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A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT PRO TEM ELIZABETH BROWN
Columbus City Council is preparing to hold its final meetings of 2020 in the coming weeks, but that does not mean our work is almost done. A great deal of work remains to support the needs of every family and every neighborhood as we come to the end of a grueling year.
In the unprecedented year that is 2020, your City Council has taken action to provide rent and utility assistance directly to families, close the technology gap for students during virtual learning, strengthen workers with income replacement if they test positive for COVID-19 and need to stay home, support Columbus Public Health as they work on the front lines to protect our community during this pandemic, and more.
And now, City Council’s review of the mayor’s 2021 operating budget is currently underway and will carry into next year. This work includes renewed public engagement around reimagining public safety in Columbus -- we need your voice in the conversation, so stay tuned for the many ways to engage. We also can’t have a conversation about making every resident safe without addressing the economic insecurity impacting families. We know that ensuring basic needs are met -- like affordable housing and living wages -- continues to be a crucial part of any strategy to reduce and prevent violence.
The holiday season and the prospect of a fresh start in a new year are always cause for renewed hope and optimism. That is the case more than ever as 2020 comes to a close. While a new page of the calendar will not magically bring a fix to the pandemic, I am looking to the future with hope as we hear good news about a vaccine, celebrate holidays around smaller tables, and continue to move forward as a city.
Let’s all renew our commitment to being kind, being safe, and being there for someone who needs us this holiday season all the way into the new year.
With Gratitude,
Elizabeth Brown
President Pro Tem
Each year, Council conducts hearings relating to the operating budget, typically passed in February of each year. For the 2021 Operating Budget, we are in the midst of our virtual public hearing calendar. Please see below for additional hearings, where you can participate by emailing the listed staff member. You can also catch each hearing live on Council's Facebook page or the City of Columbus' YouTube channel.
Any resident seeking to submit written testimony should forward it to the designated Councilmember's office by noon on the day of the hearing. Residents who want to provide testimony via WebEx during the virtual hearing must email the designated office by noon on the day of the hearing to request a WebEx speaker link. Each speaker's remarks are limited to three minutes or less.
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Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 5pm Hearing of the Public Safety and Veterans & Senior Affairs Committees
- By Phone: 1-650-479-3207, Access code: 180 337 1386
- To provide testimony via WebEx during the virtual hearing email Grant Ames at GMAmes@columbus.gov by noon on the day of the hearing.
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Thursday, December 3, 2020, 2pm Hearing of the Health and Human Services, Workforce Development and Zoning Committees
- By Phone: 1-650-479-3207, Access code: 180 458 6240
- To provide testimony via WebEx during the virtual hearing email Carl Williams at GGWilliams@columbus.gov by noon on the day of the hearing.
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Thursday, December 3, 2020, 4pm Hearing of the Economic Development, Environment, and Administration Committees
- By Phone: 1-650-479-3207, Access code: 180 868 7259
- To provide testimony via WebEx during the virtual hearing email Lucy Frank at LJFrank@columbus.gov by noon on the day of the hearing.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2020, 4:30pm Hearing on Reimagining Public Safety
- By Phone: 1-650-479-3207, Access code: 180 894 5168
- To provide testimony via WebEx during the virtual hearing email Zak Davidson at ZGDavidson@columbus.gov by noon on the day of the hearing.
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Thursday, December 10, 2020, 5pm Hearing of the Public Service & Transportation, Housing, and Criminal Justice & Judiciary Committees
- By Phone: 1-650-479-3207, Access code: 180 999 3761
- To provide testimony via WebEx during the virtual hearing email Anisa Liban at AALiban@columbus.gov by noon on the day of the hearing.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 5:30pm Hearing of the Small Minority Business Committee
- By Phone: 1-650-479-3207, Access code: 180 856 0726
- To provide testimony via WebEx during the virtual hearing email Zak Davidson at ZGDavidson@columbus.gov by noon on the day of the hearing.
For more information on the 2021 Operating Budget hearings, click here.
City Council is accepting applications for the Columbus Youth Council! The program allows select Columbus City Schools juniors and seniors to immerse themselves in city government and learn how to become stewards in their community.
Students will participate in several lessons dealing with topics such as city government structure, municipal development, what municipalities can and cannot do, and much more. Apply today!
Utilities Payment Assistance Program Helps Families Affected by COVID
The City of Columbus is making additional funding from the 2020 federal Coronavirus, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act available for utility assistance grants to Columbus residents. These funds will be distributed to help families who have been unable to pay for utilities because of issues related to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of Public Utilities' CARES Act Assistance Program offers one-time payment aid of up to $750 toward an eligible Columbus water/sewer/stormwater bill, and/or up to $500 toward an eligible power bill. Residents who qualify can receive financial help for unpaid or overdue utility charges at the point of service disruption.
For more information, visit https://www.columbus.gov/payassist, call 614-645-8276 Monday - Friday 7am-6pm, or email BillAssist@columbus.gov.
Helping Columbus City Schools Reach Students With Complex Needs
Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy sponsored ordinance 2639-2020 to provide $200,000 in CARES Act funding for Columbus City Schools in order to provide 233 iPads with impact-resistant cases for use by students with complex needs to be used as part of at-home virtual instruction.
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Supporting Small Businesses in the Downtown Area
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Council President Shannon G. Hardin sponsored ordinance 2739-2020 to execute a $2,000,000 grant agreement with SID Public Services Association to offer grants to Columbus small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Downtown as part of the City’s COVID-19 Small Business Response and Recovery Program. |
Funding the "Deliver Black Dreams" Mural Project
Councilmember Shayla Favor, chair of the Public Service and Transportation Committee sponsored ordinance 2554-2020, authorizing the Department of Public Service to contribute $15,000 to the Greater Columbus Arts Council for the Deliver Black Dreams mural project. Delivering Black Dreams is a racial equity campaign designed to influence a culture where all Columbus residents can thrive. The first public art mural was recently installed at Fifth and Cleveland avenues.
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A MESSAGE FROM LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES
 As the pandemic rages on and more and more people get sick, many of us feel unsafe and uncertain about the future, especially now that Franklin County has put a stay at home advisory in place for the holiday season. But for victims of domestic violence, staying at home can feel familiar. Abusers often isolate and control victims’ contact with family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors and others. And this stay at home order is a convenient excuse to limit even further that contact.
But this does not have to be the reality for Franklin County domestic violence victims. In this time of uncertainty, there are services available that will provide safety and support to any victim who needs it, even during the stay at home advisory. LSS CHOICES, our county’s only domestic violence shelter, is still answering our 24-hour crisis hotline and providing shelter to those in need of a safe place.
If you are a victim of intimate partner domestic violence, you are not alone. Help is available even during a pandemic. At the LSS CHOICES shelter, we diligently adhere to all health department regulations and protocols, ensuring our shelter is as safe as possible from COVID-19.
We as a community will pull together to support those whose homes are just as or more dangerous than the COVID-19 virus. If you need help, please reach out to the CHOICES hotline at (614) 224-4663.
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