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Licking County, Ohio -- Photo of the Licking County Courthouse by Don Jones

Friday, May 16, 2008

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LICKING COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION

The 2007 Tax Year TIRC, click here to view.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Manufacturing/Warehouse Investment in Licking County

Click Here to view the current businesses in Licking County who are investing in the area. These businesses are creating or retaining jobs in Licking County.

Increase Your Productivity. Ohio eliminates tax on new machinery and equipment. Click Here

Largest Employers in Licking County, Ohio 2006/2007

Click here to view the Largest Employers in Licking County.

Sources: Licking County Retention and Expansion Program,

Harris Directory, Newark and Licking County Chamber of Commerce; City of Newark

New Construction

This information does not include homes built in Johnstown, Hanover, Reynoldsburg or New Albany.

Click Here

PROCURE/OHIOSITES.COM

The Ohio Department of Development is assisted by each County within Ohio to inventory Industrial/Manufacturing/Warehouse sites which are for sale throughout the state. A search for sites and buildings by county, region or by the State of Ohio can be done on line at OhioSites.com. Economic Development Specialist Racie Young is in charge of listing all Industrial/Manufacturing/Warehouse buildings and sites throughout Licking County.

Licking County R&E Task Force

Now more than ever, business retention and expansion in our local communities is critical to job growth. Studies show that in the average community, 76 percent of new jobs are not created by new businesses, but by existing employers.

In an effort to help foster economic growth in Licking County, a diverse group of county and local officials has formed the Licking County Retention and Expansion Task Force. This group of business and development professionals, county commissioners and village administrators offers a breadth of experience in economic development and represents several prominent organizations. Please click below to go into the R & E Task Force Website.

Click Here

Building Partnerships for our Future Documents

LICKING COUNTY REVOLVING LOAN FUND

The Licking County Planning Commission administers an Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund Program (RLF) designed to help businesses that are creating or retaining jobs by providing low-interest financing for buildings, property and equipment. RLF funds are used as "gap" financing and are not intended to be the primary source of financing. To be eligible for RLF funds, businesses must offer at least 51 percent of their created jobs to people of low-income or moderate-income. To date, a total of $1,450,000 in loans have been made to companies who, in turn, have created or retained 370 jobs. RLF funds helped leverage over $8 million in private financing. The repayments from these loans are redistributed to other businesses located in the county. The loan approval rests with a local board made up of business, financial and community leaders.

LICKING COUNTY ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM

The Licking County Planning Commission staff administers the Enterprise Zone Program in Licking County. The enterprise zone law in the State of Ohio allows tax abatements of up to 75 percent for ten years for enterprises locating or expanding in cities and villages and 60 percent for those locating in unincorporated areas (without school board approval). Currently there are six designated enterprise zones located in Licking County. The six zones are located in the cities of Heath and Newark; the villages of Hebron, Utica, and Johnstown; and the townships of Union, Harrison, Etna, and Washington as well as a portion of Granville Township (see Figure 12). The most active zones have been the Village of Hebron, the Cities of Heath and Newark, Etna and Union Township.

Since the beginning of the Enterprise Zone Program in 1988, there has been over $511 million dollars of real and personal property investment made by private enterprises located in the zones. In return for their investment and job creation, the enterprises were granted partial tax abatements on the new investment in real and personal property. The average abatement is approximately 68 percent of new real and personal property taxes for a period of nine years. These enterprises promised to create 3,623 new jobs when petitioning for the abatements. In reality, they exceeded this mark, creating over 4,940 new jobs with a corresponding annual payroll of over $168 million. The percentage of abatements granted and length of terms are negotiated locally by a county commissioner, one representative of the local political jurisdiction (i.e., city, village or township), a local school board representative, and a representative of Career and Technology Centers of Licking County.

Licking County was one of the first counties in the state of Ohio to involve the local school boards in the negotiation of Enterprise Zone Agreements. The County views the Enterprise Zone Program as an important tool in the process of economic development and will continue to do its best to administer the program in a responsible manner. The success of current program participants is testimony to the value of the incentives in assisting current employers with retention and expansion as well as attracting new industry to the County. See Figure 13 for a summary of E.Z. and CRA Agreements.

A map of Enterprise Zones in Licking County

JOINT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ZONE

This is an agreement between the City of Newark and Etna Township which provides an income tax revenue stream to fund necessary infrastructure investments. The JEDZ will benefit directly the participating township and schools while allowing the incoming manufacturing and or warehouse companies the benefit of a tax abatement.

Click here to see the current ECP JEDZ account information

Click here to see the current ECP JEDZ account Activity

Small Business Development Center - At Newark and Licking County

The Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Newark and Licking county is a public-private partnership supported by the US Small Business Administration, the Ohio Department of Development, Columbus State Community College and other local partners. Through its programs and services, the Center provides entrepreneurial development assistance and business consulting to start-up and emerging business owners. Many of the Center's services are offered at no cost to the client and all services are provided on a non-discriminatory basis.

2006 SBDC highlights/Economic Impact for Small Business Clients:

788 cases consulted
1,468 hours of one-on-one consulting
1,888 attendees at 73 training events held in Region 1/Central Ohio
$1,406,000 in total client financing/loans facilitated
$644,025 in total equity investments
$1,063,340 in sales increase
55 jobs created
32 jobs retained
Served 85% low-to-moderate income Newark clients

Consulting Services

The SBDC offers numerous services to small businesses at no charge. These include one on one business consulting regarding access to capital, strategic planning and financial concerns, accounting and bookkeeping records, marketing, sales, public relations strategies and human resource guidance.

The SBDC at Newark and Licking County also provides access to a network of over 250 business experts through its PROS volunteer network. These are private sector professionals who have agreed to meet with selected SBDC clients to provide specific advice that will help their business grow and succeed. Areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, legal, accounting, banking, venture investment, marketing and PR.

Educational and Networking Opportunities

Over the course of a year the SBDC offers over 65 educational and networking opportunities to businesses of all stages of growth and development in Central Ohio. SBDC programs are offered free or at a moderate charge. A few examples are:

BASE: This is a premier pre-venture training course for anyone thinking about starting a business. If you would like to open a business this is the place to start.
WNET: The Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training is an exclusive program that assists the growth and development of women-owned businesses.
Capitalization 101: This six week interactive program designed to provide the emerging growth entrepreneur with instruction on the in's and out's of seeking investment capital. This program has been developed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.
Ohio Growth Summit 2006: This full day session will feature national keynote speakers and breakout educational tracks on marketing/sales, market development (international and government), financing (debt, equity and alternative sources) and business operations. This is destined to become the annual business growth event you won't want to miss.

For further information on programs and services provided, please contact Business Consultant Randy Morgan, CBA at the Ohio SBDC at Newark and Licking County by phone at (740) 670-5215, or via e-mail at rmorgan@lcounty.com. For a complete list of training programs, visit www.SBDC.cscc.edu.

Economic Development Links

All links open a new browser window.

Licking County Chamber of Commerce

Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority

Southgate Corporation/

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