Columbus regularly gives out property tax breaks for developments large and small, to push for more business growth and homes.
These incentive agreements total a combined value of nearly $130 million coming from the city of Columbus, according to Franklin County's Tax Incentive Review Council, or TIRC. It's a large pot of money that's at stake and the candidates for Columbus City Council and the Columbus school board have taken notice.
All eight of these Columbus board of education candidates 鈥� to varying degrees 鈥� want to see some kind of policy change for tax abatements. Some call for more oversight of the money while others are calling for the city to exercise its power to claw back the funds if developers don't deliver on promises made to the city in these agreements.
Columbus Department of Development Director Michael Stevens argues these tax abatements do have sufficient oversight and are needed to solve one of the city's biggest challenges: the housing crisis.
"Unfortunately, these tools are the scapegoat at times and are used, kind of to score cheap political points," Stevens said.
Stevens said the topic becoming an election issue isn't too unusual.
It wasn't too long ago in 2023 when mayoral candidate Joe Motil unsuccessfully challenged Mayor Andrew Ginther. Motil is one of the city鈥檚 biggest critics on its use of tax abatements.
Motil said his opposition goes back three decades to when he first ran for Columbus City Council. He said he was spurred to run partially because he opposed an abatement for NBBJ, a local architectural firm, to move across town. He said it was a 10-year deal costing that took $330,000 off the table.
It鈥檚 not hard to catch the Clintonville resident at a city council meeting. He often goes head-to-head with Stevens or other city staff members on abatements on anything from warehouses at Rickenbacker airport or the Rogue Fitness in the Milo Grogan neighborhood north of downtown.
"Abatements are showing its ugly face in terms of lack of funding for public education, the need for levies to be passed, the number of evictions that continue to go up, foreclosures of property, homelessness," Motil said.
Motil said he thinks the tool's overuse disproportionately impacts low-income and Black communities in Columbus. He said it isn't fair to residents in those neighborhoods who see their property taxes going up while the new, high-rent apartment buildings going up down the street get to forgo property taxes entirely.
What are tax abatements?
Stevens sat down with 星空无限传媒 and explained that this is one of the many incentives given to developers by the city to encourage new projects or more growth.
The city essentially gives the property a break on its taxes, usually for a 10-15 year period. Sometimes, the deals let the owners forgo all of its property taxes. Other times, only a percentage of property taxes are forgiven.
Some examples include that new 32-story skyscraper going up at the North Market in the Short North. will get a 100% property tax abatement for the next 15 years and deliver.
The project has been long delayed and was supposed to open in 2020 originally. It will expand the North Market's space and include a luxury hotel, permanent residences, high-end apartments and a parking garage.
The city also struck a deal with Woda Cooper Companies this year. The developer will also get a tax abatement to renovate the downtown YMCA building into residential units. The project is receiving state and federal aid and city bond dollars and will include many affordably priced units.
TIRC has an that lets users explore every property that has a tax abatement in Franklin County. The tool provides a breakdown of how much the abatement is worth and which taxing agencies it effects.
The agreements come with strings attached by the city, mostly to keep a certain number of housing units affordable during the abatement timetable to people making under a certain income threshold. It's usually somewhere between 30% to 80% of the area median income.
Stevens said the abatements don't mean taxing agencies like Columbus City Schools are losing out on all potential revenue from these properties. He said the agencies will eventually benefit once the abatement lapses.
鈥淭he existing taxes that are on the parcel continue to get collected by the levy agencies. So they're not losing money," Stevens said.
Stevens explained that the abatement applies only to new construction on the site.
Stevens said only 1.2% of residential parcels have an active abatement. He said this investment had paid off, resulting in 12,660 new or rehabilitated housing units, including just over 2,100 on that are affordable.
"It's been pretty consistent because even though when we add deals, deals fall off every year," Stevens said.
Columbus' population and the wider metropolitan area is expected to grow over the next four years, with some estimates saying the 15-county region will add one million people by 2050. Columbus has been trying to prepare to shoulder a big chunk of that growth by encouraging development and modernizing its zoning code.
Stevens pointed to the Arena District, Easton Towne Center and Gowdy Field on Olentangy River Road as a good example of how tax abatements provide direct benefit and ultimately increase tax revenue for the city and school district. He said the field was once a non-contributing landfill.
"Now (Gowdy Field) is providing significant revenue because of the tools we used to get those buildings built, those tools have expired and burned off, but now they're fully contributing to levy agencies," Stevens said.
Stevens said when the city negotiates these agreements with developers, the city makes developers aware of all available options to aid a project. That includes these abatements.
"Companies and developers will come in and talk about, 'Here's the project that we have, here's gaps that we're facing,' and they'll ask 'What's available?' and we share what's available," Stevens said.
These agreements eventually make their way in front of city council, where its voted on.
Candidates, critics argue for change in tax abatement usage.
It's been hard not to hear the conversation on tax abatements this election cycle for Columbus City Council and Columbus City Schools. Candidates are either directly campaigning on the issue or being asked about it often at candidate forums or in interviews.
said the agencies that rely on property tax revenue miss out on millions of dollars every year. That's more than $80 million for Columbus City Schools according to the TIRC.
Other agencies impacted include the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board (ADAMH) , the Columbus Zoo, libraries and more.
This is especially critical for Columbus City Schools officials as they face a $50 million deficit and scramble to make cuts. The district is considering closing more buildings and cutting high school busing to make up the difference.
Columbus City Council candidates Jesse Vogel and Tiara Ross have both criticized tax abatements, including on a recent episode of All Sides with Amy Juravich.
Vogel has said he would vote no on tax abatements more often than the current city council. Vogel also wants to utilize the ability to claw back funds more often. Tax abatements are given oversight by the TIRC, but city council ultimately votes whether to approve a claw back.
"The truth is that what we need to know when any of these companies is coming before council is, is this something the market can provide on its own? And if that's the case, there's no role for a tax abate to address that need," Vogel said.
Ross, who has been endorsed by all of the current city council and Mayor Ginther, also wants more oversight. She said in a recent interview with All Sides that tax abatements are an effective tool, but will vote no if it's needed.
"Sometimes a 'no' vote helps to encourage conversation that may not have happened sometimes a no vote brings transparency to the community as well and maybe I vote 'yes' but also say we need be more transparent about this process," Ross said.
Multiple Columbus City Schools candidates have expressed a desire to let the school district have more of a say in tax abatements.
Stevens said he believes the city already does a good job of letting elected officials have a say in city policy.
When an agreement is over 10 years or 75% of taxes, the Columbus City School Board and other taxing agencies get a say.
Stevens said they often stay below this threshold to avoid involving the other agencies.
Motil said the city is overstepping and giving too many abatements to developers. He said it鈥檚 having negative effects on the city and there鈥檚 no need for them.
Motil said developers, at times, don鈥檛 deliver on their promises.
星空无限传媒 asked him about the East Market Trolley District Project, which he has been critical of in the past.
Motil said he likes what Developer Brad DeHays has done on historic preservation to restore the Trolley District on the Near East Side. But Motil said the development has failed to deliver on promises to provide fresh food options in the East Market.
The East Market once had a fresh food stall to help fill a gap in a food insecure part of Columbus, but that stall has since closed.
鈥淭hey promised the world how they were going to cure diabetes and everything under the sun because of the trolley center. But it really doesn't seem like it's taken off like they would hope," Motil said.
DeHays declined an interview with 星空无限传媒.
Stevens said there is a misconception that these tools have proliferated and are overused. He called their use "de minimis."
鈥淭hey鈥檙e rarely used, were selective in how we deploy them and it really has a high value," Stevens said.
Stevens said the candidates who want more oversight mean well. He said he welcomes dialogue on how to improve the process.
鈥淚 think there always needs to be a check and a balance on how these tools are utilized. And so I'm always happy to have that conversation, but the conversation needs to be a full conversation," Stevens said.
Stevens argues that without the abatements, these developments wouldn鈥檛 happen. Motil disagrees and said Columbus is in one of the most attractive places to build in the United States.
He said that's due to location, access to utilities, cost of living and more.
鈥淭hese decisions are made based on other factors. And it's not about the tax abatement. And people need to get that out of their stinking minds," Motil said.
Election Day is on Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether the candidates that win in the city council and school board races push for change once they take office.
For more on the Election, take a look at the 星空无限传媒 voter guide.
