How will Columbus' capital plan help you? Expect water, sewer and electricity upgrades
Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther is proposing a nearly $1.24 billion capital improvement budget that includes $859.1 million in new funding to expand affordable housing, enhance public safety, and improve parks, streets, sidewalks and services citywide.
The total includes $379.3 million rolled over from past annual plans for projects not yet completed.
Of the $859.1 million in new spending, almost two-thirds of it — or $545.1 million — will be spent by the city's utilities to provide water, sewers and electricity. The bonds paying for those improvements are repaid by ratepayers, not taxpayers.
The mayor begins the process with his proposed annual spending plan, which will be reviewed in a series of four hearings before the City Council beginning Tuesday and ending July 14. Council is then expected to vote on a final spending plan by July 25.
What are Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther's new spending priorities?
In an announcement, Ginther highlighted new spending priorities for the future:
Over $21 million to help keep more Columbus residents in their homes "and increase access to safe housing everyone can afford."
More than $12 million for an Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health (ADAMH) treatment facility and to Columbus Public Health.
More than $66 million toward improvements at parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, including $20 million to build the Broad Street Arts Center and $1.5 million to design new Marion Franklin and Tuttle pools.
$125 million to equip and fund the Public Service Department, including $9 million for additional refuse vehicles, $30 million for resurfacing, and over $2 million for continued improvements on Hudson Avenue.
“From new police and fire facilities and equipment to increasing affordable housing to improving parks, pools, roadways and sidewalks, these projects will be transformative and help to build a more equitable and inclusive future for all Columbus residents," Ginther said in a written statement.
Other new spending detailed in the 62 pages of spending priorities include:
$7.5 million to fix Bicentennial Park's Scioto Mile Fountain.
$2 million for police and fire radio upgrades.
$6 million to resurface the police impound lot.
$4 million for new fire engines and apparatus.
$5 million in new Arena District improvements.
$12.5 million in "neighborhood infrastructure improvements."
$4.4 million in park and playground development.
Millions of dollars in scores of street, bridge and sidewalk improvements.
How much bond money does Columbus have to spend in next two years?
The city still has about $202 million in bond money remaining to be spent over the next two years from a $950 million 2016 bond issue approved by voters, all of it in the utilities budget, according to Christopher Long, deputy director of the Department of Finance.
From the last bond levy, in the spring of 2019 for $1 billion, about $656 million remains through 2026, Long said. That bond issue included $50 million for subsidizing affordable-housing projects.
On Monday, the Council approved putting a $1.5 billion new bond issue on the November ballot, increasing the affordable housing component to $200 million, which according to the ordinance could be spent on both "residential and commercial structures."
The public hearings to discuss the proposed capital budget will take place at locations around the city:
Tuesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Columbus Center for Human Services, 540 Industrial Mile Road.
July 7 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Woodward Park Community Center, 5147 Karl Road.
July 12 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Family Missionary Baptist Church, 996 Oakwood Ave.
July 14 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Far East Community Center, 1826 Lattimer Dr.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus capital budget: Utilities, housing, parks in Ginther plan
