Explanation
Background
City Council established the original Easton tax increment financing (TIF) area in 1996 by Ordinance No. 1704-96 to provide for a 30 year tax increment financing exemption beginning tax year 1997 and ending in tax year 2026 in order to fund public infrastructure improvements necessary for the development of Easton. The TIF area was subsequently expanded in 2003 by Ordinance No. 0709-03 and then reduced in size in 2014 by Ordinance No. 2895-2014 to encompass its present boundaries, as shown on Exhibit A to the attached ordinance. The Easton TIF currently generates approximately $7.5 million per year in non-school TIF revenue after providing for compensation payments to the Columbus City School District and Gahanna-Jefferson City School District, which each receive all real property taxes it would otherwise receive absent the TIF exemption. In 2019, the Ohio General Assembly adopted Section 5709.51 of the Revised Code, which allows City Council to extend the term of the exemption for certain TIFs generating in excess of $1.5 million per calendar year in service payments made pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.42, like the Easton TIF, for a period of up to 30 additional years. The attached ordinance extends the Easton TIF for an additional 30 year period, through tax year 2056, in order to provide funding for the additional public infrastructure anticipated to be necessary to complete the development of the Easton area during that timeframe, and the school districts will continue to receive all real property taxes they would otherwise receive absent the TIF exemption extension.
Fiscal Impact
No funding is required for this legislation. The City will continue to forego real property tax revenue that it would have received from the development of the Easton TIF parcels. Instead, the non-school portion of that revenue will be diverted to a TIF fund.
Title
To amend Ordinance No. 1704-96 to extend the exemption from taxation of impro...
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