City of Columbus - File #: 1804-2026

• File #: 1804-2026
• Version: 1
• Type: Ordinance
• Status: Second Reading
• File created: 6/4/2026
• In control: Economic Development & Small and Minority Business Committee
• On agenda: 6/29/2026
• Title: To authorize the City Auditor to appropriate the sum of $1,830,630.67 within the General Fund Income Tax Set Aside Subfund; to authorize the City Auditor to transfer $5,491,891.99 within the General Fund; to authorize the payment of up to $7,322,522.66 in accordance with the Public School Revenue Sharing Program for seven (8) different school districts; to authorize the expenditure not to exceed of $7,322,522.66 from the General Fund; and to declare an emergency. ($7,322,522.66)

Explanation
BACKGROUND: By authority of ORC Section 5709.82, the City is required to pay affected school districts 50 percent (50%) of the municipal income tax revenue attributable to tax abated projects where the annual ‘new employee’ payroll for a project is one million dollars for an Enterprise Zone (EZ) or for a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) two million dollars or more, in a given tax year, during the abatement. This municipal income tax revenue sharing with affected school districts applies to all property tax abatements approved by the legislative authority after July 1, 1994 and is based on the ‘new employee’ wages paid in a tax year, during the years of tax exemption, and also on the wages of the construction workers.

For tax year 2025, the City of Columbus has a total of sixty (60) agreements requiring revenue sharing and the total amount of revenue to be shared is $7,322,522.66. The sixty (60) agreements are related to projects located in eight (8) different school districts with the revenue share subtotals as follows: $4,768,586.07 to the Columbus City School District for thirty-nine (39) agreements, $292,988.24 to the Gahanna Jefferson City School District for six (6) agreements, $17,452.47 to the Groveport Madison Local School District for one (1) agreement, $883,044.11 to the Hilliard City School District for seven (7) agreements, $398,136.68 to the Hamilton Local School District for three (3) agreements, $822,309.01 to the Olentangy Local School District for one (1) agreements, $53,672.58 to the South-Western City School District for one (1) agreements and $86,333.50 to the Worthington City School District for two (2) agreements.

Emergency action is requested in order to expedite payment to the seven (8) school districts to compensate them for property tax revenues forgone due to tax abatements.

FISCAL IMPACT: The 2026 General Fund budget (citywide account) includes funding for these payments. An amount equal to 25 percent (25%) of the pa...