Mayor Ginther's and Columbus City Council's decades long continuation of granting tax abatements to wealthy developers and corporations have robbed hundreds of millions of dollars from our Columbus Public School coffers, let alone contributing to escalating property taxes that are forcing senior homeowners into foreclosure or having to unnecessarily sell their homes to unscrupulous investors. Columbus City Council will be voting tonight on two Enterprise Zone 10-year 75 percent tax abatements totaling $5.125 million.   

With the upcoming Republican Party's state budget cuts in public education dollars a certainty, how in good conscience can a Democrat-controlled City Council located in the state’s largest public school district give away $5.1 million in property tax abatements in exchange for one company’s 15 $20-an-hour jobs and the other company’s 12 $24-an-hour jobs? These jobs will result in a meager $2,550 per month of City income tax revenue, or $30,600 annually, versus a property tax giveaway of $510,029 annually. 

Tax abatement recipient The Jim Pattison Group, whose corporate headquarters is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, has been around for 64 years. They are a diversified holding company that did $16 billion in sales in 2023 and has over 50,000 employees worldwide. Their 10-year 75 percent tax abatement savings of $3.125 million is next to nothing to a company with such enormous wealth. But to the needs of public schools and its teachers to properly educate our children, the loss of these tax dollars is crippling. Especially with the upcoming public school state budget cuts. 

Furthermore, neither of these two warehouse facilities are located within 1.6 miles of the closest COTA bus stop.

Of our nine Democratic City Council members, will even one of them have the courage to display the slightest bit of independence to do what is right, and refuse to obey the stranglehold of political power that demands their yes vote on these two tax abatements? Don’t count on it.