Village officials are considering another economic development tool as they work toward the creation of a Plain City Community Improvement Corporation (CIC).
During their most recent work session, Development Manager Jason Stanford told council members that he feels it is “definitely time for us to explore this, and I hope we will.”
“I think we’re definitely ready to move on a CIC,” he said.
Stanford said a CIC would set a strong foundation for future growth, and help the village achieve immediate goals of remedying utility issues and identifying sites for development.
He explained to council that CICs are quasi-governmental nonprofit corporations that are allowed by Ohio law.
They are created primarily for economic development purposes and have specific powers to achieve those goals.
There are more than 300 CICs in Ohio – including for Union and Madison counties – many of which are the primary agency that promotes economic development in their jurisdictions, including facilitating tax abatements and incentives, Stanford said.
“It is a very powerful arm for Union County and I could see that happening here,” Council Member Jim Eudaily said.
Among the powers of CICs established by the Ohio Revised Code are the abilities to provide loans to individuals for businesses, to apply for and administer grants and to enter into contracts with federal, state and local governments.
He said the power that would be most used in Plain City would be its ability to buy, lease or sell real or personal property.
For instance, CICs can purchase parcels from a third party, then sell them to a developer for a specific economic development purpose. The funds generated by a sale or lease can be deposited into the local government’s general fund.
“Instead of the village purchasing the land, the CIC does,” Eudaily said.
Stanford agreed, adding that “this is probably where we’re headed pretty quickly in Plain City.”
While CICs are granted certain powers, they do have limitations.
Stanford explained that they cannot exercise eminent domain or levy taxes, and can only recommend tax abatements to council.
Stanford said he hoped to have a resolution to authorize the creation of a CIC before council at its next meeting.
Several council members, though, said they feel more research needs to be done first.
“I’m very glad to see us going in this direction,” said Council Member Frank Reed, but added that he needed “a whole lot more specifics before I would vote for a resolution to authorize a CIC.”
Council Member Michael Terry agreed.
“I think we have to assume it’s not going to be the next council meeting” when we vote on a resolution, he said.
Both Reed and Terry took issue with the proposed Board of Directors, though for slightly different reasons.
Stanford proposed that the CIC Board of Directors would be comprised of seven members: the village mayor, village administrator, village fiscal officer and development manager, along with three at-large members that are not village officials or employees.
The village officials and employees could also be represented by their designees instead, and would not be subject to term limits.
At large-members would serve up to two four-year terms and are cannot serve again unless there is a one-year break in between.
Reed said he feels the village needs to be heavily represented on the Board of Directors, worrying that the CIC could otherwise take action that does not align with Plain City’s economic development strategy.
“My vision of the makeup of the CIC Board is way different than what we see on the paper here,” he said.
Stanford said the initial agency agreement between the CIC and the village would dictate things like how members could be removed and how to remove funding.
Terry said he understood Reed’s concerns, but “my concerns over going rogue with this makeup (of the board) is very minimal.”
Still, Terry said he felt the CIC Board of Directors should be expanded to include members of the village’s newly formed Economic Development Committee (EDC).
“I don’t want to duplicate roles and have the Economic Development Committee and CIC doing the exact same thing,” he said.
Eudaily said, if the roles were overlapping, it could be difficult for residents to understand why council would choose to disband the Economic Development Committee shortly after it was formed.
Council President James Sintz said it could be as simple as, “We started where we could start and now we’re growing.”
Stanford said he sees the two entities as serving different roles, as the EDC is currently focused on understanding the current climate for businesses and helping those that are here, while the CIC is more project based.
Ultimately, Terry said it is clear to him that council has too many “open questions” to move forward with authorizing the creation of a CIC at its next meeting, but he would like to continue discussing the matter.
“This up front work matters,” he said.