Seven school districts in the Columbus area have agreements with the City of Columbus; the city “has an initiative for certain qualifying companies building in Columbus” that provides them with tax breaks, and the city helps lessen the impact those incentives have on revenue loss to the districts, NBC4i.com reports. The city “is paying surrounding school districts nearly $6 million” related to “agreements concerning economic development and job creation,” according to the article. Columbus City Councilman Nick Bankston said, “[i]t is about bolstering jobs, but it’s also about that long-term investment and how we’ll intentionally make a change in our school districts and our communities as a whole.”
Companies “still have to pay property tax, but they only pay a portion of the tax on the property improvements.” The city “meets with the businesses receiving these incentives each year to make sure they are meeting expectations so the city and residents are getting a return on their investment.” Bankston said, “we’ve done a lot of things like up the number that you have to pay to workers; you have to pay at least $20 an hour. You have to have health care and some type of form of retirement in order to even be considered for an incentive.” The Director of Development for Columbus “said that these projects are choosing the city because of the tax incentives, and the community would be losing out if the businesses did not come here.” For more, read the full article.
