Sales tax, business, turnpike discussed

The Wood County sales tax, new businesses in the area, and possible privatization of the Ohio Turnpike were among topics brought up during a recent economic development discussion in Perrysburg.

Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown, Perrysburg Mayor Nelson Evans, and Perrysburg Township Trustee Bob Mack spoke recently to about 60 people during the monthly Perrysburg Area Chamber of Commerce meeting .

Mr. Brown said that even though the county revenue has been cut about $1 million a year because of state funding cuts and lower collections from property taxes, the county board is not seeking to raise the 1 percent sales tax, one of the lowest rates in the state.

"We think everything we can do to make ourselves competitive as a county is important," he told the group of elected officials and business leaders at the Carranor Hunt and Polo Club.

In 2011, the sales tax generated $16.39 million, a 6 percent increase from 2010.

Mr. Brown also spoke against Gov. John Kasich's proposal to lease the Ohio Turnpike to help pay for repairs to Ohio's crumbling roads and infrastructure. He said that because no taxpayer money has gone into the turnpike, state leaders do not have the right to "do with it as they please."

"It certainly isn't fair to take an asset that we've paid for in northwest Ohio and spend the money in other parts of the state," he said.

Mayor Evans said the city of Perrysburg has suffered $1.5 million a year in state funding cuts. But, he said, the city has paid off all $6 million of its general fund debt in the past six years, has set up a low-interest revolving loan fund with $600,000 to help local businesses, and has started a rainy-day fund.

"The city is on solid ground," he said.

Mr. Mack noted that several new businesses, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Tim Hortons, and Chick-fil-A restaurants, have opened in the busy commercial strip on Fremont Pike in Perrysburg Township.

Mr. Mack also praised the township police for breaking up what he called the third-largest gift-card crime ring in the history of retail loss prevention.

In September, 68 people, most of whom were from northwest Ohio, were indicted on 174 charges in the theft of about $90,000 in gift cards and merchandise from big-box retailers in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.

The six-month police investigation was recently featured at the National Retail Federation conference in Las Vegas, Mr. Mack said.