Prepared Comments Made to
NORTH CANTON CITY COUNCIL
April 18, 2016
The number of tax abatements to
businesses that have been approved by North Canton City Council over the years
but that ultimately were found to be unworkable, resulting in NO abatement of
taxes, yet led to relocation or expansion in North Canton, should be cause for
concern.
Members of City Council should be
asking themselves, “Were these abatements really necessary?”
The oft-repeated argument in
support of the abatement of taxes each and every time a request is made is that
the business would relocate or expand elsewhere if the abatement were not
provided.
A memorable quote made by Mona Lisa
Vito in the movie, My Cousin Vinny, seems
appropriate here when she says, “Well, that plans moot.” Arguing that a
business will relocate or expand elsewhere if a tax abatement is not given is
unfounded. In other words, “That argument is moot!”
Specific abatements, authorized by
City Council, that proved unworkable and yet the businesses relocated or
expanded in North Canton are the following:
In 2006, legislation was before
City Council for an abatement of taxes for Dr. Suglio. Despite the fact that I
made Council aware of issues regarding this abatement, Council nonetheless
approved the abatement only to pass additional legislation a month later rescinding
the abatement. Dr. Suglio continued his investment on Main Street without an
abatement of property taxes and later opened up his Gourmet Coffee Shop.
Link to the January 9, 2006 remarks
to City Council regarding the Suglio abatement is below:
In 2007, there were discussions to approve
an abatement of taxes for the construction of a Sherwin-Williams Paint Store on
Applegrove. When I asked why a $28 billion a year company needed a tax
abatement, this abatement was quashed before legislation came up for a vote. As
we all know, there is a Sherwin-Williams Paint Store on Applegrove today, and
amazingly, it did not require the loss of scarce tax dollars needed by the North Canton City Schools, the North Canton City
Library, the Stark County Park District, or the City of North Canton.
Link to
the May 14, 2007 remarks to City Council regarding the Sherwin-Williams tax
abatement is below:
In
2009, following approval of a liquor option by voters, the Fred W. Albrecht
Grocery Company announced that they were embarking on an expansion of the store’s
Liquor Department as well as a remodel of the entire Acme Fresh Market Store on
North Main Street.
Link to
the April 13, 2009 remarks to City Council regarding the Acme abatement is below:
Amazingly,
AFTER the announced expansion, North Canton’s Director of Economic Development,
Eric Bowles, contacted Acme Fresh Market and offered a tax abatement.
WHY???
And more
astonishingly, this Council body approved the abatement with passage of Ordinance
No. 33-09.
Again,
I ask, WHY?
The
Acme Fresh Market Store had been an anchor store for twenty-years in North
Canton and their announcement to expand and remodel indicated their intention
to remain in the City.
This
was not a prudent decision on the part of Mr. Bowles at that time. The
recommendation from Mr. Bowles that Council should now expand the City’s CRA
Program is equally ill-advised.
In my recent conversations with the
Stark County Auditor’s office, I have learned that the Fred W. Albrecht Grocery
Company never actually received any abatement of property taxes as the store
improvements never raised the appraised valuation of the property, yet the
business has remained in North Canton.
In 2011, City Council gave an
Industrial and Commercial Occupancy grant to Ben Suarez for what was called
Project Omega under Ordinance 53-11. The Suarez Corporation never met any of
the requirements to qualify for any rebate of taxes.
Link to the May 23, 2011 remarks to
City Council regarding the grant to The Suarez Corp.
In 2012, City Council approved an
Industrial and Commercial Retention Grant for Crowl, Montgomery & Clark with
the passage of Ordinance No. 68-12. This is a digital marketing firm that had
operated out of office space on North Main Street for two decades and decided
to relocate its offices to an old Victorian house on South Main Street.
I am not sure how a digital
marketing company fits the requirements of an Industrial and Commercial Grant
and that may be why the business never executed a grant agreement. Crowl,
Montgomery & Clark ultimately never received any tax dollars, yet they
remained in North Canton.
There is no one who could say that
North Canton City Council doesn’t try hard to give away tax dollars needed by
the North Canton City Schools, the Library, the
Stark County Park District, or just the City of North Canton. The past history
of the failed abatements seems to underscore that the abatements were not
critical to the businesses as they are a part of our community despite NOT
receiving the abatement.
A
summary of the Ohio Community Reinvestment Area Program states, “Ohio’s CRA
Program was created to promote the revitalization of areas where investment has
been discouraged….”
Creation
of CRAs in the City is not needed and declaring that any area of North Canton
discourages investment is wholly untrue. Banks are still lending to creditworthy
applicants who want to build or refurbish structures throughout the City of North
Canton.
In the
future, voters will find it difficult to approve levies, school or not, knowing
that City Council is handing out tax dollars to millionaires, corporations, and
businesses that need no encouragement to stay and grow in North Canton.
Thank you,
Chuck Osborne
Resident
City of North Canton
