Q: Are port authorities exempt from taxes?
A: Like other governmental entities, port authority net incomes and port
authority property used for government functions are tax exempt. However, facilities leased for commercial purposes are fully taxable.
The Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority has paid $3.5 million in local property taxes since its founding. Combined, the tenants of the
Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center make up the largest taxpayer in the City of Heath and ranks among the largest in all of Licking
County with an estimated $1.6 million in local and school taxes paid in 2018.
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Q: Who oversees port authorities?
A: Port authorities fall under a variety of checks and balances. For one,
the political subdivisions that create the port authorities are responsible for appointing the board members of the port authority and
have the power to change a port authority's charter. Additionally, the Auditor of State is responsible for auditing
port authorities and publishing audit findings every two years. Finally, the records of port authorities are treated as public records
(except certain confidential business data) and port authority board meetings are made open to the public under
Ohio's open meetings act.
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Port Authority Info
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