Columbus City Council Approves Capco Tax Abatement; Hears EDC Report (June 2, 2026)

The Columbus City Council met June 2, 2026, with all members present and no members online. After opening with an invocation by Dr. Brent Parker of Christ Fellowship Church and the Pledge of Allegiance, the council approved the May 19 meeting minutes and took up one new business item: Resolution Number 2026, a tax abatement for Capco LLC. The council passed the resolution 9–0, then heard a presentation from Phil Wagner, president of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation (EDC).

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes from the May 19, 2026 meeting by a 9–0 vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Phil Wagner, president of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, spoke in support of the Capco abatement on behalf of the EDC board and organization. He noted Capco's history in the community, said the project would have an estimated net benefit of about $53,000 after abatement, and said this type of industry supports about five spin-off jobs per direct job and about 136 spin-off jobs tied to Capco's current headcount.
• No other public comments were made.

Discussion Items

• Dan Arnold and Kataro Hashizumi presented Capco's request for a 10-year real and personal property tax abatement in a previously designated economic revitalization area under Indiana Code 6-1.1-12.
• Capco plans to expand its facility at 1349 Arcadia Drive, next to the city's new DPW facility, and add two stamping presses. Hashizumi said the total project investment is about $1.5 million, four new production positions would be added, and blended wages for the new positions would be about $23.52 per hour.
• Hashizumi cited exponential growth driven partly by new business with Toyota Boshoku Canada, and said Capco's business is expected to roughly double by 2030. The company makes seatbelt retractors, seatbelt adjusters, and a center hinge seat recliner for RAV4s, with about 80,000 center hinges produced per month.
• In response to a question about the prior 2024 request, Hashizumi gave updated employment figures: 93 employees at year-end 2024, 99 at year-end 2025, and 115 currently, adding about 18 employees over that period.
• The incentive review committee found the application paperwork in complete compliance.
• Financial figures presented by staff included a $375,000 real property investment with $47,000 in projected savings to Capco and $48,000 in net new city taxes, plus a $1.18 million personal property investment with $63,000 in projected savings and $42,000 in net new city taxes. The transcript contains an apparent self-correction: after citing a combined abatement of $105,000, the presenter stated final totals of $11,000 in savings for Capco and $91,000 in net new city taxes.
• Council members expressed strong support for the abatement, with one member citing concerns about personal property taxes on equipment and another praising Capco's multi-generational family investment in Columbus.

Presentation: Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation

• The mayor introduced Phil Wagner, who moved from Texas with his wife and two daughters and has led the EDC for about four months.
• Wagner described the EDC as a member-supported 501(c)(6) nonprofit founded in 1976 and reincorporated in 2016, formerly known as the EDB. About one-third of its budget is publicly funded; he said roughly $4.50 in private membership and other funds is matched for every $1 of city support.
• He reviewed his 90-day action plan: new site-marketing materials, economic impact modeling, JobsEQ labor data, Gazelle prospecting software, Japan-related prospecting, regional and state partnerships, audits, and updated prospect intake forms. He noted some goals were not fully completed, including meeting with about 20 of 50 board/investor groups and 17 of 25 targeted primary employers.
• The EDC's 50th anniversary event sold 260 tickets, generated $16,000 in net proceeds, and included a panel with Mayor Fred Armstrong, Julie Del Ginio, and Harold Forrest.
• Wagner described a Japan trip of about nine days, with visits to Toyota Material Handling, Capco Miyama, and SUNY, one medical-device prospect visit, and meetings with the city of Miyoshi, which he said has a meaningful sister-city relationship with Columbus.
• He also described Cummins supplier outreach, including attending a Cummins supplier conference and touring several suppliers, as a model the EDC wants to replicate with other large employers.
• Future priorities include filling an office manager position and a marketing director position, retention and expansion efforts, wage and benefits studies, trade-show attendance, and revenue stabilization.
• Wagner cited the ALICE standard, noting that 34% of Bartholomew County residents are asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed; he said the threshold is about $17.50–$18 per hour and that the EDC will look for employers with at least 66% of jobs above that range.

Committee Liaison Reports

• The BZA approved a Domino's pizza location on the West Side and approved variances for the Hutchins Crossing housing development, which is moving forward.

Key Outcomes

• Resolution Number 2026 was approved 9–0, granting the Capco LLC tax abatement.
• The council's next meeting is June 16, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. A motion to adjourn was approved.