Warren County touts financial success, tennis win
Commissioners said the state of the county is ‘good’.
Warren County commissioners had plenty to share during their annual “State of the County” presentation Tuesday, topped off by the successful retention of the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament.
Commissioners David Young, Tom Grossmann and Shannon Jones spoke on the county’s various successes to about 150 business leaders attending the meeting hosted by the Area Progress Council of Warren County at Shaker Run Golf Club.
“Our county is blessed and thriving and is firing on all cylinders,” Young said. “We’re big on balanced growth. We’re also one of the best counties financially in Ohio and the nation.”
He also said the county is blessed with the ability to think and do things out of the box. An example of this was how the county worked with the state, Warren County Convention and
Visitors Bureau, and the city of Mason to put together the funding plan to keep the tennis tournament formerly known as the Western & Southern Open.
Last year, the new tournament owner, Beemok Capital, was also courting Charlotte, North Carolina, as a potential host and considered building a new $400 million to $500 million venue. However, Warren County was able develop a funding plan to match the $130 million that
Beemok Capital was investing for a total of $260 million to expand and improve the Lindner Family Tennis Center as the Cincinnati Open continues to expand into a two-week tournament starting in 2025.
In addition, Young said Beemok Capital agreed to a 25-year contract to keep the 125-year-old tournament, “the county’s global asset,” at the publicly owned Mason facility.
Young also touted the $1.5 billion economic impact that tourism brings to Warren County. While agriculture is one of the top industries in the county, he said in 2023, about 13.4 million visitors came to enjoy the various tourist attractions. About 12,000 people are employed in the hospitality, food service, and other tourism businesses. In addition, the county’s sports tourism generates an estimated $809 million in economic impact for the region.
He also said the county is operating a general fund budget of nearly $90 million and that there is zero general fund debt. The county has also built a $47 million infrastructure bank over the past five years. This is in addition to a $12 million rainy day fund and $50 million carry-over. About 57% of the annual budget goes to public safety; 41% goes for county operations; and 2% goes for social services and other costs, Young said.
“We compete on a world class business scale,” he said. “The state of the county is good.”
Jones spoke about the work she’s been doing to distribute funds from the One Ohio opioid settlement. She has worked with the other partner counties in Region 14 to establish the program. Jones said she is working with agencies to develop projects that prevent and treat opioid addiction, while supporting recovery services that meet eligibility requirements and will have the strongest impact.
In addition, Jones has also been involved in shaping and strengthening the county’s workforce.
“We have to decide how we want to develop as a community,” she said. “What is it that we want the federal and state governments to focus on for us.”
She said Warren County’s northern border is 20 miles from the new Honda battery plant now under construction near Jeffersonville, and the county will have to decide if it wants to be a bedroom community or expand.
Jones is also serving as the chair for the National Association of Counties’ human services and education policy committee.
Grossmann cited a number of leadership transitions in county government in both elected and appointed positions. He said the county has a new administrator in Martin Russell; Susan Walther is the new deputy county administrator; and Krystal Powell is the new commissioner’s clerk.
He also praised the service of retiring elected officials such as Sheriff Larry Sims, Clerk of Courts Jim Spaeth, Engineer Neil Tunison, and Treasurer Barney Wright.
Grossmann also said planning is underway for a new Warren County Court building on the county campus.