London City Council adopted Ordinance 207-24 on a unanimous vote to create 19 tax incentive districts and to replace the tax-increment financing (TIF) agreement attached to that ordinance with a revised financing agreement presented at the meeting.

The ordinance identifies public infrastructure improvements that, once made, will serve parcels inside the incentive districts, requires property owners in those districts to make service payments in lieu of property taxes, and establishes a public improvement tax-increment equivalent fund. The ordinance also authorizes payments to the London City School District and the Shoals Career Technical Center and approves execution of a TIF agreement tied to Tomcat LLC.

Council members said the financing agreement before them had undergone extensive revision and negotiation. The council moved to withdraw an initial motion to adopt, substitute the revised financing agreement as the exhibit to Ordinance 207-24, and then adopted the ordinance as amended. The vote in favor was recorded for the council members present on the final adoption.

City officials discussed the broader economic context during related reports: the Honeywell building that previously housed Intelligrated is now being offered for sale at approximately $17,500,000 after a potential tenant withdrew, and city staff warned of the revenue consequences from the loss of the project (staff said the project would have brought roughly 200 jobs). Council members referenced those developments while considering the TIF and other economic tools.

The council also conducted an executive session earlier in the meeting to consider confidential information directly related to a request for economic development under the Ohio Revised Code, chapter 5709; members voted to enter and later to exit executive session by recorded roll call.

Next steps: with the ordinance adopted, the city may execute the revised TIF agreement and begin administration of the newly created incentive districts and the TIF fund consistent with the ordinance language and the substituted financing agreement.