Sat Feb 11 2012
by Bill Hammerstrom
Editor
Hudson -- Macedonia Mayor Don Kuchta has asked Hudson to give his city 50 percent of the income tax it will collect from a company moving from Macedonia to Hudson.
Kuchta requested Hudson "share the income from Beauty Systems Group," a cosmetics supplier planning to move its offices from Macedonia to Hudson, in an Aug. 27 letter to Hudson Mayor Bill Currin.
Hudson City Council may discuss the request in an open meeting and will determine how to respond, said City Communications Manager Jody Roberts. Currin referred questions about Beauty Systems Group to Roberts.
"I don't anticipate calling a special meeting on this subject," said Hudson Council President David Basil on Aug. 30. "No Council member has indicated to me the desire to discuss this at a future workshop."
Kuchta wants Hudson to share half of Beauty System's total income tax revenue for eight years, he said in a phone interview Aug. 30. That would be about $16,000 per year, based on information provided by the city of Hudson.
Macedonia City Council would have to approve further details of the agreement, including whether income tax sharing would stop if Macedonia is able to fill the vacancy and replace the jobs, Kuchta said.
While Kuchta initially accused Hudson of "poaching" the company, he wrote that it is now "clear that Hudson did in fact believe in the concept of sharing, and communities working together."
Kuchta previously claimed Hudson lured Beauty Systems from Macedonia when it helped the company find a new home and offered it almost $58,000 in incentives to bring 42 jobs to town.
Hudson officials deny the accusations. They say Beauty Systems officials approached the city first, and Hudson officials first asked the company to discuss options with Macedonia before negotiating the tax incentives.
"I would like to see the tension between our two communities dissolve," Kuchta wrote. "We are not the Hatfields and the McCoys."
Kuchta asks Hudson to abide by the conditions of "a county poaching agreement," referring to the Summit County Jobs Preservation Agreement, where Summit County municipalities agree to share income tax revenue when a company moves from one city to another within the county.
Kuchta's request for 50 percent of Beauty System's income tax revenue does not match the recommendation of the Jobs Preservation Agreement, but it is consistent with legislation approved by Macedonia's City Council, he said.
The Jobs Preservation Agreement recommends that Hudson would share 40 percent of Beauty System's total income tax revenue in the first year, 30 percent in the second year, and 20 percent in the third year. It also says that revenue sharing would be determined on a case by case basis.
Hudson officials have not signed the county agreement because it doesn't address the back-filling of jobs, said Roberts. Hudson officials say that instead of sharing a relocated company's income taxes for three to five years, the cities should stop sharing the income tax money after a city is able to replace the lost jobs.
"Although this agreement was not passed in Hudson as it was in Macedonia, doesn't really matter," Kuchta wrote.
"Regionalism may be critical in future endeavors, and for this reason I am asking Hudson to abide by the conditions of the poaching legislation," he added.
Kuchta had previously requested, and received, a list of all the businesses in Hudson, saying he was going to tell them about the benefits of moving to Macedonia.
If Hudson agrees to share Beauty Systems income taxes, "this would over-ride any previous request from this office and could lead us back to working together for any future endeavors," Kuchta wrote.
E-mail: bhammerstrom@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3944
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