I am committed to serving every resident of Tuscarawas County with integrity, transparency, and fairness. My focus is on providing professional stewardship of our county’s resources for all citizens, regardless of political affiliation. I would be honored to have your support.
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I am interested in your position on current economic development in Tuscarawas Country including, but not limited to, the creation of data centers for AI development and tax incentives for current and future fracking sites and their support.
I support economic development in Tuscarawas County, but I don’t believe every development project should automatically receive public subsidies simply because someone promises jobs or investment.
When it comes to AI data centers, I think we need to look carefully at the entire impact before approving major tax incentives. How many permanent local jobs will actually be created? How much electricity and water will the facility require? Will those costs eventually be shifted onto homeowners and small businesses? What infrastructure improvements will taxpayers be expected to finance? And what happens to the property-tax base when large abatements are granted? Those are reasonable questions, not opposition to technology.
As a retired Internet Service Provider and IT administrator, I certainly understand the importance of technology and the economic opportunities that come with it. I’m not against data centers. I’m against writing blank checks without knowing whether the long-term benefit to Tuscarawas County justifies the public investment.
I approach oil and natural-gas development and fracking incentives much the same way. The industry provides jobs, produces energy and contributes significantly to the local economy. At the same time, any tax incentive should demonstrate a measurable public benefit. We also have an obligation to protect groundwater, roads, property owners and the environment and to make sure companies—not local taxpayers—are responsible for the costs created by their operations.
I’m pro-development, but I’m also pro-accountability. If taxpayers are being asked to subsidize a private project, they deserve transparency about what they are receiving in return.
And as a candidate for County Auditor, that is particularly important to me. The Auditor’s office should deal with property valuation, taxation and public money accurately and transparently, regardless of whether the company involved is a small family business, an energy producer or a billion-dollar technology corporation.
Economic development should strengthen Tuscarawas County for the people who already live here as well as the businesses that want to come here.