Avon Publishes First Community Financial Report

AVON, OH - The city is experiencing an unprecedented amount of commercial growth, according to the new Community Financial Report released by the city. The bulk of the growth is occurring along the I-90 and Chester Road corridor.

Some of the city's project economic growth must be attributed to the new, 126-bed Cleveland Clinic Hospital that will open in November 2016. The five-story building is being called a "hospital of the future" by the Clinic.

“The hospital will offer many services that our community hasn’t had before,” says Brent Burkey, MD, Vice President of Medical Operations. “We’re excited about offering the newest medical technology. However, our primary focus is providing personal, high-touch care for patients.”

Of course, the opening of the Clinic's Avon Hospital has left neighboring Lakewood without its own hospital and many are citing the construction of Avon's facility as a key reason. Demolition of the old Lakewood Hospital began Oct. 24.

The city says the majority of its income comes from businesses. In 2015, the city got $11,598,154 in business taxes and $3,568,780 from individual taxes, for a total of $15,166,934. For contrast, the majority of the Avon School District's funding comes from property taxes. Nearly 68 percent of every property tax dollar goes to the schools, while 11 percent goes to the municipality.

The city has the second lowest property tax rate, 2.08 percent, of cities in the region. Elyria is the only city with a lower rate, 1.9 percent. The highest in the area is Bay Village which taxes residents at 3.56 percent.

The majority of the city's spending is used on capital outlay. In 2015, the city says it spent $13,047,443 on capital projects.

"We are working feverishly to widen roads, improve traffic signalization, extend utilities and enclose ditches. We are partnering with other municipalities (Avon Lake, North Ridgeville) and private entities in many of these projects," Jensen writes in his opening letter.

Avon Mayor Bryan Jensen touts the opening of the much ballyhooed Aquatic Facility/Municipal Swimming Pool. He says the facility has already sold 1,600 season passes. The city financed the construction of that facility with short-term debt and plans to pay that debt down using TIF-financing and tax revenues. TIF financing allows municipalities to use projected future tax revenues to finance current projects.

You can read the entire report, which includes a list of ongoing and scheduled capital projects, here.

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