Redbook: LBO Analysis of Executive Budget Proposal — State Employment Relations Board (February 2025)
Summary
Redbook LBO Analysis of Executive Budget Proposal for the State Employment Relations Board, by Tom Wert, Senior Budget Analyst, dated February 2025. It states that the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) oversees more than 3,500 public employer collective bargaining contracts covering more than 332,000 public employees. It describes a recommended budget of approximately $4.7 million in FY 2026 and $4.8 million in FY 2027, with personal services at 88.1%. The analysis is organized around Operating Expenses (ALI 125321) and Training and Publications (ALI 125603).
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“Redbook: LBO Analysis of Executive Budget Proposal — State Employment Relations Board (February 2025).”
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Redbook
LBO Analysis of Executive Budget Proposal
State Employment Relations Board
Tom Wert, Senior Budget Analyst
February 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Quick look... .......................................................................................................................... 1
Agency overview ................................................................................................................... 1
Analysis of FY 2026-FY 2027 budget proposal ......................................................................... 2
Operating Expenses (ALI 125321) ................................................................................................... 2
Training and Publications (ALI 125603) .......................................................................................... 3
LBO Redbook
State Employment Relations Board
Quick look...
➢ The State Employment Relations Board (SERB) oversees more than 3,500 public employer
collective bargaining contracts covering more than 332,000 public employees across the state.
• SERB oversaw 225 union election or representation issues, 188 unfair labor practice
investigations, and 48 mediations in FY 2024.
• The Board’s Research and Training Section provided training for more than 400 public
employer human resources professionals in FY 2024.
➢ The State Personnel Board of Review (SPBR) under the administrative umbrella of SERB deals
with matters concerning exempt and nonexempt employees in the classified civil service.
➢ As of January 2025, the agency employed 21 full-time employees, two part-time employees, and
six fixed-term board members. This combined staff supported both SERB and SPBR.
➢ Recommended budget of approximately $4.7 million in FY 2026 and $4.8 million in FY 2027.
• Uses of the budget: personal services (88.1%), supplies and maintenance (10.9%), purchased
personal services (0.7%), and equipment and transfers (0.2%).
FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027
Actual Actual Actual Estimate Introduced Introduced
GRF ALI 125321, Operating Expenses
$3,992,713 $4,041,909 $4,199,611 $4,375,000 $4,533,029 $4,655,023
% change 1.2% 3.9% 4.2% 3.6% 2.7%
Fund 5720 ALI 125603, Training and Publications
$41,484 $76,256 $188,356 $162,149 $138,000 $138,972
% change 83.8% 147.0% -13.9% -14.9% 0.7%
Total funding:
$4,034,197 $4,118,165 $4,387,968 $4,537,149 $4,671,029 $4,793,995
% change 2.1% 6.6% 3.4% 3.0% 2.6%
Agency overview
The State Employment Relations Board (SERB) acts as a neutral party in carrying out
Ohio’s collective bargaining laws as they pertain to public employers and employees. Its
responsibilities include overseeing representation elections, certifying exclusive bargaining
representatives, monitoring and enforcing statutory dispute resolution procedures, mediating
collective bargaining negotiations, adjudicating unfair labor practice charges, determining
unauthorized strike claims, and providing information and training to parties in contract
Legislative Budget Office of the Legislative Service Commission Page 1
Redbook State Employment Relations Board
negotiations. Although the matters under its jurisdiction are different, the State Personnel Board
of Review (SPBR) is under the administrative structure of SERB. SPBR is an appeals body that
hears cases filed by classified exempt employees at the state and local levels but whose
jurisdiction extends to other specific civil service matters. SERB and SPBR each have their own
three-member boards.
Analysis of FY 2026-FY 2027 budget proposal
As with many smaller state agencies, personnel costs constitute the largest expense for
SERB and SPBR and account for about $8.3 million (88.1%) of the total recommended
appropriation for the FY 2026-FY 2027 biennium. That is followed by approximately $1.0 million
(10.9%) for supplies and maintenance, $70,600 (0.7%) for purchased personal services, and
equipment and transfers making up the remaining amount, $19,400 (0.2%) of the recommended
budget.
ERB Budget by Expense Category
FY 2026-FY 2027 Biennium
Purchased
Personal Services
0.7%
Personal
Services Biennial total: Supplies and
88.1% $9.5 million Maintenance
10.9%
Other
Expenses
0.2%
Operating Expenses (ALI 125321)
This GRF ALI covers the combined operating expenses of SERB and SPBR. The majority of
funding is budgeted for payroll costs, including board members, administrative law judges, labor
relations specialists and mediators, researchers, and administrative staff working among the two
boards. In all, the total amount of funding recommended for payroll under this ALI is just under
$4.1 million in FY 2026 and approximately $4.2 million in FY 2027, 88.1% of total funding for the
biennium.
SERB consists of seven functional sections: (1) Bureau of Mediation, (2) Business and
Records, (3) Clerk’s Office, (4) Hearings, (5) Representation, (6) Research and Training, and
(7) Investigations. Nearly 1,700 labor contract-related cases were filed with the Board in 2024,
including 1,328 mediations, 204 union election or representation issues, and 188 unfair labor
practice investigations. The Board’s Research and Training Section conducted two conferences,
providing collective bargaining and labor law training to more than 400 public labor professionals.
SERB also produces an annual Health Insurance Report that summarizes the cost of health care
in Ohio’s public sector workplaces. Another key research product is the annual Wage Settlement
Legislative Budget Office of the Legislative Service Commission Page 2
Redbook State Employment Relations Board
Report that summarizes wage increase information contained in collective bargaining
agreements across the state.
Training and Publications (ALI 125603)
This ALI is used to pay for research and training programs among the two boards. These
activities are supported by the sale of various types of employee data collected by SERB, receipts
from training seminars, and other sources of revenue deposited into the Training and
Publications Fund (Fund 5720). Receipts from these sources were nearly $87,000 in FY 2024.
ERB/zg
Legislative Budget Office of the Legislative Service Commission Page 3
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