Granville Council members voted Wednesday, Sept. 18, to approve a Joint Economic Development District Agreement, which has been a long-term goal for community leaders.
The JEDD is an agreement between Granville Township and Granville Village that will allow businesses in some areas of the township to receive water and sewer services from the village without being annexed — meaning the township properties would not become part of the village but would still receive water and sewer. In exchange, employees of existing businesses would pay a 1.5% income tax, which would be split between the township and the village.
The Granville Township Trustees passed a resolution approving the JEDD last week with the following modifications:
- The current JEDD map reflects only a single parcel of land as being part of the JEDD at this point. That is the site of the former BP gas station property on Columbus Road. However, the JEDD may expand into additional parcels in the future.
- The definition of “small businesses” was defined as any business with a gross revenue of less than $1 million. These small businesses will be given a tax credit for 10 years.
- The township and the village would provide $2,500 in startup costs to the JEDD board for resources such as website management, legal assistance and business cards.
Granville resident Daniel Bellman, a public finance and tax-exempt finance attorney who served two terms on village council and as mayor for two years before leaving office in 2003, raised concerns about the fairness of the JEDD agreement.
“In terms of the small business credits, I feel that if you waive the 1.5% income tax for small businesses in the township, then you absolutely should do the same thing for businesses in the village,” Bellman said. “It’s fundamentally unfair to give this benefit to township businesses but not village businesses.”
Read more: Granville Township approves Joint Economic Development District Agreement
And Bellman said the definition of a small business should be reconsidered periodically. “When I read it, it was unclear to me whether the $1 million threshold will be decided only at the beginning of the JEDD or each year thereafter.”
The definition of the JEDD within the measure approved by the village and trustees says: “‘Small Business’ as it pertains to Section 5.1, means any business means any business that had total revenue of less than one million dollars during the preceding taxable year. For purposes of this division, ‘total revenue’ means receipts of any type or kind, including, but not limited to sales receipts; payments; rents; profits; gains, dividends and other investment income; commissions; premiums; money; property; grants; contributions; donations; gifts; program service revenue; patient service revenue; premiums; fees, including premium fees and service fees; tuition payments; unrelated business revenue; reimbursements; any type of payment from a governmental unit, including grants and other allocations; and any other similar receipts reported for federal income tax purposes or under generally accepted accounting principles.”
In response to Bellman’s point, Village Manager Herb Koehler said, “If you look at the definition of small business, it is based on the preceding taxable year.”
Koehler said the small business revenue is reflected in yearly tax returns and the village added a sunset clause on the tax credit.
The council then voted unanimously to approve the agreement. Council member Aaron Olbur and Granville Mayor Melissa Hartfield expressed confidence in the JEDD and acknowledged the work that went into this agreement.
Hartfield acknowledged everyone involved in this project, but she especially appreciated Koehler’s effort ensuring the JEDD came to fruition.
The mayor also reminded the council that the JEDD is voluntary and property owners are not forced to join. They are given the option to stay in the township.
This story was updated Monday, Sept. 23 at 4:40 p.m. to correct information about the small business tax credit. The Reporting Project regrets the error.
Donna Chang writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.