Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

I've contacted Barbara Curtiss & will be able to ''see the math'' by Mid-Dec.

My question was,''What are the total tax dollars from current assets lost from Schools to the infrastructure of the TIF's ?''

The Marcus Theater TIF has been around long enough to use as an example of any $'s that would be lost due to the TIF less the gift given to the schools.

We need to be smart about attracting commercial business & the impact it has on our schools.

It is possible to create a TIF for area businesses if the entities involved in the agreement choose not to use the taxes that would go to the schools as part of the ''service payments'' in which case the schools would receive tax dollars on the increased value of the improvements.

Will keep you posted.

Complexities of Truth about TIFs

The truth about TIFs is complicated.

Whenever a new property goes on the tax rolls, the state of Ohio deducts from the school district's state aid an amount equal to the taxable value of the property times 23 mills. Because some school districts (our own included) do not collect operating millage at that high a rate, a school district can actually lose more state assistance than it gains local operating revenues when a new property is added to the tax rolls. This is what is sometimes termed ''phantom revenue.''

However, when a property is ''TIF'd''. it does not go on the tax rolls (until the TIF expires). Thus the school district does not lose any state aid and, at least in terms of operating revenues, may actually come out somewhat ahead.

But there still is no free lunch. The primary purpose of TIFs is to divert local property tax revenues (most of which are school tax revenues) to road improvements and the like (which, in many cases, otherwise would have been underwritten by the developer). These lost school tax revenues must be made up by some one. If they are not made up locally, they are made up by the state, and we wind up footing the bill for them as state taxpayers.

Moreover, a TIF's impact is very different on bond millage. If a property is TIF'd, and is not placed on the tax roll, then the school district collects no bond millage on the property. This lost bond millage is not made up by additional state aid. This means that the rate at which the bond millage is collected will be higher for everyone. This higher rate, moreover, will apply to residents of the township just as much as to residents of the city. Thus it can cause township residents, in effect, to subsidize city improvements.

The impact for a single TIF is probably too slight to be noticed by most taxpayers (although it would be nice to have some numbers). The cumulative impact of many TIFs, however, could be quite significant.

Without TIFs, commercial development can significantly increase a school district's ability to finance new schools. There is no ''phantom revenue'' problem for bond millage. With TIFs, that benefit is largely lost.

TIFs have never made much sense to me. The state TIF statute essentially enables developers to pit localities against each other. I would love to see the statute repealed or strictly limited to economically depressed communities, urban renewal zones and the like. TIFs may make some sense for communities who want to attract commercial development for reasons other than increasing commercial tax revenues. Some communities do want commercial development for jobs and urban renewal.

However, since we want commercial development primarily to provide tax revenues for our schools, it makes little sense to give up those revenues in order to get that development. That seems self-defeating. I also think that the TIF statute is open to abuse and, indeed, believe that it has been abused in Pickerington.


By Bruce Rigelman

Difference between res v. com

Dr. Rigelman


I think there is something in your statement that I would like you to expand on. You state that when ?“property goes on the tax rolls, the state of Ohio deducts from the school district?’s state aid an amount equal to the taxable value of the property times 23 mills.?” I have wondered this for sometime now because I have tried to figure out the funding formula from the state. I noticed that you did not state COMERCIAL property. I have never found anywhere in the state?’s formula where they differentiate between commercial and residential properties.

So if the city or township brings onto the tax rolls residential homes, then the value this residential property will also be deducted from the school district?’s budget using the same formula that Dr. Rigelman stated above. Is this a true statement?


By Dr. Pepper

Answer to Dr. Pepper


Again it's a complicated story.

In calculating the total amount of state aid a school district receives each year, the state first calculates the district's ''Formula Average Daily Membership,'' which consists of the district's total enrollment and certain adjustments. At present, Pickerington's Formula ADM is 7,502.57.

The state then multiplies this times $4,814. This is the amount that the legislature currently assumes should suffice to provide an adequate education. I believe, in fact, that this is an inadequate amount, and that basing state assistance on this amount results, in some cases, in underfunding of schools and, in other cases, in excessive reliance on local property taxes. In any case, it is more than $1,500 less than Pickerington currently spends per pupil.

The state next multiples the result times an adjustment factor of 1.0354. In Pickerington's case, this yields $37,395,926.95.

The state then deducts from this sum an amount that is the product of the school district's ''Adjusted Recognized Valuation'' times 23 mills. ''Adjusted Recognized Valuation'' is calculated by taking the total assessed valuation of all taxable property in the school district (which, in Pickerington's case, is $630,590,627). This includes all taxable property, commercial as well as residential real property, as well as taxable personal property.

If (as in Pickerington's case) the value of the district's property has been updated or reappraised during the past three years, a portion of any increase in that value that is due solely to inflaction is deducted and, for certain districts, certain further adjustments are made. The result is the school district's ''Adjusted Recognized Valuation.'' Pickerington's current Adjusted Recognized Valuation is $628,202,410.

Multiplying this amount by 23 mills, in Pickerington's case, yields $14,448,655.43. This is presumed by the state to be our local share of the cost of providing our kids an adequate education, and is deducted by the state in calculating the state's share. In Pickerington's case, the state's share for the current school year is $22,947,271.

The state then adds in further assistance for transportation, special education and certain other items. In Pickerington's case, this results in state aid for the current school year that currently is projected to total $25,147,794, or slightly less than half of the district's total operating budget.

I hope this is helpful.



By Bruce Rigelman