| COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS For Immediate Release: December 12, 2011 For More Information: John Ivanic, (614) 645-6798 |
PROVIDING CURBSIDE RECYCLING FOR COLUMBUS RESIDENTS: Columbus City Council continues to support the city’s efforts to be environmentally friendly and a “Green” community. Public Service Committee Chair Eileen Y. Paley is sponsoring four pieces of legislation that will help improve our community by providing curbside recycling for many Columbus residents. Ordinance 1766-2011 will authorize the expenditure of $330,000.00 to educate area residents on the Curbside Recycling and Yard Waste Program, Ordinances 2000-2011 and 2003-2011 will authorize the expenditure of $4,100,000.00 for the purchase and delivery of 64 gallon recycling containers, and ordinance 2007-2011 will authorize a contract modification with Rumpke of Ohio for the new program. The City currently has a subscription curbside recycling program which will be phased out as the new program is gradually implemented for more than 227,000 households beginning next year.
MILLS HELPING PROVIDE NEW FIRE RESCUE VEHICLES: Columbus Firefighters respond to over 100,000 calls for emergency assistance each year. In the ongoing effort to ensure the Division of Fire has the updated equipment they need to respond to these calls, Public Safety Committee Chair Michelle M. Mills is sponsoring ordinance 01898-2011 to authorize the expenditure of $3,585,080.00 from the Department of Public Safety’s Governmental Build America Bonds fund to purchase five new, custom built heavy rescues and equipment from Sutphen Corporation, a local company to replace existing rescues that are beyond their useful life and have high maintenance costs. The Division of Fire has five heavy rescues assigned to fire stations throughout the city.
HELPING REFORM THE CITY BUILDING CODE: The Columbus Building Code currently requires that a contractor's license or registration be automatically revoked upon finding a contractor guilty of a third offense, but provides no further guidance or discretion as to the contractors permit volume, type, or the nature and time frame between prior violations. Councilmember Zachary M. Klein, chair of the Development Committee is sponsoring ordinance 0321-2011 to amend Sections 4101.02, 4114.537, 4114.727 and 4114.937 of the Columbus Building Code, Title 41 to correct and repeal this code language. The repeal of this code language would allow the appropriate boards of review to evaluate the merits of the cases and decide the penalty that should be attached to each individual case reviewed under their authority. The code changes will also update the Columbus Building Code to correctly reflect the creation of the new Department of Building and Zoning Services in 2010.
Council Promoting Small Business Development: The Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) has been instrumental in stimulating the Columbus economy by providing small loans to start-up, newly established, and growing small businesses. Minority, Business & Workforce Development Committee Chair Hearcel F. Craig is sponsoring ordinance 2176-2011 to authorize the expenditure of $100,000 from the Community Block Grant Fund for the administration of the ECDI’s Microenterprise Revolving Loan Program. ECDI has become a leader in the field of micro lending, providing microenterprise training to underserved populations including minorities, immigrants and low-income recipients. Since 2005, ECDI has provided over 140 loans to Columbus-based businesses.
MONITORING CITY EMPLOYEE COMPUTER ACTIVITY: Councilmember A. Troy Miller, chair of the Administration Committee, is sponsoring ordinance 1914-2011 to authorize the expenditure of $343,530.00 from the Department of Technology, Information Services Division, Capital Improvement Bond Fund for the purchase of software licenses for the IntelligentID activity monitoring system. The software will enable the City to monitor employee computing activities to ensure compliance with technology security policies, maximize productivity, track application utilization, and provide real-time user notification of potential security policy violations, thereby preventing data losses or security breaches. The software can be used for up to 5,000 City computer users.
PUBLIC HEARING ON Proposed 2012 budget: Councilmember Priscilla R. Tyson, chair of the Finance Committee, will host a public hearing on Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers for public comment on the Mayor’s Proposed 2012 Budget. The meeting will be broadcast live on CTV, Columbus’ channel 3 on local cable outlets. Speaker slips will be accepted until 6:30 pm per the general rules of Council.
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