Columbus City Council last night approved four tax breaks for three companies. Council Development Committee Chair Zach Klein.
The city is giving auto glass supplier Safelite an eight year, 65 percent income tax break and another 5 year, 35 percent income tax break to create new jobs. Apparel designer Print Syndicate gets a 50 percent income tax break worth 75-thousand dollars for new jobs created, on top of a 1.7 million dollar tax break from the state. And Orange Barrel Media is getting a 10 year, 75 percent property tax break, valued at more than 418-thousand dollars, to move its offices from Grove City to Franklinton. Company president Pete Scantland.
In late 2011, Grove City was one of several municipalities that signed Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman's anti jobs poaching agreement, in which each pledged not to use tax breaks to move jobs from one Central Ohio city to another. Council also approved spending 500-thousand dollars in bond money to install surveillance cameras downtown, including in Genoa Park, North Bank Park, at Broad and Front Street, and in other locations under consideration. Deputy Columbus Safety Director Dan Giangardella says the cameras are designed to lower the risk of a terrorist attack in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings last month that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
Giangardella says the cameras will be in place in time for summer events downtown.