The City of Middletown is committed to creating and maintaining a positive environment to foster business growth in our community. From providing timely, in-depth information about sites and buildings to coordinating tax incentives and permit processing, the City works hard to make the process as seamless and effortless as possible. The City also helps you to identify appropriate incentives in an effort to attract new investment among our existing and prospective businesses. These incentives are typically in the form of tax abatement, tax credits, grants, low-interest loans, and workforce development and training. Incentives are typically related to project investment, retained jobs, and created jobs. Some are directed to targeted industries or to type of funding such as innovation or energy efficiency. The following summary discusses more commonly used programs. Please contact Denise Hamet at (513) 425-7847 or deniseha@cityofmiddletown.org for additional information or for applications for the various incentives. I will coordinate local and state for you.
Grants and Incentives offer by or administered by Middletown
The Ohio Enterprise Zone Program is designed as a way to encourage investment in new, expanded or renovated commercial and industrial buildings. The program is administered by the local entity (Middletown) and approved by the state. Projects must be determined to be eligible prior to granting any tax exemption through an Enterprise Zone Agreement. The program provides partial tax abatement to the new investment for up to ten years. Up to 75% of the value can be abated up to 10 years. The percent abatement and the term is calculated based on investment and jobs.
The Job Creation Incentive Program is implemented by the City of Middletown to provide incentives to companies making substantial investments in new employment within the City of Middletown. Those companies creating a minimum of 25 full-time jobs and $1 million in payroll are eligible to participate in this program. The suggested grant level is equal to 15% of the Middletown city income taxes collected annually for every $1 million in new payroll created, up to a maximum percentage of 50%. Taxes are returned as a grant for up to 10 years. The grant is capped at $100,000 annually for any single project.
The chart below shows suggested potential grant levels at different payroll amounts.
there are many more incentives offered; please select this link to review all incentives
It is important that companies considering new investment or job growth contact the Economic Development Department to identify potential incentives prior to making any investments or hiring any new employees. The incentives are offered on a “but for” basis, meaning the project would not happen but for the incentives being offered. Additionally, understanding the effects incentives have on the city’s budget as well as those of other taxing jurisdictions, such as our local school districts, the city carefully evaluates the merits of each project and its potential benefits in order to determine an appropriate level of assistance.
Information about available properties in the City of Middletown is available under the Available Sites & Buildings section of our website. Our Middletown Prospector is there to help you make the right choice on your new investment.