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

County Auditor Role & Function

We'll hear from three county auditors who will share their experiences and knowledge with our attendees. Two panelists, Rachel Gilroy of Allen County, and Nancy Nix of Butler County, served as County Treasurer prior to their current role. We'll also hear from Andrea Weaver from Union County. We'll also have time for Q&A.

Resilience by Design: Public Funds Portfolio Strategies for Every Market Cycle

Presenters: Eileen Stanic & Jim McCourt, Meeder Public Funds & others TBA

This panel discussion, featuring experienced peers, 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 breakeven 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!

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

Discover how Ohio employers can access new state-funded programs in 2025 that fully reimburse organizations for substance abuse policies and training at no cost to your budget. This session will cover the application process, reimbursement procedures, and how recent medical and recreational marijuana legislation impacts workplace substance abuse programs.

Attendees will learn essential components of compliant substance abuse policies, legal standards for establishing "reasonable suspicion" of substance abuse, proper documentation procedures for managers, and warning signs for recognizing employee substance abuse. The presentation will also explore the neurological effects of substance abuse and its connection to workplace violence, including best practices for defining and preventing workplace violence in your organization.

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

Ohio Department of Taxation

We'll hear from Kelly Tennant, Executive Administrator, Division of Tax Equalization, who will explain how the department develops their calculations. She'll also provide updates and answer questions from treasurers. 

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

Break/Visit Exhibits

Ballroom Foyers

Modern Disaster Recovery and AI-Driven Threats
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

Land banks first emerged in the 1970’s 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 create county land reutilization corporations in their counties.  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, some examples of this reuse, the county treasurers’ role in the process, and how county treasurers can work more closely with their county land bank to the benefit of their county.

We'll hear from a panel of Land Bank experts, including David Mann, President & CEO of Lucas County Land Bank, Kathy Kelich, Belmont County Treasurer, and Angie Maki-Cliff, Ashtabula County Treasurer.

Polaris Ballroom B, C, E & F

Getting Paid Sooner: Helping Residents Pay Before They Fall Behind

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.

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

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!