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City approves tax exemption and job‑creation incentive for Packaging Group expansion
Summary
The council approved a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) exemption and a job‑creation incentive for Packaging Group Ohio’s planned expansion into Enterprise Industrial Park, citing about 80 new full‑time jobs and an estimated $3,005,000 increase in annual payroll; the CRA would exempt 60% of improvements for 10 years and the incentive was sized at $27,045 per year for 12 years, subject to verification.
The Defiance City Council on March 3 approved a pair of ordinances to support Packaging Group Ohio’s planned expansion into the Enterprise Industrial Park: a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA No. 4) exemption and a job‑creation incentive program.
City staff said the expansion would add roughly 80 full‑time jobs and that council action would exempt 60% of the value of new real‑property improvements for a 10‑year term under the CRA. Separately, staff recommended a job‑creation credit—described as a dollar‑for‑dollar credit—set at $27,045 per year for up to 12 years, contingent on the company meeting annual job and payroll thresholds. Staff estimated the payroll increase from the new positions at roughly $3,005,000 annually.
Under the program the Economic Development Office will verify annual performance. Staff explained the city routes the tax‑credit payments through the county or economic‑development entity (as the ordinance specifies) and cross‑checks company filings each year; if the employer fails to meet the agreed thresholds for a given year, no payment is made for that year.
Council members asked procedural questions about how the payments are administered and whether the city can restrict what the company uses the funds for; staff replied the payments are routed through the Economic Development Office and the city does not directly regulate how the company spends the funds but does verify compliance with the job and payroll commitments. Following discussion council adopted both ordinances.
City staff also noted outreach steps: the school district and county career center were notified of the proposed expansion. The ordinances will move to implementation through the Economic Development Office, which will monitor employer filings and issue credits only upon verification that the company met its commitments.
