Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to dissolve the existing Jobs Creation Tax Credit Agreement (JCTCA) with Leadscope Inc. Columbus City Council approved the Jobs Creation Tax Credit Agreement (JCTCA) by Ordinance No. 0730-01 on May 14, 2001. The project site is a facility located at 1224 Kinnear Road in the Science and Technology Campus. Leadscope Inc. has requested to withdraw from the State of Ohio and the City of Columbus Job Creation Tax Credit programs, effective immediately. Leadscope is currently involved in a lawsuit with the American Chemical Society and they don't have the resources available to grow the company the way they intended when they joined the program.
After additional review and discussions with the company, the Development Department agrees that dissolving the Jobs Creation Tax Credit is an appropriate course of action.
FISCAL IMPACT: No funding is required for this legislation.
Title
To authorize the Director of Development to terminate the existing Jobs Creation Tax Credit with Leadscope Inc, with or without the written consent of Leadscope Inc.; and to declare an emergency.
Body
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 122.17 of the Ohio Revised Code, the State of Ohio is authorized to establish the Tax Credit Authority and to execute agreements with taxpayers of the State of Ohio for the purpose of granting these taxpayers job creation tax credits against their corporate franchise or income tax, which tax credits are provided to create new jobs in the State of Ohio; and
WHEREAS, the State of Ohio Tax Credit Authority has granted Leadscope Inc a 65% 7 year Jobs Creation Tax Credit; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 718.08 of the Ohio Revised Code (the "City Act") a municipal corporation is authorized to grant local income tax credits to taxpayers who have received tax credits from the State; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that Leadscope Inc. has not met the job creation and investment called for in the Jobs Creation Tax Credit Agreement and will be unlikely to achieve those levels in the next several years; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that the company's business needs and the Jobs Creation Tax Credit are no longer compatible; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City in that it is immediately necessary to terminate the existing Jobs Creation Tax Credit with Leadscope Inc, with or without the written consent of Leadscope Inc., all for the preservation of the public health, peace, property, safety and welfare; and NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
Section 1. That the Director of Development is hereby authorized to terminate the Jobs Creation Tax Agreement between the City and Leadscope Inc, with or without the written consent of Leadscope Inc.
Section 2. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.