Joint economic development zones contracts are created when two or more municipal corporations agree to share in the costs of improvements for a designated area and for the purpose of facilitating new or expanded growth for commercial or economic development, according to the Ohio Revised Code. Municipal corporations may distribute any municipal income tax revenues that come from the income earned by people employed by businesses in the zone and the issue must be put on the ballot for residents to vote on.
Tuesday is Election Day
Several local communities have issues on the ballot Tuesday and polls are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
What’s on the ballot?
School levies
Huber Heights, additional, current operating expenses, 5.95 mills. For a continuing period of time.
Franklin, additional, current expenses, 7.92 mills for a continuing period of time
Lebanon, renewal, 2 mills for permanent improvements, 5 years.
Clark Shawnee, additional, 7.59 mills for 10 years.
Tecumseh, emergency additional, 12.37 mills for 5 years.
Northeastern, income tax, additional, 1%
Greenville, levy and bond issue, additional for buildings and improvements, 0.5 mills, $45 million.
Sidney, income tax, additional for current expenses, 1%
Levies
German Twp. levy for parks and rec, additional, 0.5 mills
Deerfield Twp., police and ems levy, replacement, 4 mills
Other
Butler Twp., joint economic development zone
Butler Twp., hotel joint economic development zone
Get results live Tuesday at DaytonDailyNews.com. We’ll have complete election coverage in Wednesday’s newspaper.
A local developer has launched a campaign against the passage of two joint economic development zone issues that will appear on Butler Township’s special election ballot on Tuesday.
Township residents will be asked if township trustees should approve a contract with the city of Vandalia for the designation of a hotel district joint economic development zone and a business district joint economic development zone.
The development zones will allow the township to assign a 1 percent corporate tax and a 1 percent employee income tax in areas located from I-75 to the east side of North Dixie Drive and from Benchwood Road up to the south of Maxton Road. The zone boundaries also will be on both sides of Miller Lane, from Maxton Road to Little York Road. The only residents who will be taxed will be the ones who work in the proposed economic development zones.
Kim Lapensee, township administrator, said the economic development zones are needed to help the township preserve funding for the township’s police department and job cuts to the police and road departments.
But Alex Kolodesh, partner with Singer Properties and owner of the Liquor and Wine Warehouse on York Commons Boulevard, said the trustees are being unfair by attempting to tax a certain group of people.
“We don’t want this because the businesses that we have put in and the people who work there are going to be taxed,” said Kolodesh, who also heads Citizens for a Better Butler Township — a political action committee against the approval of the economic development zone.
Kolodesh also said that despite the fact that the proposed development zones are targeting employees of the businesses, the township is forgetting that “some of the business owners live in the township and they are going to have their taxes raised.”
He also said he doesn’t like that trustees are not including the township’s municipal building at 3510 Sudachi Drive in the economic development zone.
“If you have a problem with operating expenses and you are saying that you need this revenue for police and fire, yet you take yourself off the JEDZ district, there is an issue with that,” Kolodesh said. “It’s not consistent with (the township’s) message. The message is we need to raise money for operating expenses.”
Lapensee said the businesses are using the services and the township is providing those services.
“I guess we could have (included the township building in the proposed JEDZ), but we’re not the ones using the services, we’re providing the services,” Lapensee said. “We really looked at who was using all our calls. (The businesses in the Miller Lane Business District) were monopolizing all our police services…That district is using more than 50 percent of our police resources.”
Kolodesh said the Miller Lane Business District is a tax benefit to the township because “it creates more tax revenue than it uses in township services.”
Last year, trustees were able to get enough businesses to create a joint economic development district, which would have put a 2 percent tax on the employees of the businesses in the district. But the trustees dropped the idea after they received complaints from some workers who would have been taxed and eventually decided to pursue the proposed joint economic development zone.
“A district can include one property, but a zone can include many properties and it can be put on the ballot and it has to be approved by the voters,” Lapensee said. .
If the economic development zones are voted down, the township will have to lay off two road department employees and up to six police officers by 2015 which would mean that the township would only have one officer per shift, Lapensee said.
About this election
What is the issue?
Butler Township in Montgomery County is holding a special election on Tuesday, Aug. 6 for two separate issues concerning joint economic development zones. The ballot language will ask Butler Township residents if the Butler Township Board of Trustees should approve contracts with the City of Vandalia for the designation of a hotel district joint economic development zone and a business district economic development zone.
What are Joint Economic Development Zones?
These zones, known as JEDZ, will allow Butler Township to assign a one percent corporate tax and a one percent employee income tax in areas located from Interstate 75 to the east side of North Dixie and from Benchwood Road up to south side of Maxton Road. The zone boundaries also will be on both sides of Miller Lane, from Maxton Road to Little York Road. The township is focused on seeking revenue from the employee income tax.
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