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Proposed tax-sharing figures provided by school district and village
By Ed Runyan
LORDSTOWN
If all the approvals are granted in the coming weeks for the proposed 1.25 million-square-foot TJX/HomeGoods distribution center for Ellsworth Bailey Road, Lordstown schools stand to gain about $400,000 in tax revenue each of the next 10 years.
The village will receive about $150,000 per year for 10 years, according to numbers generated by school district and village officials.
One hurdle for the project comes tonight, when village council is expected to vote on whether to approve a 75 percent, 10-year property-tax abatement the company has requested. If council approves the abatement, it goes to Trumbull County commissioners for final approval.
A tax abatement, also known as an enterprise-zone agreement, is a way to encourage development by offering taxes to a company lower than it might pay elsewhere.
The company said in October the enterprise-zone agreement is needed for the Lordstown site to be “competitive with other alternative sites being considered.”
Through the abatement, the company would receive lower property taxes. It would not reduce the income taxes paid by workers during construction and after the facility opens. The company estimates it will employ 600 people in 2022, rising to 1,000 in 2024.
The village and Lordstown schools have worked out a side agreement that does not affect how much TJX/HomeGoods will pay, only how the village and school district will divide income-tax revenue.
The agreement allows the village to collect income taxes on the first $1 million of wages each year. The village and school district will split in half income taxes on wages above $1 million.
TJX/HomeGoods says the warehouse is expected to have an annual payroll of $27 million and cost $140 million to $170 million to build.
After a few adjustments were made to the agreement at the last village council meeting Dec. 17, Lordstown Schools Superintendent Terry Armstrong provided information to clarify revenue amounts the school district and village will receive in the agreement.
The school district will get most of the additional property taxes resulting from the project. The village collects income taxes.
Regardless of the agreement between the village and school district, the 75 percent property-tax abatement will save the company $439,264 per year, Armstrong said.
Without the abatement, the warehouse would generate $1,002,822 in property and income taxes. With the abatement, it will generate $563,558 per year in property and income taxes, Armstrong said.
After the 10 years of abatements are over, the school district will receive 100 percent of the property taxes – $680,982 per year, Armstrong says. The village stands to get about $270,000 per year of income taxes after the first 10 years.
HomeGoods also has offered to give the school district a one-time payment of $500,000 for school-security upgrades such as metal detectors and construction of an athletic building.