Columbus returns over $1.1 million in unspent rental assistance to feds amid housing crisis

Columbus received an unprecedented $68 million windfall in federal rental assistance funds just five months ago, but the City Council on Monday found itself returning more than $1.1 million from a previous COVID-related, rental-assistance grant because it couldn't spend all the money by last December.

Without debate, the council voted unanimously to return the $1.1 million — just over 4% of the initial $26.8-million award — to the Emergency Rental Assistance Fund administered by the U.S. Treasury. Council President Shannon Hardin said that the city had been so successful at distributing the rental assistance, that it got the $68 million windfall earlier this year.

To put the amount into perspective, it could cover 1,375 monthly rent subsidies of $800 each.

Not leaving any of the rental aid on the table has been a goal of local officials.

Before January, Franklin County had received $33.4 million in federal COVID-related rental assistance since the start of the pandemic's emergency programs. But just since the start of this year, the county received an additional $55.6 million. The GOP-controlled House in Washington had been demanding earlier this year that unspent COVID-relief money be returned to the federal government.

"We need to get it all done so that we don't have any of this money left," John O'Grady, then-president of the county Board of Commissioners, told The Dispatch in June concerning the county's allocation. "The last thing we want is for this money to go back to Washington."

"After processing all those funds, the city and its partners did have a little over a million dollars left, after processing applications," Hardin told the council, asking if any members had questions.

None did, though housing affordability, evictions and shortages are so rampant that the city is in the process of overhauling its zoning regulations to make the process easier for developers to create more housing with less neighborhood interference.

Asked after the meeting if he was concerned, Hardin's office later responded with a prepared response by email that "the city spent over 96% of its allocation in the first round of ERA funding," and the rental aid is currently flowing into the community at up to $2.5 million a week.

"So yes, I share the confidence that the U.S. Treasury had in central Ohio to award us more total aid to stabilize families than they gave to California and New York combined," Hardin's statement read. "I’m also excited that Treasury will allow us to dedicate some of this newer money to affordable housing creation – that was an option Treasury only explicitly made available to those localities that spent at least 75% of their earlier ERA round.”

The Dispatch reported earlier this year that up to 25% of the latest allocation of funds could go to subsidize the construction of new housing units for very low-income residents.

In other action, the council agreed to settle an excessive-force lawsuit against two Columbus police officers for $200,000. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in March that the officers, Elijah Japido and Jesse Smith, did not have qualified or statutory immunity for claims of excessive force, battery, assault and emotional distress in the 2019 beating and tasing of Scott Osborn, a motorist who had called 911 after being involved in a one-car crash.

Within seconds of the officers arriving, Osborn had been body slammed, punched repeatedly in the head and torso, tased twice, and maced twice, handcuffed, and charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest, the court noted.

The officers said Osborn was acting strangely, being resistive and failing to follow commands, while Osborn said he was disoriented from hitting parked cars with his vehicle, didn't resist and didn't understand what he had done wrong, court documents say. Osborn was treated for seven broken ribs, injuries to his head, a concussion, cuts, and bleeding from his eardrum, though it wasn't clear if any of that could have resulted from the crash.

City Solicitor General Richard Goglianese told the council that the settlement was to avoid attorney fees.

"The use of force was found to be all within rule, so there were no violations committed by the officers," Coglianese said, adding that a committee found "their conduct all the way through was appropriate and followed department policy."

The council on Monday also:

• Approved a $1 million infusion into the Critical Home Repair Program, which includes initiatives to help eligible homeowners replace, roofs, windows, doors, and mechanical equipment in emergency situations, such as faulty electrical systems, no heat, or clogged sewer lines. The program is open to households up to 80% of the area median income, or $55,550 for one person and $79,350 for four a family of four.

• Approved three ordinances to expand benefits for city employees, including expanding the existing six weeks of parental leave and four weeks of caregiver benefits into 12 weeks of paid family leave at 100% of an employee's salary for the birth of a child, leave resulting from pregnancy-related complications, the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and care for a family member with a serious health condition. The benefit will be phased into various union contracts with city employees through 2024.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the city did not respond to inquiries made to the Finance and Development departments.

wbush@gannett.com

@ReporterBush

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus returns over $1.1 million in unspent rental-assistance funds