Historic $1.2 billion operating budget prioritizes quality of life in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus city leaders are proposing another historic budget.

Monday, city council announced $18.5 million in amendments to the already $1.2 billion proposed operating budget. They are prioritizing improving quality of life, affordable housing, workforce development and safety.

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“We’re wanting to make sure that we reflect the values of this community and the values that this council sees for the fastest growing city in the Midwest,” said Council Member Emmanuel Remy.

The proposed budget has an emphasis on affordable housing. The council is investing money into tenant protections and emergency response housing. They are putting funding toward non-profits to help displaced residents like those at the Colonial Village Complex.

Councilmember Shayla Favor said they are also making an effort to keep housing affordable as the city grows.

“So here’s the reality. We have a supply and demand issue in the city of Columbus. And as long as the demand outpaces the supply, we’re going to continue to be on the wrong side of the affordability issue. And so that’s why you’re seeing revisions to our CRA policy that is incentivizing development just in general, but then also ensuring that there is a carve out for truly affordable housing in our community,” Favor said.

Favor said they are planning to host more town halls about housing in the summer. She said they are always accepting community input on how to make it better for residents.

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Two thirds of the budget is designated to public safety. Remy said more than $7 million will help mental health crisis response teams in the city.

“We won’t stop until we answer every single call that comes into the city the right way every single time. And so that’s the commitment that this council has. That’s the commitment that the public safety department has,” Remy said.

Councilmembers say another layer of safety is cleaning up the city. They are investing a significant amount of money toward neighborhood clean up programs.

This is something Ralph Carter, the founder of We Are Linden, has already been working on.

“Last summer, city council helped fund our ‘We Are Cleaning’ initiative. With that initiative. I mean, we were able to tackle 23 alleys of, I want to say over 3,000 pounds of trash, it was a lot of trash,” Carter said.

Carter said there is an illegal dumping problem in the area.  He said it will be a collective effort from residents as well, but support from the city can help.

“When it’s clean, you feel comfortable with being outside and playing in it. Having your children running around. I mean, no one wants their child to run around in a neighborhood that’s dirty. That is, you know, a field that may have broken glass in it, you know, things like that, man, we want to keep you safe,” Carter said.

Councilmembers are also making investments into city recreation centers to ensure children in all areas have a safe space to play. This will also go toward staffing those centers.

The budget also includes $20 million toward summer youth programming.

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The city is accepting applications for those grants now and will award that money accordingly.

The council also plans to invest $400,000 to support minority small businesses in the city to help them thrive.

Council members have added a significant amount to the city’s rainy day fund bringing the total to more than $100 million.

They will have their final vote on the budget on March 4. It will then be sent to the Mayor’s desk for final approval.

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