The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
City gives $160,000 in small business grants
The city of Avon Lake announced on May 26 that nearly 100 local businesses will be receiving grant payments as part of the city’s Job Growth Incentive Program.
Under the program, which started in 2012, businesses which generate more income tax revenue than the previous year will receive a grant from the city to cover 25 percent of the increase with a minimum of $25 and up to a maximum of $100,000. In the fifth year of the program’s existence the city will be paying out almost $160,000.
“We started this five years ago and what we were trying to do was figure out a way that we could differentiate ourselves from all other communities that are around us and in Northeast Ohio,” Economic Development Committee Chair, Dan Bucci said.
In a news conference held at Avon Lake City Hall on May 26, city officials were joined by representatives by several local businesses being awarded grants.
David Markley, president of Avon Lake’s Design Engineering Inc., was awarded the grant for the fifth straight year and thanked city officials.
“I drive from Chagrin Falls every day to come over here and go to work,” he said.
“And we don’t have a real customer in Cleveland. So I could put my company really anywhere in the country, in the world. I make the drive 56 miles every day from my house because I think we found the right spot for Design Engineering.”
Bucci said the program was developed as a way to incentivize businesses which continue to increase payroll, creating value for the community.
“If businesses are paying more income tax, it means they hired people, paid people more, are working longer hours or some combination of those three,” Bucci said. “So we wanted to incentivize businesses and encourage them to stay on that track.”
Economic Development Director Ted Esborn noted after five years of administering the program, the city has obtained five years of data to study, enabling it to understand the contributing factors to sustainable small business growth and replicate with other businesses.
“Obviously, there are very successful companies that have down years, but to look at these numbers and see companies and that have two, three, four and five consecutive years in a row means that they’ve sustained that payroll growth here in Avon Lake, Esborn said.