Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (Council), by Ordinance 0820-2010, passed June 7, 2010, authorized the City of Columbus (City) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the Agreement) with Menard, Inc. (Enterprise) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years in consideration of $6.5 million in real property improvements and the creation of 80 new full-time permanent jobs with an associated payroll of $2,550,000 related to the construction of a retail commercial facility of approximately 162,340 square feet on parcel number 010-286106 at 1819 Morse Road in Columbus, Ohio and within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone. The Agreement was made and entered into to be effective July 8, 2010 (EZA# 023-10-06). This Agreement was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the first time to reduce the job creation commitment in the Agreement from 80 to 60 full-time employees by Ordinance No. 1773-2010, passed December 13, 2010, with this first amendment made and entered into effective January 12, 2011 and executed on February 11, 2011.
As part of the Annual Report for Report Year 2011, Menard, Inc. submitted job and payroll numbers which were as of December 31, 2011 out of compliance with the commitments of the Agreement. New jobs were reported at 52 and new job payroll was reported to be $1.5 million. A mid-year follow-up was undertaken by City staff which indicated that mid-year full-time employment was 49. A letter was received by the City from Enterprise requesting that the new job commitment be revised from 60 to 49 and that the new job payroll commitment be revised from $2.55 million to $1.75 million.
The 2012 Columbus Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC) reviewed the Menard, Inc. Enterprise Zone project on August 23, 2012, and recommended that the Agreement be continued and that the Agreement be amended to reduce the job creation commitment from 60 to 49 with a commensurate reduction in payroll. ...
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