Hilliard to Norwich: Police services, TIF support wanted in negotiation

The Hilliard Municipal Building is at 3800 Municipal Way.
The Hilliard Municipal Building is at 3800 Municipal Way.

The city of Hilliard and Norwich Township are in discussions concerning a request by the township for Hilliard to waive the cost of providing police service to the township, which constitutes about 1,500 residences, most of which are in the Ridgewood and Timberbrook subdivisions.

The latest counteroffer from the city to the township was meted out May 9 by City Council and is to be communicated to the township through Norwich Township Administrator Jamie Fisher, Hilliard City Manager Michelle Crandall reported after council’s May 9 session.

That offer is to agree to waiving the cost of providing police services to Norwich Township in 2023 – an amount equal to about $517,000 – but only if Norwich Township agrees to support a tax-increment-financing agreement for a future development tentatively called TruePointe, a proposed mixed-use development by Equity, east of Interstate 270 and immediately south of the corporate offices of Equity, 4653 Trueman Boulevard, as well as future TIFs in the Old Hilliard district, according to David Meadows, Hilliard’s director of development.

The offer also proposes that Hilliard would provide Norwich Township with land within a 125-acre tract the city owns on the south side of Scioto Darby Road, west of Cosgray Road, to be developed as the city’s future community recreation and wellness center.

An agreement from Norwich Township concerning TIFs is desired by the city since Norwich Township must agree to any TIF district proposed by Hilliard, and having it in would be beneficial when discussing the development of TruePointe and future proposals in the Old Hilliard district, according to Meadows.

A TIF is an economic-development mechanism available to local governments to finance public infrastructure improvements, and in certain circumstances, residential rehabilitation, according to the Ohio Development Services Agency.

A TIF locks in the taxable worth of real property at the value it holds at the time the authorizing legislation is approved, diverting the incremental revenue to designated uses, such as funding necessary improvements or infrastructure to support a new development.

A charter amendment Hilliard voters approved in 2018 required that Norwich Township agree to proposed TIF districts.

Discussion about the city’s fee structure for police services to Norwich Township began with a March 16 letter from Norwich trustees to City Council in which Fisher requested the city consider two options for the annual police contract.

The first option called for the city to provide police services at no cost to the township in 2023. The second option was for Hilliard to enter into a five-year agreement with Norwich Township to accept only what the current Norwich police levy generates, about $350,000 annually.

The current contract for 2022 calls for Norwich Township to pay Hilliard $514,117.

In 2021, the contract amount was $507,009 and in 2020, the amount was $498,232.

The March 16 letter said the township’s current 2.8-mill police levy generates about $350,000 per year and the township used general fund revenue to supplement the police fund in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“This is not a sustainable solution to offset the increase in costs for police coverage moving forward,” Fisher wrote.

The letter said the city should consider the township’s request in light of its past use of tax-increment-financing agreements that City Council approved for various economic development purposes.

“Our township trustees believe this could be, in good faith, a resolution to the city’s previous excessive use of tax-increment financing and tax abatements, which have diverted levied monies from our township operations for years,” Fisher wrote.

In 2020, Norwich Township’s portion of diverted TIF and abatement tax dollars totaled $2.2 million, according to the letter.

“Without the support from the city of Hilliard, Norwich Township will be required to place an operating levy on the ballot in 2022 for police coverage. If the city grants this request, the township will be able to avoid placing back-to-back levies on township residents for police, fire and EMS services,” Fisher wrote.

After receiving the letter from Fisher, Crandall said she and Meadows met with Fisher May 3 and told Fisher the city could not waive the fees for police services as requested, but offered to provide the township at no cost a 4.1-acre parcel valued at $1 million for use as a fourth Norwich fire station.

In a May 6 response letter from Fisher to members of City Council, Fisher reiterated the city’s past use of TIFs that diverted, according to the letter, almost $9 million in operational funds during the past five years and renewed its request that the cost of policing services be considered separately.

The letter continued, “With efforts made over recent years to cultivate a strong working relationship between the city of Hilliard and Norwich Township, the board of trustees requests that future discussions of the request for police coverage cost options and future discussions of the new TIFs be between members of City Council and members of the township board of trustees.”

Chuck Buck, chairperson of the Norwich Board of Trustees, reiterated the board’s desire to speak with City Council rather than the city administration.

“The discussion should be elected officials to elected officials,” Buck said.

Buck also questioned the city’s means to calculate the land it is offering at the current market value as opposed to what it paid for the land and that the site the city is offering is not the township’s first choice of a location for its fourth station.

The township’s request to discuss the issue only with City Council was not well received by its president, Andy Teater.

“The administration has to be involved. (Norwich Trustees) can’t dictate they will meet only with council,” Teater said.

"It is important to respect the chain of command. She is our representative and they should accept her as such," said Councilman Pete Marsh, adding that the city and township should each desire development, which cannot occur at times without the use of TIFs.

But Councilman Les Carrier said he was not opposed to dealing exclusively with the township.

“It’s my hope City Council and township leaders find a common path forward. I am disappointed the city manager was unable to settle this matter amicably, but there is clearly a difference of opinion amongst council members as to a productive approach to solving these types of policy issues," Carrier said.

"It is now clear these policy issues should be discussed and solved by the community’s elected leaders.”

Crandall told council members she believes trustees are asking to meet only with council because of a belief that she did not communicate the desire of City Council.

To that end, city council elected to have Councilman Marsh accompany Crandall when she communicates city council’s latest proposal in person and advise trustees that the proposal is the position of City Council.

The next regular meeting of the Norwich Trustees is June 7.

As of May 10, it was not known when Crandall and Marsh would present the proposal to Norwich trustees.

kcorvo@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekCorvo

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Hilliard to Norwich: Police services, TIF support wanted