Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill to ban certain local officials from signing non-disclosure agreements that are related to their public duties. State Representatives Adam Bird and Brian Stewart introduced this bill on Feb. 11th. NDAs that are signed are directly connected to data centers in Southeast Ohio, which will influence the local upcoming primary elections. Companies use NDAs to keep rural residents in the dark about who is building in their backyard.
Voters should carefully choose who they vote for, while officials should serve better with honesty.
For Scioto County, commissioners approved Google's 75% tax abatement for a $1 billion project of a 500,000 square foot data center in Franklin Furnace, Ohio. Many residents are still concerned and worry about environmental effects, availability of jobs and if the commissioners even listened to them.
One incentive for approving the abatement was the promise of jobs with the data center. Scioto County commissioners have secured “good faith” that the local workforce will be used, as said in a Facebook post. This was a major concern for residents after a recent project when Portsmouth used Cincinnati-based contractor Dugan & Meyers.
However, no resident was aware Scioto County commissioners were working with Google until Jan. 22. Scottie Powell, Scioto County commissioner, said in a Facebook live that they had been exclusively working with Google for the last few months and visited other data centers to see workers, listen to the noise and ask questions about other concerns.
Powell said that citizens are in an “information deficit,” and the board is at a “trust deficit.” In saying this, it gives the impression that he believes residents didn’t understand the full scope. Each side should be able to share the bigger picture for developmental projects.
It should be expected for government officials to do their own research and listen to concerns from voters and residents in their governed area. Scioto County commissioners did have open hearings for questions, but still, the approval of the abatement and concerns from residents will affect the performance of the current commissioners in the next election.
Even though Google’s data center would improve the job market in Scioto County, and commissioners focused on the tax abatement, many residents were concerned about the proper disposal of wastewater. Some residents voiced their concerns on Jan. 15 about the data center.
Many of those in attendance are a part of a Facebook group online, “Scioto Responsible Growth Alliance.” In the group, many residents share research and questions to better understand how the community can have an input in the decision for the tax abatement, focusing on transparency among community members.
Signing an NDA is secretive, and Stewart agrees. “In 11 years as a local elected official … I never signed an NDA, and I never would,” He said. “Secrecy breeds distrust amongst the taxpayers, which is detrimental to economic development efforts.”
With residents in Scioto County and Lawrence County displeased with the outcome, this will divide communities.
The environmental concerns for data centers are very important; however, commissioners were set on making their decision about the incentive of jobs. The approval of the tax abatement was in hopes that more jobs would be available in Scioto County.
After NDAs and commissioner meetings, this can be a lesson for voters and future voters. Voters should consider the secrecy from their elected officials and the new bill to ban them from signing NDAs. Officials should learn from this, too, by doing research, listening to their residents and not being so secretive in their public duties.
Voters and residents are allowed to voice concerns, contact representatives and be heard. Scioto County and other Southeast Ohio counties, like Lawrence County, are welcoming data centers in hopes of growing infrastructure. Researching other rural communities in the United States and how they are experiencing data centers is a wise choice. Oh well, the 2026 primary election is May 5.
Cassidy McClurg is a freshman student studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassidy about their column? Email cm303824@ohio.edu
