The Piqua Improvement Corporation, often called PIC, appears in the city’s 2025 financial report for the first time as a separate “component unit.” That means PIC is legally separate, but its ties to the city are close enough that readers need to see its finances beside the city’s own numbers. The auditor called special attention to this change and said the full 2025 report is not directly comparable with the prior year.
PIC is not new. It was formed in 1979 to serve as an agent for the city and support industrial, business, and commercial growth. It can buy property and help prepare sites for new use. At the end of 2025, it had 11 trustees.
The city’s explanation for leaving PIC out of earlier reports is direct. City officials believed PIC met the rules to be listed as a component unit. Yet the city did not include it because its financial activity through 2024 was considered too small to matter to the city’s full report. In 2025, PIC took on a project large enough that the city decided it had to be added.
The auditor did not change or qualify the audit opinion because of this change. Instead, the auditor added an “emphasis of matter” paragraph so readers would notice it.
PIC’s federal tax filings offer more background. The most recent filing found in publicly available records was for 2024. PIC filed a Form 990-N, often called an electronic postcard. This short filing confirms that an organization remains active, but it provides almost no financial detail.
One correction is important. Filing a 990-N does not mean an organization has less than $50,000 in assets. It generally means its annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. Gross receipts are all money received before any costs are taken out. For an organization at least three years old, the IRS normally applies the test using its average gross receipts over the latest three years.
That difference matters because PIC already owned property before it appeared in the city report. The 2025 report shows that PIC held five properties with a total book value of $807,005 at the end of both 2024 and 2025. The report also reset PIC’s starting net position from zero to $338,101 as of January 1, 2025. PIC therefore had assets and financial value before it was added to the city’s statements.
The 990-N tells residents that PIC reported limited normal receipts through 2024. It does not give a balance sheet, list the properties, show debts, or explain individual transactions. Small organizations filing a 990-N are also not included in the detailed Form 990 records collected by certain nonprofit oversight organizations.
No 2025 federal filing was found in the publicly available records reviewed for this article. That absence should be noted, but it does not prove that PIC missed a filing deadline. A calendar-year nonprofit normally files by May 15, but an organization may receive an extension. There can also be a delay before a return appears in public databases.
Still, PIC’s 2025 financial activity was far different from what its earlier 990-N filings would suggest. PIC ended the year with $3.87 million in assets and $3.50 million in liabilities. That left a positive net position of $374,800. During the year, it reported $4.64 million in expenses and about $4.67 million in charges, grants, and contributions. Its net position grew by $36,699.
The balance sheet is less comfortable. PIC had about 90 cents in liabilities for each dollar of assets. Most of its assets were $2.49 million in accounts receivable, $807,005 in land held for resale, and $570,807 in cash. Most of its liabilities were $2.95 million in accounts payable and a $545,000 note owed to the city.
The large receivable is tied to a state Brownfield Remediation Grant awarded in 2022. The city and Hartzell Hardwoods were named as subrecipients. Grant income and grant costs can pass through an organization in large amounts. The matching receivable and bills do not, by themselves, mean PIC is losing money. They do mean PIC depends on grant payments arriving at the right time.
There is another concern. Of PIC’s $570,807 in bank deposits, $250,000 was covered by federal deposit insurance. The remaining $320,807 was exposed to custodial credit risk. That does not mean the money was lost. It means that part of the balance did not have the same protection as the insured amount.
The city also loaned PIC $545,000 in 2025 to buy and clean up 125 W. Water Street. PIC does not make regular yearly payments. The full amount is due only after the property is sold. At year-end, the entire loan remained unpaid. The report also says none of PIC’s five properties was expected to be sold or put to a new use within the next year.
PIC is not shown as broke. It had a positive net position, a small gain for the year, commercial insurance, and no pending claims or lawsuits reported. But its financial cushion was only $374,800 against $3.50 million in liabilities. Much of its strength depends on collecting grant money and selling land.
At Tuesday night’s City Commission meeting, auditors from Clark, Schaeffer and Hackett, also found that the inclusion of Piqua Improvement Corporation in the city’s annual financial report caused a material concern. The concern brought forward by the auditor’s was explained in a question posed by Commissioner DeBrosse. The auditor said the concern brought up was more of a one-time issue where an asset owned by Piqua Improvement Corporation was miscategorized as an asset. The auditors did point out that they expect Piqua Improvement Corporation’s financial reports to be incorporated in the city’s financial reports moving forward.
Adding PIC to the city’s report gives residents a fuller picture. It also raises fair questions. When did officials first decide PIC met the test for a component unit? Why did property worth more than $800,000 remain outside the city’s earlier reports? Has PIC filed its 2025 federal return or received an extension? How will its uninsured cash be protected? And what happens to the city’s $545,000 loan if the Water Street property does not sell?
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