Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano has unveiled a new, one-stop shop website that uses innovative Geographic Information System, GIS technologies to show comprehensive details on every tax incentive in use in the county.

The Tax Incentives Hub, which is available on the Auditor’s office website, features maps that show where incentives are in use, the different types of incentives, data about the incentives, and the local ordinance that created each. The maps can break down the tax incentives by municipality, so residents can see which are in use in their neighborhood.  

The Hub also lists the effects each incentive has on government agencies that depend on tax revenue, and it links to specific information about each incentive at the individual municipality’s economic development website. A downloadable spreadsheet listing information on all incentives is also available on the Hub.

“As your Franklin County Auditor, I want to ensure that taxpayers know about tax incentives and whether they are providing the benefits promised to our communities – and whether they are working,” Stinziano said.

“With this hub we are promoting transparency for the residents and businesses of Franklin County.”

The Hub also features the 2020 TIRC report, a compilation of information from Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC) meetings that were held from May to August 2020. By law, Auditor Stinziano is chair of those councils.

TIRCs are councils, required by state law, to annually review and evaluate every tax incentive in the county to see if they are performing as well as agreements stipulated they would. Every municipality that uses incentives is required to have a TIRC.

Tax incentives are widely used both in Franklin County and across the country to encourage economic development and improve communities. In 2020, 20 municipalities throughout Franklin County had active tax incentives that required review. The review consisted of 532 abated or TIF projects.  For tax year 2019, there were a total of 4,070 abated parcels in the county, with 447 parcels returning to taxable and 482 parcels becoming abated.