session offers a clear look at emerging AI-driven risks, recent case studies, and practical strategies to safeguard your organization’s critical operations. Gain valuable insights and actionable steps to strengthen resilience and ensure business continuity in today’s evolving threat landscape.

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

Lunch

Polaris Ballroom A & D

Understanding Land Banks and the Role They Serve in Your County (1 hr AOS)

Land banks first emerged in the 1970s as an urban planning tool to help cities deal with vacant and abandoned properties. Ohio’s current structure for Land Banks emerged in 2008, when the Ohio General Assembly passed legislation to create the first modern land bank by allowing county commissioners to establish county land reutilization corporations. This authority gave land banks the ability to acquire and consolidate vacant parcels through purchase, donations, and transfers from tax foreclosure proceedings. This process allowed the land bank to prepare these parcels for redevelopment or reuse, putting these once-abandoned parcels back onto the county’s tax rolls.

Today, 71 of Ohio’s 88 counties have a land bank, serving urban, suburban, and rural communities. This session will explore the various ways land banks help return property to productive use, provide examples of this reuse, discuss the county treasurers’ role in the process, and explain how county treasurers can work more closely with their county land bank to benefit their county.  This session is intended to help the 24 new county treasurers and those county treasurers whose counties have recently formed a land bank learn more about this important tool for land redevelopment.  We'll hear from David Mann, President & CEO of the Lucas County Land Bank & Treasurer of the Ohio Land Bank Association, Kathy Kelich, Belmont County Treasurer & Board Member of the OLBA, and Angie Maki-Cliff, Ashtabula County Treasurer. 

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

Getting Paid Sooner: Helping Residents Pay Before They Fall Behind (1 hr CPIM)

Presenter: Joe Karras, Vice President, Public Sector, PayIt

With limited staff and growing workloads, county treasurers are under pressure to collect delinquent taxes faster, without adding complexity for residents. This session explores practical strategies to improve collections and support taxpayers using tools many counties already have access to.
We’ll cover small updates to communications, payment options, and outreach timelines that lead to better results. Treasurers will leave with a checklist they can use right away to boost recovery rates, no new systems or IT support needed.

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

New Treasurer Meet & Greet with Vendors

Our vendor partners will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the 24+ new treasurers in a private reception prior to the start of the Vendor-Member mingle.

Break

Take a bit of time for yourself to catch your breath before our evening's activities.

Vendor-Member Reception

Our cocktail reception will be held in our vendor exhibit hall, allowing treasurers and staff to have more time to learn about the products and services of our exhibiting vendor partners which enjoying drinks and light snacks.

President's Banquet & Leadership Installation Dinner

Join us for a delicious dinner as we say thank you to Brad Cromes for his service as CTAO Board President and swear in our new officers, including incoming President Kathy Kelich. Vendors are welcome to attend this dinner & network with treasurers throughout the evening.

Evening Activities - more info coming soon!

Polaris Ballroom

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm

After-Hours Hospitality & Networking

Not ready to call it a night? The hotel restaurant and bar, 17 Arrows, will be open to our attendees for drinks and light snacks after our evening activities. Each attendee will receive three drink tokens. Additional drinks are on your own tab.

17 Arrows
(Hotel Bar)

Time

Event

Location

Breakfast & Treasurer Roundtable Discussions (1.5 hr AOS, including Recap)

Treasurers will gather based on county population to discuss issues facing their offices and share advice and best practices with their peers & colleagues. We will once again be offering the opportunity for similar sized counties to gather and discuss issues & topics of concern. We'll provide some questions for all groups to discuss.

Group 1 - 1-35,000 people
Group 2 - 35,001 - 55,000
Group 3 - 55,001 - 95,000
Group 4 - 95,001 - 200,000
Group 5 - 200,000+

Various locations

Roundtable Recap

We'll gather back as a large group to discuss the key take-aways from each of the small groups and continue the discussion. Each roundtable will have a spokesperson to share what they learned with the larger group. There will also be time for Q&A.

Arriving on Tuesday night? Nothing official is planned, but plan to meet at the hotel restaurant, 17 Arrows to meet up with friends and colleagues or plan a dinner together at one of the many restaurants nearby!