Union Twp. approves tax break for business expansion

UNION TWP – . A township trustee elected after saying he opposed many economic-development initiatives widely used by local governments recently agreed to support a tax incentive for a business expansion.

But John McGraw, who joined the Union Township Board of Trustees in January and now serves as board chairman, said at a July 10 trustees meeting that he was signing off on a proposed 10-year, 60-percent abatement of taxes on new (not existing) investments for the General Data Co. because the business plans to create 60 new jobs at its manufacturing operations at 4043 McMann Road in the township and because the abatement agreement includes safeguards for the township.

“I think it’s important that people understand exactly what this will provide for the community,” McGraw said.

The agreement involves a Clermont County “Rural Enterprise Zone” program and will actually be between the Clermont County Board of Commissioners and General Data, which is headquartered at 4354 Ferguson Drive in Union Township.

Township Administrator Ken Geis said the county has taken the stance that it will not approve abatements without the consent of affected community governments.

Union Township Vice Chairman Lloyd Acres and Trustee Matthew Beamer joined McGraw in voting for the agreement, in which General Data plans to construct a nearly 60,000-square-foot building on McMann Road and retain 15 current jobs along with creating the new ones.

The company describes itself as an innovator and provider of labeling, identification, tracking and printer goods and services.

General Data has sales and service locations throughout the United States and opened in Union Township in 1994.

“This is a great success story for Union Township,” Geis said.

“General Data came to Union Township when the Ferguson-Aicholtz (Road) area was nothing and they were the pioneers in that area and they really were the foundation for what we have today in the Ferguson development as well as Ivy Pointe.

“Without their investment in that area, that very well could still be a cornfield or a soybean field today,” Geis said.

Despite Data General President Peter Wenzel being able to locate his business just about anywhere, he has expanded operations in Union Township several times, Geis said.

“He’s been recognized in various magazines and various other business venues for operating a very productive business and we’re very fortunate to have (the business) in Union Township,” Geis said.

“The residual impact of his development in our community is immense and it’s really is as great as any other company.”

During his campaign for a trustee’s seat last year, McGraw said he opposed tax-increment financing (TIFs), which allow governments to temporarily use money that otherwise would have been collected in taxes on property improvements to pay for public infrastructure around the property.

McGraw said he also opposed joint economic-development districts (JEDDs) and joint economic-development zones (JEDZs), which allow townships - prohibited in Ohio from collecting income taxes - to partner with cities or villages to levy business-related taxes in township commercial areas and split the proceeds with the cities or villages.

When the Ohio Legislature recently outlawed expanding existing joint economic-development zones or creating new ones come Jan. 1, McGraw was one of the few elected officials to welcome the change.

“I think joint economic-development zones were being used by cities and townships to grab tax dollars for general spending and not being used for the economic development that they promised,” McGraw said then.

In response to a question by McGraw at the July 10 Union Township Board of Trustees meeting, Geis said “the ultimate safeguard in this agreement is that if Mr. Wenzel doesn’t perform, he doesn’t get an abatement.”

“As you know, Mr. McGraw, we have a tax-incentive review council that evaluates all of the incentive agreements every year,” Geis said.

“(General Data) is required to perform and provide a detailed explanation of their progress toward the estimated incentive agreements that are presented in this resolution.”

Want to know more about what is happening in Union Township? Follow me on Twitter @jeannehouck.