Ohio AG, Youngstown school officials sorting out who decides abatement request

YOUNGSTOWN

Who will make the decision about the tax abatement request for a downtown hotel is undetermined.

“We are looking into the issue,” said Krish Mohip, district chief executive officer. “The legislation is not 100 percent clear, and we want to make sure we get it right.”

Regardless of who makes the final decision, either Mohip or the school board, he said he wants to work collaboratively with the board.

A company planning to convert a downtown landmark into a hotel seeks a 15-year, 100 percent tax abatement.

Brenda Kimble, school board president, said that the board will make the decision about the tax abatement requested by Dominic Marchionda of NYO Property Group. “It’s in the statute that it’s the board that has to make the decision,” she said.

Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office, said he couldn’t comment about the specific situation in Youngstown.

House Bill 70 created a new city schools academic distress commission, which appointed the CEO,

“In general, it does not look like the state statute grants that power to either the CEO or the academic distress commission,” Tierney said.

For more on the situation, read Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.