Former Hudson Mayor William Currin’s community is well off. But he also knows that the sum of a region is only as strong as its individual parts.
For that reason, Currin continues to hope that the Regional Prosperity Initiative, a tax-sharing plan he first championed more than 15 years ago, still has a chance of becoming reality.
Inspired by a successful model in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota, the proposal calls for pooling and redistributing a portion of income-tax gains from new growth across 16 counties in Northeast Ohio. It is important to note that communities’ participation would be voluntary.
The plan recognizes that the fates of communities in Northeast Ohio are intertwined. Goals would include coordinating development, which would preserve green space and save on taxpayer-funded costs for infrastructure. Revenue sharing also could keep cities from battling each other for jobs, jobs that sometimes relocate from elsewhere in the region.
Currin said that, as Hudson’s mayor, he witnessed the infighting firsthand.
“There was so much competition for every little scrap of development,” he said. “Sometimes companies just threw up their hands; they were just being bombarded. We lost a lot of opportunities.”
Retired Cleveland State University Professor Thomas Bier, an expert on housing dynamics and other regional trends, says tax sharing could help energize Northeast Ohio’s struggling economy. In an op-ed that The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com published last year, he said communities that experienced growth in their tax bases under such an arrangement would retain most of their gains while pooling and sharing a portion with others that have less or no growth.
“Over time, a jurisdiction can shift between being a contributor and receiver, while all places gain wherever growth is located,” he wrote. “The system fosters cooperation, lessens tax-base disparities between communities and aligns local decision-making with the region’s overall future.”
Currin led the push for tax sharing while serving as chairman of the Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Managers Association. The association launched the initiative with the Fund for Our Economic Future and other philanthropic groups concerned about the region’s economic and environmental health. A number of cities contributed as well.
Tax sharing would require approval from the Ohio General Assembly. A Regional Economic Development Alliance Study Committee, made up of legislators, planning experts, state officials and economic development professionals, submitted a proposal in late 2019. It went nowhere.
“The leadership has to be willing to allow it,” said committee co-chair Stephen Hambley, who was then serving as a state representative in Medina County and is now a Medina County commissioner. “It didn’t take off.”
Hambley, a Republican, said that while no public entities in his district expressed interest at the time, he continues to favor giving communities the option of sharing taxes. He said pressures that include the aging of the population, roads and sewers might give communities reason to rethink the way they do business.
Another committee member, then-State Rep. John Rogers, had previously served as mayor of Mentor-on-the Lake in Lake County and knew what it was like to lead a small bedroom community with a limited budget and no room to grow. He was disappointed that legislative leaders did not take up the cause.
“It’s good legislation,” said Rogers, a Democrat. “You’re nurturing an environment of economic growth that everyone can benefit by.”
Currin said Northeast Ohio offers companies attractive assets: proximity to major markets; rich supplies of fresh water and natural gas, a skilled workforce and a population of several million, equal to that of some states. Add to that world-class healthcare, cultural attractions and higher education, and you have a powerful combination.
What is the best way to promote this package? Currin says a united front is key.
“Cities cannot compete in today’s economic arena,” he said. “Only regions can.”
