2019 Full Tax Track Report

The Tax Track is conducted on an annual basis by staff at Greater Gratiot Development, Inc. (GGDI) as a means of evaluating the success of the organization’s economic development efforts. GGDI began tracking its projects in 1982 to provide some type of conservative measurement tool that could be used to gauge the productivity of its efforts and prove the value of its existence to elected leaders and citizens.

Originally created by an Alma College Economics Professor, the Tax Track was designed to measure the increase in property taxes paid and the net number of jobs created and retained by GGDI-assisted projects. This is how it works: when the improvements made possible by GGDI’s assistance are in place, the assessed value of the property increases. The result is an increase in property taxes paid, which the Tax Track measures and reports.

The Tax Track clearly illustrates that a concerted team effort over an extended period of time will continuously reap increasingly larger benefits. In economic development, as in business in general, consistent effort is the key to long-term growth. Greater Gratiot Development, Inc., on behalf of the entire county, will continue to work towards expanded growth for the entire Gratiot community.