Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (COUNCIL), by Ordinance No. 1349-2013, passed June 17, 2013, authorized the City of Columbus (CITY) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the AGREEMENT) with Columbus Equipment Company (ENTERPRISE) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years in consideration of an approximate $2 million investment in real property improvements, the retention of 74 existing full-time jobs and the creation of two (2) full-time permanent positions with an annual payroll of approximately $80,000 related to the renovation of an approximately 16,000 square foot vacant commercial building located at 2325 Performance Way, Columbus, OH 43207, parcel number 010-102565, within the Columbus City School District and within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone. The AGREEMENT was made and entered into effective August 12, 2013 (EZA #023-13-04). The AGREEMENT stated that construction on the improvements (the PROJECT) was expected to begin July, 2013 and that all real property improvements were expected to be completed by December 2014 and that no real property exemption was to commence after 2015 nor extend beyond 2024.
As per the Program Compliance Section of the AGREEMENT (Section 6, Paragraph 7), ENTERPRISE filed a DTE Form 24 (DTE) with the Franklin County Auditor (AUDITOR) which was received by the AUDITOR on December 20, 2016. The AUDITOR completed the “County Auditor’s Finding” section of the DTE and filed the DTE with the Ohio Department of Taxation (TAXATION) on December 27, 2016. TAXATION issued their FINAL DETERMINATION on the DTE to ENTERPRISE on November 20, 2017, a copy of which was filed with the AUDITOR on November 30, 2017, which in turn provided a copy of the FINAL DETERMINATION to the CITY on December 4, 2017. The FINAL DETERMINATION indicated that the applicant (Columbus Equipment Company) was not the owner of the property as title to the property is in the name of CEC Real Estate Pe...
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