Fairfield County Auditor
TIRCS
Tax Incentive Review Councils (TIRCs) process and monitor the status of incentives and agreements to make recommendations to local municipalities as to the efficacy of the incentives.
Membership:
Fairfield County Auditor
- Dr. Carri Brown, TIRC Chair
Fairfield County Commissioners
- Commission President
(Alternate: Commission Vice President) - County Administrator
(Alternate: Deputy County Administrator) - Regional Planning Executive Director
(Alternate: Economic Development Coordinator)
Lancaster City Schools Representative
- Julie Naylor, Treasurer
(Alternate: Nathan Hale, Superintendent)
- Mayor Don McDaniel
- Stephanie Bosco, Economic Development & Port Authority Director
Membership:
Membership list for Fairfield County maintained by Melissa Butler
Fairfield County Auditor
- Dr. Carri Brown – TIRC Chair
Fairfield County Board of Commissioners
- Economic and Workforce Development Director
(Alternate: County Economic Development Specialist) - County Administrator
(Alternate: Deputy County Administrator) - Regional Planning Commission Director
(Alternate: Economic Development Coordinator)
Reynoldsburg Appointees:
- Two Members of Public Appointed by Chief Executive Officer of the Municipal Corporation with the Concurrence of the Legislative Authority: Appointed by the Mayor with Concurrence of Council
- Chris Shook, City Attorney
- Shanette Strickland, City Council Representative
Violet Township Board of Trustees Appointees:
- Vince Utterback, Township Administrator
- Kelly Sarko, Zoning Inspector
Reynoldsburg School Representative:
- Angele Latham, Treasurer
- Jonathan Stocker, Assistant Treasurer
Eastland-Fairfield Career Center Representative:
- Shelley Groves, Business Partnership Coordinator
Contact:
Lucas Haire
lhaire@canalwinchesterohio.gov
Phone: 614-837-1894
Fax: 614-837-0145
Phone: 614-837-3974
Membership:
Membership list for Fairfield County maintained by Lucas Haire. (At least two TIRC members must be residents of the City of Canal Winchester)
Fairfield County Auditor
- Dr. Carri Brown – TIRC Chair
Fairfield County Board of Commissioners
- Economic and Workforce Development Director
(Alternate: County Economic Development Specialist) - County Administrator
(Alternate: Deputy County Administrator) - Commission Director
(Alternate: Economic Development Coordinator)
Canal Winchester City Council
(Appointed by the Mayor with Concurrence of City Council)
- Bob Clark, City Councilman
- Steve Donahue, Retired Superintendent and Consultant
Violet Township Board of Trustees Appointees
- Vince Utterback, Township Administrator
- Stan Smith, Program Assistant for Agriculture and Natural Resources
Canal Winchester Schools Representative
- Nicholas Roberts, CFO/Treasurer
Eastland-Fairfield Joint Vocational
District Representative
- Christine Boucher, Business Partnership Coordinator
Membership:
- Fairfield County Auditor
- Lancaster Mayor or Designee
- Lancaster Mayor Appointee
(Minority Appointment) - Lancaster Mayor Appointee
- Lancaster City Council President Appointee
• Larry Ailes Appointee - Lancaster Auditor or Designee
- LCS Board of Education Appointee
- Amanda Clearcreek Schools Representative
Lana Fairchild, Treasurer
Dr. Edwards, Superintendent
(alternate for Lana Fairchild)
Meeting Date/Time/Location:
1897 Room, 2nd Floor.
104 E. Main St.,
Lancaster, Ohio 43130
- August 4, 2022
Agenda / Minutes
Draft Minutes + Attachments 08.04.22 - June 21, 2023
Agenda / Minutes - June 26, 2024 at 9am
Lancaster City Hall
Agenda / Draft Minutes - NEXT MEETING:
June 25, 2025 at 9am
Lancaster City Hall
Agenda
Membership:
Fairfield County Auditor
- Dr. Carri Brown, TIRC Chair
Fairfield County Commissioners
- Economic and Workforce Development Director
(Alternate: County Economic Development Specialist) - County Administrator
(Alternate: Deputy County Administrator) - Regional Planning Commission Director
(Alternate: Economic Development Coordinator)
Eastland-Fairfield Career Center
- Dawn Lemley, Treasurer for the Board of Education of the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools
Alternate: Cherrell Turner,
Business Partnership Coordinator
- Mayor Lee Gray, City of Pickerington,
TIRC Vice-Chair - Nick Derksen, President of
Pickerington City Council
- Vince Utterback,
Violet Township Administrator - Kelly Sarko,
Violet Township Zoning Inspector
Pickerington Local School District
- John Walsh, Treasurer,
Representative of Pickerington Schools
Membership:
Fairfield County Auditor
- Dr. Carri Brown, TIRC Chair
Fairfield County Commissioners
- County Administrator
(Alternate: Deputy County Administrator) - Economic and Workforce Development Director
(Alternate: Economic Development Specialist) - County Administrator
(Alternate: Deputy County Administrator) - Regional Planning Executive Director
(Alternate: Economic Development Coordinator)
- Mayor Eric Sandine
- Chair of Lithopolis Public Works committee
Bloom Township Board of Trustees
– 2 Appointees
Bloom-Carroll Local School District
- Treasurer, Travis Bigham
- Alternate: Superintendent Shawn Haughn
Eastland-Fairfield Career Center
- Dawn Lemley, Treasurer for the Board of Education of the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools
- Alternate: Cherrell Turner,
Business Partnership Coordinator
Meeting Date/Time/Location:
Village of Lithopolis Council Chambers
11820 Lithopolis Road
Lithopolis, Ohio 43136
- NEXT MEETING:
June 25, 2025 at 3:30 pm
Village Council Chambers
TIRC Frequently Asked Questions
- Enterprise Zone (EZ): Offers companies property tax exemption on new real property.
- Environmental Protection Abatement (EPA): Property tax incentives created to encourage the cleanup of brownfields and other environmental hazards in our communities. Oversight is conducted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, not the Tax Incentive Review Council.
- Tax Increment Financing (TIF): Designates a parcel or multiple parcels as within a project.
- Community Reinvestment Areas (CRA): Provide real property tax exemptions to property owners who make improvements to their property.
State and local governments use a variety of tax incentives to attract and retain business investment, create jobs, reduce blight, and pursue other goals. These incentives are used with expectation that each granted incentive results in increased property value, investment, employment, payroll activity, and/or other economic development benefit. TIRCs process and monitor the status of each incentive and make recommendations to the local municipality as to the efficacy of the incentive.
For abatements, the data provided shows whether the entity receiving the tax abatement is complying with the terms of the agreement. Simply put, is the company receiving the tax break doing what it said it was going to do? Has it hired the employees it said it would? Has it invested in construction in the way it promised? The TIRC receives information on the number of jobs created or retained, total payroll, real estate investment (new structures or upgrades), and construction payroll.
After reviewing information about agreements and compliance, TIRCS make recommendations about continuing agreements.
Sometimes, if there are problems with the compliance, and it is the first time there has been a problem or if the business is close to meeting the terms of the agreement, the recommendation might be to continue the agreement and reach out and see what assistance can be provided to help the project meet the original goals. If the project is consistently off target, the TIRC might recommend modification of the original agreement. For example, if a property is 100% abated but regularly only meets 75% of the terms of the agreement, the recommendation might be to change the tax abatement from 100% to 75% and make the goals 75% of the original agreement. Finally, in extreme cases, the TIRC may recommend the municipality cancel the abatement altogether. This has not been the experience in Fairfield County.