COLUMBUS (WCMH) – Columbus City Council will soon vote to approve mayor Andrew Ginther’s new proposed $912 million city budget.
The dollar amount is based on projected revenue. Mayor Ginther says his focus is building communities in Columbus.
“What we are really talking about today is people. The people of Columbus and what they expect and deserve,” said Ginther.
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One of mayor Ginther’s priorities is to support the Department of Neighborhoods with 11 million dollars. Neighborhoods like Linden and the hilltop would benefit. Ginther says many neighborhoods continue to suffer due to opioids.
“It’s been crushing to families. The numbers of children that ended up in foster care, in the child welfare system or their grandparents raising them. It’s a serious issue and a problem all of us need to be involved with,” said Ginther.
Ginther is proposing to add a senior leadership position to the Department of Public Health to oversee the Franklin County Opioid Action Plan. Plus $250,000 to support the Safe Point program.
We fund a lot of things going after the opioid crisis , but having a single point of contact that coordinating with the county. It’s going to essential for us to make more progress on this,”’said Ginther.
Mayor Ginther says he wants to invest in increasing diversity both in the fire and police departments with two new police and two new fire recruit classes.
“The start of this cadet program is really going to help us pipeline for a team of the diversity, that then will enter the academy of the divividoon of police and fire for the next couple of years,” said Ginther.
