Columbus Region Rethinks ED Rules

The wave of jobs moving between Columbus and its suburban cities has prompted an effort to create regional ground rules for how far economic-development officials can go in luring away companies already situated in the region.

advertisementBut whether cooperation replaces economic-development combat may depend on how quickly the economy helps pave the way for Central Ohio municipalities to take jobs away from other regions.

A recent string of high-profile business moves has created a chorus of complaints from officials across the region:

- Dublin officials raised a stink in May after Hilliard persuaded BMW Financial Services to pick up and expand in the neighboring city - a move of about 8 miles that brought with it about 750 tax-generating jobs.

- The BMW deal came on the heels of Columbus' March offer of a sweetened incentive to get Nationwide's GatesMcDonald division to head for downtown from Hilliard. The deal added 480 jobs to Columbus' tax rolls.

- More recently, Columbus officials cried foul when Amerigraph LLC, which received tax breaks from the city just three years ago, said it would grab incentives from Gahanna to move its expanding manufacturing and office operations to the eastern suburb. That project involves 100 jobs and a pledge of 66 more jobs during the next three years.

More here.