The Toledo Blade
By TOM TROY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Article published Friday, March 26, 2004
Regional sharing of taxes from metropolitan growth was enacted in Minnesota's Twin Cities 32 years ago - and hardly anywhere else since.
But all of a sudden, it's a hot topic in Ohio.
The idea of "tax-base sharing" surfaced repeatedly during a day-long regional hearing yesterday in Monclova Township. The hearing was sponsored by the state House of Representatives' subcommittee on land use and growth, of which state Rep. Peter Ujvagi (D., Toledo) is a member.
Six state representatives and about 70 spectators and panelists attended the meeting, which was held in the Monclova Community Center.
"The only way to be regional is to have shared tax," state Rep. Kathleen Chandler (D., Portage County) said. "Otherwise, we're always competing."
Seven Minnesota counties around Minneapolis and St. Paul share 40 percent of new property taxes generated from new commercial and industrial development. The system has been in place since 1972, said Tom Luce, a research director for Minneapolis-based Ameregis, Inc., a planning consultant firm.
He said it could work for the greater Toledo area, even though city and village governments here rely on income, rather than property taxes.
"A pooled regional income tax is a way to bring the townships in because they don't have the power to collect income tax," Mr. Luce said. Subcommittee chairman Rep. Larry Wolpert (R., Hilliard) said tax sharing has been brought up in Cleveland and Cincinnati, and could be approved by the next General Assembly.
He said he will support legislation enabling communities to share taxes and otherwise cooperate.
"For me, this is all about giving the right tools for cities, villages, and townships," Mr. Wolpert said. He said the population of Ohio's townships grew by 244,000 people in the 1990s, and now outnumbers the total population of Toledo and the state's seven other largest cities.
The new 579-acre joint economic development zone involving Toledo, Maumee, and Monclova Township is an example of how cooperation can replace self-destructive competition, officials said.
The zone was created in the last two years, following years of legal battles over 1,200 acres in Monclova Township that the city of Toledo secretly had purchased.
"There were 10 years in which two municipalities were fighting over township land," said Keith Trettin, a member of the JEDZ board and a Monclova Township trustee. "The JEDZ has allowed us to keep this land in Monclova Township, and share in the revenues we would not otherwise have."
Michael Beazley, clerk of Toledo City Council and the co-author of a study last year that found Toledo residents pay a disproportionate share of taxes in Lucas County, suggested the JEDZ as a regional blueprint.
"Maybe we can apply the income tax to new growth in industrial development and share it with the region," he said.
Keith Wilkowski, a former Toledo law director and Lucas County commissioner, told the subcommittee that the JEDZ could end annexation battles.
"We have an opportunity for coordinated marketing instead of a completely competitive environment," Mr. Wilkowski said. "People are beginning to recognize the problem of unchecked growth."
One weakness of the JEDZ law, he said, is it doesn't allow for sharing real estate taxes.
Julie Olberding, who represents a civic organization in Cincinnati, said tax-base sharing has been discussed by the city and Hamilton County since 2001, but so far no specific legislation has been endorsed.
"Elected leaders on both sides of the aisle recognize there is a need for something different because of the economic stagnation of Hamilton County," Dr. Olberding said.
Mr. Luce, Mr. Wolpert, and Mr. Ujvagi will be guests on The Editors, a television program airing tonight at 8:30 on WGTE-TV Channel 30 and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on WBGU-TV Channel 27.