Village fears closure of college will mean a loss of tax revenue

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio — This struggling village near Dayton will lose about $140,000 in income tax revenue when Antioch College closes next year, officials said.

The village government expects to lose $100,000 in income tax collection when the private liberal arts college in southwest Ohio closes in July 2008 due to lack of money, village administrator Eric Swansen said.

The village raises about $1.25 million each year from a 1.5 percent income tax, Swansen said.

The village general fund budget is about $1.5 million, he said.

“It’s obviously a concern that is going to have to be addressed,” said councilwoman Karen Wintrow.

The town is already struggling to keep up with growing expenses and aging infrastructure, and the revenue loss could hurt village amenities such as the park system and public pools, Wintrow said.

If all 160 employees and 300 students leave town next spring, the Yellow Springs Exempted Village School District stands to lose an additional $40,000 in income taxes, a much smaller portion of their $7.3 million operating budget, Superintendent Norm Glismann said.

Antioch College, founded in 1852, is the flagship for Antioch University, which has five other campuses in Ohio and on the East and West coasts.

School officials want to restructure the school, upgrade facilities and reopen in 2012.