County sends first tax refund check to Green Circle Growers

CAMDEN TWP. — The first payment in a $4.66 million property tax refund was made Tuesday, with the cash returning to Green Circle Growers. Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass said he cut a check for just over $1.1 million to the huge greenhouse operation west of Oberlin, near the Huron County line. In March, the 9th District Court of Appeals ordered the county, Firelands Schools and Camden Township to pay back the company, ruling 2-1 that its greenhouses are not subject to property taxes. That's a big hit to the local government bodies that have relied on Green Circle for income. It means the company can only be taxed on a $10 million valuation instead of the $40 million the Lorain County Board of Revision had valued it at. Green Circle has about 100 acres of indoor growing space and 35 more acres outside. Expansion of another 30 acres was announced in August with the addition of more than 250 jobs, bringing its workforce to roughly 1,150. But only permanent buildings such as its offices and warehouse are subject to property taxes, the company said in a statement earlier this year: "… because the greenhouses are temporary and movable, they do not increase the value of the land." Snodgrass said a settlement was reached this fall allowing the amount to be paid back in four installments over two years, rather than in one lump sum. "Hopefully it's going to be a little more manageable, at least for the township and Firelands school district," he said. The county's portion of the refund will be spread out across many agencies, from Children's Services to the Sheriff's Office, Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Snodgrass said. But it won't be as easy to absorb for Camden and Firelands, rural communities where Green Circle's tax revenues represent a much larger part of the budget, he said. The township and school district knew the money might have to be paid back, he said, and put it aside to insulate themselves. Doing so meant putting projects on hold. "You take that money out of your budget, you're going to feel that," Snodgrass said. Now he's "having conversations with people in Columbus" about further ways to lighten the burden of the property tax refund. The Ohio Supreme Court already declined to step in, voting 4-3 in July against hearing an appeal from the county and Firelands. The Green Circle refund will be a focus Friday for the County Auditors' Association of Ohio, according to Snodgrass. He said he does not believe the outcome of the appeal was what legislators intended when they updated the tax code in 1992. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.