Wooster City Council discusses TIF proposal

While four resolutions and an ordinance were approved at its May 18 meeting, Wooster City Council spent much of the meeting on an ordinance that wasn’t adopted.

The ordinance, which stayed on first reading, deals with the improvement of certain parcels within the city, an area referenced as “South Market Street TIF.”

TIF stands for tax increment financing, a localized public financing method used by cities and municipalities to fund redevelopment, infrastructure and community improvement projects.

“This might look familiar for some of you, as this was part of the many TIFs that we voted no on,” said council member Michael Abernathy Jr., to lead off the discussion of the ordinance. “But this one is coming back as an individual. We have a 10-year TIF for $506,000. It is part of a $1.75 million project for Streetscape, where Apple Creek Bank is planning to build a new corporate office. They are obviously going to add some new jobs and some new payroll.”

Abernathy said there has been some confusion from the public about what this TIF is, adding, “This is not a tax abatement. The property owners are actually paying the taxes. This is a reallocation of where tax money goes. Rather than the tax money going to the county right away, the city gets a chance for a period of 10 years to use it for infrastructure projects. The schools still get a portion of it. This is not a multimillion-dollar TIF. This is a very small TIF for a smaller project downtown [a little less than 29% of the total project].”

Because he said TIFs are a touchy subject in the city, Abernathy said it is something they “should definitely have a little bit of discussion about.” That’s why Abernathy said he decided to keep it on first reading so it can be reviewed further at future regular meetings, the next scheduled one being June 1, followed by a June 15 meeting.

Council also kept another resolution introduced at the meeting on first reading: providing for the annual tax budget for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

Council approved four resolutions to:

—Petition the Board of County Commissioners of Wayne County for a change of township lines to conform with the corporation limits of the city of Wooster after the city’s recently annexed 245.868-acre Graham Farm Site, surrounding the western extents of Silver Road. Change of township lines lowers property tax rates for future residents in the district to the same level as most other places in the city and enables long-term property tax revenue sustainability.

—Allow the mayor to submit an application to the state of Ohio Department of Development Office of Community Infrastructure for a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant program for a grant to continue the expansion of its WAYGO transportation program’s demand-response service for elderly and disabled Wooster residents.

—OK grants for economic development purposes of three competitive bed tax grants to: Wayne County Fair for the final phase of fencing replacement along Old Lincoln Way, including the entrance gate; Alice Noble Ice Arena for updates to arena capital assets: rental skates, Zamboni overhaul, ice paint and installation, and new hockey nets; and Ohio Light Opera for replacement of steps and handicap-accessible improvements.

—Purchase a new EMS ambulance for the Fire Division.

The ordinance adopted was amending an earlier tax-incentive ordinance by assigning an Enterprise Zone Agreement to Triple J 1909 LLC and Compark LLC. Before coming to the city, Triple J acquired the project site from Baker Properties, which received tax incentives in the earlier ordinance.

“No real damage was done,” said Abernathy, explaining the reason for the ordinance amendment. “They are going to keep all the jobs as part of the Enterprise Zone. Thirty-seven jobs are staying in Wooster. Compak is already party to the agreement, and the Wooster Tax Incentive Review Council has recommended we move forward with this. I essentially don’t see any downside. Triple J is being traded in, and Baker Properties is being traded out.”

The meeting began with a presentation from officials of the city’s new homeless shelter, Homeward Bound, which opened in February. They highlighted many of the successes of the nonprofit facility during its first year of service, including less of a presence of homeless people downtown; a day program; serving almost 20,000 meals; offering 3,150 showers, 1,400 loads of laundry and other hygiene services; and 1,300 volunteer hours.