Joint Economic Development District Agreement

Summary

In 1993 voters of Copley Township approved an agreement with the City of Akron allowing the formation of Joint Economic Development Districts (JEDD) within the Township. The purposes of the agreement were to halt annexation of township land and to bring needed water and sewer services to residents in "water-poor" areas and to property owners desiring to develop their land for commercial and industrial purposes. Akron's gains in this agreement were more water/sewer customers and the ability to collect income taxes from persons employed by companies in JEDD areas. Persons living in Copley, but not employed in the designated JEDD areas, do not pay the income tax. 

The Township benefits because the erosion of the tax base through annexation is halted. In fact, some previously annexed areas were returned to the Township after the approval of the JEDD. The JEDD was approved for a period of 100 years with two 50 year extensions. Since 1993, there have been five amendments to the original JEDD agreement approved by both the city of Akron and Copley Township.

Income Taxes

The original JEDD agreement authorized a collection of the income tax at the same rate paid in the city of Akron, which was 2%. In 2003, the voters of the city of Akron approved an increase in the income tax to 2.25%. The original agreement stated that the city was to share one-third of the income tax above the original 2%. In 2004, the Township began receiving some of the income tax. In 2006, the Township received $190, 462 from the city for its share of the income taxes for the year.

Water & Sewer Lines

Over the 13 years that the JEDD has been in place, the city of Akron installed over $9.5 million dollars of sewer lines and $11.3 million dollars of water lines in Copley. If a resident and/or business would like water and sewer, they need to contact the Mayor's office at the city of Akron at 330-375-2231. The city will determine the feasibility of extending utility service to individual requests. If a request is determined to be feasible, the city will mail petitions and tap-in fee costs to the interested property owners in the proposed service area. For a requested project to be considered for approval by the City of Akron and Township, persons owning a minimum of 75% of the property frontage along the proposed utility improvement must sign and return the petition to the city.