The Ohio House Finance Committee took testimony March 7 regarding the Ohio Architect Board’s proposed budget.  John Rademacher, AIA, a member of the Ohio Architects Board and a past president, gave testimony on behalf of Amy Kobe, the director of the Ohio Architects Board and the Landscape Architects Board, who was unable to testify because she was also recovering from knee replacement surgery. Kobe submitted written testimony that Rademacher read.

In the FY18-19 biennium, the board projects total revenues of approximately $1.24 million. It has a FY18 of $576,916, a 5.2 percent increase over FY17 and $604,765 for FY19, for a total request of $1.18 million.

Rademacher noted a number of cost increases, including a 12 percent payroll increase from FY16 to FY18; an increase in rent by 10 percent, going from $14,000 in FY14 to an estimated $33,000 in FY19; the cost of eLicense increasing from $3,122 in FY17 to $18,771 beginning in FY19; and the cost of the FY18-19 audit going up to $12,300, compared to an FY12 cost of $6,500.

He said the board is thought of as one of the top architectural boards in the country, and is focused on customer service and making business easier to do in the state.