Proposed 2024 Columbus budget projects 29% surge in property tax revenue from reappraisals
As the Franklin County Auditor's Office puts the final touches on its property reappraisal increases, the city of Columbus expects its property tax revenue will jump by almost 29% next year, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther's proposed 2024 city budget released Thursday shows.
Columbus expects to collect $81.8 million in property taxes in 2024, up from $63.4 million that was budgeted in 2023. The city's total general fund budget spending is expected to grow to a record of just under $1.2 billion.
The reason for the surge in property tax revenues is the gain that the city expects to realize from the reappraisal, with new bills going out in January, a city budget department spokesman said. In 2022 and 2023, property tax collections increased by only single digits.
Franklin County home values are set to rise a record 41% in this year's reappraisal, double the previous record of 20% set in the county's previous reappraisal in 2020.
Columbus' income tax of 2.5%, which provides the bulk of its general budget revenue, is expected to increase 3% next year to $872.3 million.
Spending on the city Department of Public Safety, the largest general fund category that includes police and fire protection, would grow about 3.2%, or $24.4 million, to $753.2 million, under Ginther's proposed budget.
During a Thursday morning news conference, held before the actual 408-page budget was released by the mayor's office, Ginther said the increase in public safety spending would fund three new police and fire recruit classes each that could add up to 150 new police officers and 150 new firefighters next year.
However, the city also planned three police classes for 2022 and 2023, and things didn't work out as planned, with the number of new recruits signing up being significantly lower than in previous classes, The Dispatch reported in July. A class of 34 Columbus police recruits graduated July 14. Another class of 48 officers began training at the police academy in August. The third class is set to begin in December.
The budget document shows the number of uniformed police officers in Columbus dropping next year by 16, to 1,980. But the Public Safety Department said numbers from 2022 and 2023 were revised down each of those years because of increased retirements, and 1,980 officers for next year is actually a year-over-year increase of about 75 officers.
Whether the Division of Police can recruit a full complement of 150 new police officers next year remains to be seen, said Glenn McEntyre, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
The police division is also budgeting for 10 new officers it expects to recruit from other police departments around the state.
The struggle to fill budgeted police positions comes amid an announcement last week that the police division would begin for the first time providing a full-time security detail of three sworn officers to protect members of City Council when they are out in public — beyond officers stationed at council meetings.
Council President Shannon Hardin has maintained the detail would not only protect council members but also the public. Previously, only the mayor and police chief have had security details.
The city expects that council security detail members would at least initially be rotated out by 60 days to fall under the city's contract with the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, which has filed a grievance arguing that any such detail assignment over 60 days must be negotiated with the union.
The Dispatch reported last week that Columbus taxpayers initially will pay $315,314 per year to the detail, which could grow as officials determined the right number of officers needed to protect councilmembers at public events, and potentially while they are off the job shopping, going to movies and or out to eat.
Hardin said last week that the Division of Police would decide how many officers are ultimately needed.
The mayor's proposed budget now goes to City Council for consideration, any changes and final approval.
Asked at the news conference if the mayor would commit to having three police recruit classes a year beyond 2024, Ginther — who was reelected to another four-year term Tuesday after a campaign focused on improving public safety — said he would only commit to do as many classes "as we can afford."
Other highlights in the proposed budget, according to Ginther, are:
$19.2 million to continue expanding affordable housing options across Columbus
$21 million for summer, after-school and jobs-readiness programming to keep Columbus youth safe, active and engaged
$10 million in human services grants for 112 social service organizations that provide support for vulnerable residents and neighborhoods
An expected balance of $101 million in the city’s "rainy day fund" by the end of 2024
Click this link to download a PDF and view the entire proposed 2024 City of Columbus budget.
wbush@gannett.com
@ReporterBush
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus expects 29% revenue windfall from property tax reappraisals
