City of Wheeling Off the Hook for $1M in Taxes on Former Ohio Valley Medical Center Property
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WHEELING -- The city of Wheeling now doesn't have to pay Ohio County more than $1 million in taxes owed on the former Ohio Valley Medical Center property, and the Ohio County Board of Education is on board with that.
The Ohio County Commission has approved a tax abatement of more than $1 million for the city of Wheeling, which assumed ownership of the former OVMC site in the summer of 2020.
As part of last year's deal to acquire the former OVMC from previous owner Medical Properties Trust or MPT, the city agreed to pay legal and brokerage fees associated with the transaction, as well as any outstanding property taxes owed.
Also as part of the agreement, MPT had requested the sale be completed before the end of the fiscal year on June 30 for tax purposes. That left the city of Wheeling to pay what would have been MPT's tax bill.
Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron explained MPT had been current on its taxes — so technically there were not outstanding "back taxes" owed, just the last remaining bill for the 2020 tax year through the end of June
Once the city took ownership, the land became government property and is tax exempt.
Even before the property was acquired, city leaders were aware that the final tax bill would have totaled around $1 million, Herron said. But because the former OVMC campus is situated in a Tax Increment Finance or TIF district, the majority of tax revenues generated at the site -- 58 percent -- would have been returned to the city anyway.
Ohio County Schools would have been the biggest benefactor of any other paid property tax, but the board of education joined Ohio County commissioners in believing the tax abatement was in the best interest of the community in the long term.
Commission President Randy Wharton said city leaders had plans to approach the county to ask for the tax exoneration, then use the money not paid out to rehabilitate the facility and construct its new police and fire headquarters.
"So we did that," Wharton said. "We exonerated those taxes, but we didn't do that until we conferred with the Ohio County Board of Education. They were going to be impacted the most by exoneration, and they got on board with it.
"We all had to look at what was going to be the best for the city. They were really good about it at the board office, so we were all in agreement for doing that for them (the city)."
The county also was impacted to a lesser extent, according to Wharton.
"In the bigger picture, the city needed some help. We were able to do it, but the county took a bit of a hit, too," he said. " We were hoping that would work out for them, help them get done what they want to accomplish there. They did step up and assume ownership, and they are trying to keep those buildings up."
Board of Education President David Croft said the school board realized it would be in the best interest to the community for the abatement to happen.
"It had an impact financially, as we are the benefactor of much of the property tax," he said. "The commission asked what effect it would have on us, and Mr. Bieniek provided some numbers.
"The overall community value from that abatement will outweigh the one year of taxes that were abated."
He acknowledges the school district will lose out more on tax revenue from any future owners of the property because of the abatement.
"But as the county commission looked at what the city is trying to do, and the school board looked at what both entities are trying to do, we decided we all want what is best for the community for the long-term," Croft said.
Wheeling Councilman Jerry Sklavounakis spoke out during a recent city council meeting and publicly thanked commissioners Wharton, Don Nickerson and Zach Abraham, as well as members of the Ohio County Board of Education, for being on board with the city's request for forgiveness of the real estate taxes related to the OVMC property.
"We appreciate the county commissioner entering into the exoneration," Skavounakis said. "This is another piece of the puzzle that needed to fall into place to get this property back onto the hands of the private sector."
"The city, county and school district are all working together for the greater good. I also want to recognize and thank the city staff that has been working really diligently, and I think they have been very effective in marketing that piece of property."
Herron also expressed his thanks to both the commissioners and the board of education..
"With this exoneration, the Ohio County Commissioners and the school board, as well, are assisting us in the development of this complex," Herron said. "We're very appreciative of that. This was a truly positive move toward economic development with the Ohio County Commissioners, the Ohio County School Board and the city of Wheeling working cooperatively for the betterment of our community."