Lordstown council OKs TJX/Home Goods tax abatement 4-1

LORDSTOWN

Village council approved the TJX/Home Goods tax abatement 4-1 tonight, sending it forward to the Trumbull County commissioners to give the final OK.

It is expected that the commissioners will review and approve the 10-year, 75-percent enterprise zone agreement in the coming weeks.

The discussion before the vote included remarks by Councilman Robert Bond regarding the success nearby Jackson Township in Mahoning County has had in attracting business without tax abatements.

Bond was the lone no vote, but Councilwoman Karen Jones, who has also voted no with Bond on most matters involving the abatement, said she believes members of the Lordstown School board are mostly in favor, so she changed her vote to yes.

Council also approved a revenue-sharing agreement with the Lordstown Schools that provides the schools with additional income taxes than they would have ordinarily gotten. The abatement reduces property taxes HomeGoods will pay by 75 percent. Property tax abatements affect the schools more than the village.

HomeGoods is proposing a 1.2 million-square foot distribution center on Ellsworth Bailey Road. At a meeting Friday, a HomeGoods official said the company want to break ground as soon as March 1.