Redistributed Wealth
Outside the prison walls, the village is also bracing for the changes that privatization will bring.
Grafton Correctional includes 15 buildings and a wastewater treatment facility that serves the village. According to the Lorain County Auditor, the property has a market value of $75 million, not counting some of the surrounding vacant land parcels. North Coast sits on 175 acres; its buildings have a market value of a little more than $10 million.
Private prisons argue that their presence is a boon to small towns because, unlike state-owned facilities, they will be forking over property tax revenue.Every $100 million in property value would reap $1.3 to $1.7 million, according to the ODRC's LoParo.
Local schools will receive most of that windfall, says village administrator Kowalski. (John Kuhn, superintendent of the Midview School District, which serves the area, did not respond to interview requests for this story.)
Ohio Representative Matt Lundy (D-Elyria) wants to make absolutely sure that happens, but to no avail so far.
He attempted unsuccessfully to include a provision in the current state budget bill that would prevent private owners from hiding their properties in investment trusts or other tax shelters, which has been a problem with privately run prisons elsewhere.
"I think that's the least we could have done for these communities," Lundy says. The budget bill has passed the Ohio House and is pending in the Senate.
If the village itself collects anything, it won't be enough to offset the projected losses in income tax from the sale. And with those losses, other village services and personnel could suffer.
That — along with the prospect of friends and neighbors losing their jobs — doesn't sit well on the streets of Grafton.
"Revenue from that prison helps fund this town," says resident Robert Shaw, who worries that someday the village may need to raise taxes to help cover the losses and additional expenses that privatization might bring.
