Lieberman even expects to bolster the program — for which about $2 million annually is set aside — by about $500,000.
Commissioners are also interested in ways to update ED/GE, Lieberman said. She wants to explore requiring “living wages” in some instances and focusing on “priority sectors” such as aerospace, advanced materials, IT, manufacturing, bio-medical and research.
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Lieberman added that she has no wish to discourage ED/GE applicants from seeking funding. But she added: “We want to be sure we’re incentivizing good jobs that have living wages.”
Regarding companies that fall outside those priority sectors, she said: “It’s not like we’re going to ignore the companies that come after us. But we’d really like to promote those.”
She expects county leaders to “talk this out.”
“We know this works,” Lieberman said of ED/GE. “But we want to make sure we’re staying on top of best practices.”
There was a time when local leaders weren’t so confident about the program’s future.
History of incentives
Founded in 1992, ED/GE money is drawn in part from county sales taxes. Sales taxes paid in communities fund the program, then those communities apply for ED/GE funds to support business expansions or moves.
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Over the years, the money has helped bring Fuyao to Moraine, the Wilmer Hale law firm to Kettering, a White Castle food production facility to Vandalia — and much more. The county counts 138 ED/GE projects since 2010.
But the loss of state sales tax revenue for Medicaid managed care programs in mid-2017 was particularly worrisome. In late 2017, that budgetary hit was estimated to be about $9 million.
In a joint statement in 2017, the three county commissioners warned that the loss of that revenue threatened “all non-mandated programs” including “discretionary programs under criminal justice, the county’s Economic Development/Government Equity (ED/GE) program, and arts funding.”
It wasn’t a threat, Lieberman said Tuesday. It was reality.
“We were pretty concerned,” she said.
“It’s going to be a long haul,” former county Administrator Joe Tuss said in October 2017.
Helping create jobs
Erik Collins, development director for the county, calls ED/GE a “tool” to create jobs.
Every dollar in ED/GE funds invested in a project has drawn another approximately $50 in public and private investment, said Michael Norton-Smith, a community and economic development specialist for the county.
Fuyao, for example, has invested more than half a billion dollars into its plant in Moraine along with a companion facility in Illinois.
In its original November 2013 application for ED/GE funds, Moraine city government sought $750,000 for Fuyao.
“The advantage with ED/GE is, yes, we have a tool to support these major investment projects,” Norton-Smith said.
“Taking that tool, that financial incentive out, would have been a difficult thing for us,” Collins said. “It clearly has made a difference.”
A big reason Collins and others are more optimistic about ED/GE today: Commissioners voted unanimously last June to approve a 0.25 percent sales tax they say will generate $19.1 million annually. A petition drive to put that tax increase to a referendum vote fell short about a month later.
Collins expects all three commissioners to renew ED/GE at some point before year’s end.
“I think all three commissioners totally agree with that,” Lieberman said.
How it works
Twice a year, an advisory committee of elected officials and staff looks at ED/GE applications, deciding which ones are most deserving of taxpayer support. They recommend funding amounts to commissioners, who get the final vote.
County officials believe seeing area officials work together is an impressive sight. Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman, for example, might vote to recommend funding for a company going to Vandalia. And Vandalia officials might support money going to downtown Dayton’s Arcade development.
“It’s a program that not a lot of communities in the country have,” said Gwen Eberly, county economic development and planning manager.
“It’s not just about giving a company money,” Collins said. “It’s about cooperation among the communities. It’s about the industry focus.”
Collins said projects are monitored to ensure that companies follow through on job creation pledges. But enforcement tools are limited.
Brookville sought $500,000 to help create what was then an expected 400 Payless ShoeSource jobs more than a decade ago. But now, the bankrupt company plans to close that facility.
“We’re diligent about how we follow up with the companies,” Norton-Smith. “Our companies come very close, if not exceeding, their (job) commitments.”
“It’s great to high five after we get a company,” Collins said. “But it’s more than that. We want you to be part of the community.”
ED/GE by the numbers
Numbers from 2010 to 2019
$21,870,951: County ED/GE investments
10,129: Existing jobs retained as a result of ED/GE projects
8,319: New jobs created as a result of ED/GE projects
138: Number of ED/GE projects
Source: Montgomery County
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