A township or village may request the County Commissioners designate their respective jurisdiction as an Enterprise Zone (EZ).  The EZ shall follow the corporate boundaries of the township or village.  Any tax benefits shall conform to these guidelines and be applied equitably to any jurisdiction with an adopted Enterprise Zone.  Holmes County reserves 90 days to approve any request for the creation of an Enterprise Zone.

Holmes County and the designated village / township can grant real and/or personal property tax exemptions within its certified enterprise zone of up to 50% for personal property and 25% of real property as based upon the value of the proposed project.  The term of these incentives can be for up to ten years.  The maximum incentive may be increased if a shorter term is        requested and approved by the County Commissioners and the township board of trustees /    village council, i.e. 50% over 5 years.  The maximum total tax benefit shall not exceed 25% over 10 years for real property and 50% over 10 years for personal property.

A sliding scale based on the level of investment shall be used for applicants that wish to exceed a 25% tax benefit for personal property.  The total projected investment may occur over multiple years so long as the investment occurs within a 4 year time period from the initial awarding of the Enterprise Zone benefits.  The scale is as follows:

(C) Holmes County Guidelines

The following items shall be used to determine whether to approve a proposed incentive application.

1)      Applicant shall meet all requirements, as applicable, within the Holmes County Guidelines for Enterprise Zones.  Note: Specific terms are identified within the final contract between the corporation and applicable governmental agencies.

2)      The applicant’s proposed new business or business expansion shall not pose any significant environmental or safety hazard to the community.

3)      The applicant allows local suppliers and service providers to compete fairly to supply goods and services to the business.

4)      Holmes County supports its local industrial base and will give priority consideration in offering Enterprise Zone benefits to corporations that have operated in Holmes County for the past 5 years.

5)      The proposed investment or expansion of either real or personal property shall be substantial and at a minimum be greater than a $1,000,000 total investment in real and personal property. 

6)      New or relocating companies having no operations within the county for the past five years shall create a minimum of 25 new jobs.  If agreed upon by the participating local government jurisdictions, the job creation requirement may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis when the total investment in real and personal property exceeds $10,000,000.  Existing companies that have operated in the county for the past 5 years may apply for EZ benefits based upon job creation or retention.

7)      The use of long term temporary positions (greater than 1 year) shall be strongly discouraged.  Temporary positions shall not be used to calculate the total number of jobs created or retained.  The company shall report annually the total percentage of temporary employees used in new and existing facilities operated within the county.

8)      Projects shall meet the stated job creation or retention goals within a 2-year time period from the start of operations unless an alternative time frame is approved by the TIRC and the affected local jurisdictions.

9)      New companies shall maintain a minimum of 90% of full time equivalents (FTE) projected on EZ application.

10)  Health care benefits shall be made available to eligible full time employees.  A description of these benefits shall be reported annually to the county.  In some cases, a health care stipend may be paid to employees in lieu of health benefits.

11)  The minimum starting salary for employees shall be no less than $8.25 per hour.  

12)  The Enterprise Zone benefit for existing companies shall not reduce the company’s local taxes below the amount paid in the last preceding tax year and as certified by the Holmes County Auditor. 

13)  Businesses entering into an Enterprise Zone Agreement for real and/or personal property tax incentives shall contact the County Auditor and file the appropriate forms before the project begins.

14)  Applications may be rejected if it is determined that a proposed new company is in direct competition with an existing Holmes County business.

15)  The county may require a direct payment to an affected school district to offset any loss of funding resulting from the Enterprise Zone agreement.  Any direct payment is based upon a side agreement to the EZ and is between the company and the school district.

(D) Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC)

The Holmes County Commissioners and the participating village council or township board of trustees shall appoint a TIRC.  Appointments are made annually and shall be as follows.

(1)            Holmes County Commissioners (or designee)                3 appointments

Village Council / Township Trustees  (or designee)                     2 appts.

Holmes County Auditor (or designee)                                 1 appointment

                                Board of Education Member (or designee)                                  1 appt.

(2)        The TIRC shall select a chairman that shall serve as the EZ Manager.  A vice-chairman shall also be appointed to serve in the absence of the chairman.

(E) Monitoring Compliance

During the incentive period, the Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC) shall audit the business at least annually with respect to its investment, job creation/retention goals and payments to school districts.  Payroll and other business records necessary to conduct a fair review of such performance shall be made available to the Council at the Holmes County Commissioner’s office during normal business hours.  The TIRC shall make a recommendation to the County Commissioners, village council / township trustees and recommend reduction or termination of benefits if the business is not in compliance with these guidelines.  The County Commissioners and the village council / township trustees are the final determining body as to any reduction or termination of benefits.

(F) Termination

Based upon a recommendation by the TIRC, agreements will be modified or terminated by the County Commissioners and village council / township board of trustees as a result of any of the following conditions.  The affected local governments may also recoup up to the full value of the awarded enterprise zone benefit for failure to comply with the agreements.

1.      Misrepresentation of any material facts in the application for Enterprise Zone incentives.

2.      Significant failure to achieve investment and job creation goals as contained in the agreement.

3.      Failure to comply with requests for monitoring data necessary to allow the Tax Incentive Review Council to evaluate compliance with the terms of the agreement.

4.      Subsequent transfer of jobs to employment areas outside Holmes County.

5.      Significant and final adjudicated violations of criminal, labor, or environmental laws.

6.      Failure to pay the monitoring fees pursuant to paragraph G.

7.      Agreements, which grant Enterprise Zone Tax Benefits, will automatically terminate for failure to pay obligations to the school district as set forth in the agreement.

(G) Recoupment

EZ tax incentives are created for the purpose of encouraging economic development and to increase the employment base within Holmes County.  Companies that move during or within one year after the close of the exemption period shall be responsible for repayment of all monetary benefit resulting from participating in the EZ Program.

(H) Application and Monitoring Fee

Businesses that are granted a tax abatement shall be assessed an annual fee equal to the greater of 1% of the taxes saved or $500, up to a maximum of $2,500 per year, to provide for the cost of monitoring and record keeping.  Additionally, a one-time application fee of $500 shall be paid to the state when the application is submitted.

(I) Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions of any agreement between the county, village, or township and the applicant shall be embodied in a written, enforceable contract.