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Officials have mixed feelings about tax sharing

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August 9, 2007

by Emily Canning-Dean

Reporter

Bedford -- When the city signed an agreement with the Cleveland Division of Water last week, it was a step toward regionalism.

According to the agreement, the city will receive a discounted rate on water purchased from Cleveland.

In return, if a business with a payroll of $500,000 or higher moves from Cleveland to Bedford, or vice versa, the cities will share half the income taxes for five years.

But even though Bedford City Manager Bob Reid said he believes the agreement with Cleveland is a good one, he said he doesn't know how far he wants to take tax sharing with other communities in the region.

"The idea of tax sharing is still in its infancy and I think there could be a lot of issues," he said.

eid said he thinks tax sharing with other communities in Northeast Ohio might not be fair for communities that work hard to attract businesses.

"And I believe Bedford does work hard at economic development," he said. "We don't go stealing businesses from other communities in Ohio, but sometimes we have businesses come to us because they have heard we are a business-friendly government."

Reid said that would mean Bedford could end up sharing taxes with a community that the business voluntarily left, meaning the other community perhaps didn't do much work but would reap the benefits of the tax sharing.

Yet Reid admits that tax sharing could benefit the region as a whole.

"When it comes to bringing businesses from other states to Northeast Ohio, I think it would make us more competitive," the city manager said.

The Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Managers Association is conducting a study and expects to make recommendations regarding tax sharing by March.

Bedford Mayor Dan Pocek said a lot of factors must be determined before a tax sharing plan can be set up in the region.

"First, we need to determine the region," he said.

"Some say it is seven counties. I say it is 17. I also think we should bring in an independent consultant to negotiate agreements," the mayor said.

But whatever the region's leaders decide, Pocek said regionalization needs to start soon.

"We need to get it going so we can become a more competitive economy," Pocek said.

E-mail: ecanning@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3166




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