12 bullet points summing up proposed $912M city budget

Today, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther dropped his proposed 2019 General Fund budget on the people of Columbus: $912 million

Here are his priorities:

Continued support of the Department of Neighborhoods with $11 million for efforts with the area commissions, My Brother’s Keeper, the New American Initiative and our comprehensive neighborhood planning in Linden and the Hilltop. This includes funding for 2 additional neighborhood liaisons as well as $6.1 million for Neighborhood Crisis Response efforts to create physical deterrents to crime.
$7.8 million for Code Enforcement for continued efforts in fighting nuisance property violations and illegal dumping.
$1.8 million for the work of CelebrateOne, the city’s initiative to reduce infant mortality.
$4.7 million for the Department of Education for Early Start Columbus funding to support the number of pre-kindergarten classroom slots and increase the quality of the programs Columbus children attend.
Continued support of job creation and expansion funds for organizations who support entrepreneurship, startups and small businesses throughout Columbus.

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Continued funding for affordable housing options in support of the Mayor’s mandate to find solutions to the shortage of housing in Columbus.
$414,000 for the harm reduction programs in the battle against opioid addiction, including $250,000 allocated to the Safe Point Program providing Naloxone access, addiction counseling, treatment referrals and links to care.
$371,000 dollars for continuation of the CARE Coalition to provide trauma-informed responses not only to the family of homicide victims, but to the neighbors in the area where the crime occurred.
$622.5 million for Public Safety that includes police and fire, including expansion of Safe Streets bike patrol, new classes of police and fire recruits and a cadet program to form a pipeline of qualified, diverse candidates for future classes.
Continued funding for Recreation and Parks programs for youth including APPS, after-school programming and summer youth employment.
Review of operations to see how the city can become more efficient and better stewards of taxpayer money. Plans for these potential changes will begin in the first part of next year.
$1.75 million for the Rainy Day Fund, which will be added to the $76 million projected in the fund by the end of 2018.

“The future of Columbus and the people who reside here depend on our collective efforts to ensure we have vibrant, safe, thriving neighborhoods,” said Mayor Ginther. “This fiscally-responsible budget maintains our commitment to public safety, diversity and neighborhood development.”

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