Tax revenues increase 340 percent in Monroe County

By Jackie Stewart | Energy in Depth Published: April 21, 2016 1:54 PM

Just two years ago, the Appalachian region in Ohio suffered one of the most devastating job losses of 2013: the Ormet aluminum smelting plant in Monroe County, located along the Ohio River closed, leaving 1,000 people out of work in Ohio and West Virginia.  If the job losses weren’t bad enough, the closure also meant that millions in tax revenues would also be lost.  But then along came the development of Ohio’s Utica Shale.

Thanks to natural gas development in the area, Monroe County has had an over 340 percent increase in tax revenue, which has not only filled the void left by the plant closure, but has also brought back hope to the community that had been shattered two years ago. Today, natural gas development has been said to be the “lifeline” for Monroe County.

Tax revenues increased from $1.5 million in FY2010 to a whopping $6.8 million in FY2015. The tax loss from Ormet, during the same period of time, would have created a $4.5 million deficit from the county budget.

Instead, the oil and natural gas industry not only covered that loss but added supplementary millions, as is evident by the county sales tax records.

Unless you live and work in Ohio, it’s hard to imagine the positive transformational change that has occurred in many of the state’s poorest counties.

Reports cited international trade regulations as the cause for the closure of the Ormet plant, which resulted in 1,000 local jobs going over to China. Monroe County was a poster child of shipping jobs overseas.