ED/GE grants spread seeds of growth across county
Successful business growth is a priority for Montgomery County, and the county has shown this through the Economic Development/Government Equity (ED/GE) grant program. Since its inception in 1992, the county has awarded more than $109 million to support local business growth and the communities where those projects are located.
More importantly, the 558 ED/GE-supported projects have retained more than 40,000 jobs and have created nearly 35,000 more. Expansion projects have helped local business thrive, and ED/GE funds have also helped to attract some very large companies to the region.
“It is great to play a part in bringing in Fuyao Glass America, Caterpillar and some of the large logistic operations we’ve incentivized through ED/GE, but it is especially rewarding to help those smaller local companies move their expansions forward,” said Montgomery County Commission President Debbie Lieberman.
“We’ve seen over $5 billion in private investment for ED/GE projects, but ED/GE support tends to be a much bigger piece of the equation for smaller business.”
Lieberman is on the ED/GE Advisory Committee along with fellow Commissioners Carolyn Rice and Judy Dodge, along with three private sector representatives and 10 members from area cities, towns, townships and villages. $2.5 million in ED/GE grants are currently awarded each year through two cycles — one in November and one in April. Every jurisdiction in the county has benefitted from the program.
The county works directly with the jurisdiction’s economic development professionals to create applications for the funds. The Advisory Committee then reviews the projects and makes recommendations for the amounts of ED/ GE grant support that should be awarded to each. Since it comes from tax money, each grant is finalized with approval from the Board of County Commissioners. The deadline for spring cycle applications is April 1. All applications must be submitted in coordination with a local government.
With each project, funds are reimbursed to the companies at various checkpoints. First, an award of 50 percent of the ED/ GE can go toward approved construction costs. Then another 25 percent of a grant is paid when 50 percent of the pledged jobs have been created, and the remaining 25 percent is awarded when all the pledged jobs are active. On average, for every dollar of ED/ GE investment, an additional $48 in private investment is made.
In the last two years, Harrison Township has received grants for companies such as Hinkle Fine Foods ($21,000 grant), and MC Coating/FC Industries ($250,000).
“I’ve tried to convey to the ED/ GE Committee just how important it is to us,” said Emily Crow, development director for Harrison Township. “For the township, ED/GE grants are one of the few options I have for business retention and attraction, so it’s a very important program.”
“Giving $250,000 to a business that has a couple million in annual revenue impacts them much more than giving $1 million to a multibillion-dollar corporation,” Crow added. “It makes a much bigger difference for a home-grown company than it does when we’re trying to attract larger business to the area, and it means a lot when trying to support our local businesses.”
Rich Tursic is CEO of PVS Plastic Technology Corp. in Huber Heights. They received a 2023 grant for $275,000 to support a $9.55 million project, which will retain 48 positions and is projected to create another 26 jobs.
“We’re about $16 million in sales, and this will allow us to get to $20 million and increase our production space by 50 percent,” Tursic said.
“It will also put us into a climate-controlled environment, which gives our workers a more pleasant environment and also protects the machinery we use. Because we have that floor space available, one of our customers gave us the opportunity to bid for and get awarded a sizable contract from one of the Big Three in the automotive industry. We were maxed out, this gave us breathing room, and we couldn’t have done it without ED/GE funding.”
Last year, the DMAX engine plant in Brookville received $350,000 in ED/GE funding, which helped retain 700 jobs within the county. Another large company success was Fuyao Glass America, which received its first ED/GE grant of $700,000 in 2013 and brought in 800 jobs. Fuyao received another $750,000 in ED/GE funding in 2022, and that expansion was projected to bring another 500 jobs to Montgomery County.
The most recent large company success is Santa Cruz, California-based Joby Aviation, which is building a facility near the Dayton International Airport capable of manufacturing 500 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft per year. Joby is expected to receive $1 million over two ED/GE funding cycles as part of a $475 million project that pledges to create 1,200 jobs.
“It’s very gratifying for our ED/ GE committee to support local businesses and help them grow and thrive,” said Commissioner Carolyn Rice. “We also enjoy helping forward-thinking clean energy companies like Joby that not only bring our region significant growth but also prioritize sustainability in their business model.”
As a long-standing economic development program, ED/GE is the county’s premier business retention and expansion program, as well as a tool to support the attraction of new businesses to Montgomery County.