ASHLAND — The city of Ashland grew by 91 acres Thursday.
The Board of Ashland County commissioners unanimously approved an annexation of land out by U.S. Route 250 and Interstate 71. It represents Ashland’s first annexation since 2017, when the city annexed 30 acres from Milton and Montgomery townships.
“This is really gonna help Ashland progress more in economic development out that way,” said Ashland County commissioner Mike Welch.
Annexing the property has been in the works by the city of Ashland for years, said Ashland Mayor Matt Miller.
The benefit of annexation, Miller has said, primarily affects business and property owners who use city utilities.
“If you are outside of the city limits and utilizing city utilities, you pay double the amount you would pay if you were part of the city,” the mayor has said.
Annexation out there will also clear up law enforcement boundaries, Miller said.
“Right now, if you look at a map of the city, it’s like a checker board out there. So if a police officer is issuing a traffic citation, it becomes a challenge because the officer wonders (if they are) within city limits,” Miller said.
Annexation is also beneficial to the city in that businesses will now pay income taxes; however, the city has not calculated potential income tax revenue by the annexation.
Some of the businesses included in the annexation are McDonald’s, Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, Grandpa’s Cheesebarn and Wingate by Wynham, among others.
All of the land being annexed is located in Montgomery Township, whose primary source of revenue is the collection of property taxes.
Revenue sharing
In early July, during a hearing on the annexation, Montgomery Township trustees Hugh Troth and Steve Uhler encouraged the city to ratify a longstanding revenue-sharing agreement.
That agreement, approved July 18, states the township will receive 50% “of the real estate taxes, levied and collected upon the property within the described area, for a period of 50 years.”
After 50 years, the city would receive 100% of the real estate tax revenue, the agreement reads.
The agreement also says the township would continue to receive 100% of its lodging taxes in perpetuity should any hotels or other lodging accommodations be built on annexed land.
The township’s bed tax rate is three percent.
‘Fairest we can get’
Troth said he thinks the revenue-sharing agreement is fair.
“I think that’s the fairest we can get,” Troth said.
On the other hand, however, Troth is concerned.
“Some people are really against this,” he said. “If you look at Medina, it’s basically just a growth out of Cleveland. And they took over that town. There’s just people moving in and keep moving in.
“The population is going to keep growing, and that’s great. But I hope we can protect as much of the rural area as we can. That’s what I hear from most of my constituents.”