Legrand report due to state March 1, days after building’s $42M sale

Ohio officials in 2021 said they expected Legrand North America LLC to create 261 full-time jobs in Union, generating $10.3 million in new annual payroll.

Under the terms of the company’s agreement with the state, Legrand had through the end of 2025 to meet its job creation and payroll commitments, and its required metric evaluation report is due to the department by March 1, Brian Bohnert, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Development, told the Dayton Daily News.

Companies or grantees who receive state economic development awards or tax incentives can be required to submit metric evaluation reports, sometimes called “annual reports,” to the state.

In December, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber found that most companies that received state incentives had not met the job creation and/or payroll commitments featured in award agreements.

In fact, 39 out of 60 companies that committed to creating jobs in Ohio were listed as “noncompliant” in an annual report compiled by Faber’s office.

“These agreements are meant to encourage job growth and community prosperity,” Faber said in December. “If we’re not going to hold companies accountable for their job and payroll commitments, then these agreements are only depriving Ohioans of financial resources that could be used elsewhere.”

Ohio’s job creation tax credit is performance-based, meaning companies must meet, or substantially meet, the requirements of their agreements before receiving any tax credit incentives, Bohnert said.

“To date, no tax certificates have been issued to Legrand,” he added.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority in October 2021 approved a 1.399%, eight-year tax credit for Legrand.

What that means: For eight years, Legrand can claim a 1.399% credit on new Ohio payroll related to the project location.

Legrand representatives have not responded to questions from the Dayton Daily News. Calls to the company’s Union center, at the number the company provides on its web site, have not gone through.

A visit to the Douglas Way facility during business hours Thursday showed plenty of activity outside the facility, with a nearly full employee parking lot and several tractor-trailers on site.

A message seeking comment was sent to Box Equities.