2020

The Franklin County Commissioners yesterday sent a letter to Ohio’s two Senators, Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman asking that they follow the precedent set by the Senate in 2016 by not considering or approving any nominee to the Supreme Court with less than two weeks before Ohioans begin voting in the presidential election.  Click for the full text of the letter.

The COVID-19 Resilience Initiative Grants provided by the county total more than $5.3 million and will assist nonprofits in helping residents avoid eviction and stay in their homes, put food on their tables, access mental health services, and more.
 

A Franklin County and City of Columbus-led collaborative is working to fill a critical needs gap of for thousands of Franklin County K-12 students who will have online learning this fall, yet lack computers and Internet service.

The Board of Commissioners approved $2 million in CARES Act funding this morning to fund a new and innovative collaboration with One Columbus and the Columbus Urban League aimed at helping minority-owned businesses with grants, access to capital, and more.  Federal data has shown that of the $3.4 billion loaned to Ohio businesses during this pandemic only about three percent went to businesses owned by African Americans.

As they have in recent years, all three Franklin County Commissioners have been named to leadership roles with the National Association of Counties (NACo), which represents our nation’s 3,069 counties, nearly 40,000 elected county officials, and 3.6 million county employees.  In addition to the commissioners, County Administrator Kenneth Wilson, Job and Family Services Director Joy Bivens, and Director of the Office of Justice Policy and Programs, Michael Daniels have also been appointed to leadership roles.  Franklin has more staff and commissioners in leadership at NACo than any other county in Ohio.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners have provided letters of intent for $4 million of funding for 273 new affordable housing units in developments around Franklin County.  The funding is part of the new Franklin County Magnet Fund program, which is designed to induce new affordable housing projects to seek the federal 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credit in addition to other sources.  Every $1 of Franklin County funding provided will leverage $11 in private/non-profit investment
 

Franklin County offers grants to help nonprofits that have been stretched thin during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are $5 million in grants available, which are in addition to $19 million in aid already provided to businesses and residents during this crisis. 

Twenty million in grants are now available to Franklin County nonprofits, thanks to a joint effort by Franklin County and the City of Columbus officials to create a safety net for agencies that have helped so much, they are now in critical need themselves.

 

On Independence Day, we celebrate our nation’s freedom from tyranny and our own freedoms as Americans.  Even as our country sometimes feels very divided, we know that America is a beacon of hope around the world because of ideals like the freedoms of speech and religion, freedom of the press, and to assemble freely and to petition the government.  The commissioners salute all of the men and women serving around the world to preserve those ideals, and wish everyone a safe and happy Independence Day.
 
All county offices are closed today in observance of the holiday.
 

To reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Franklin County the Board of Commissioners convened an emergency meeting this evening and unanimously passed a resolution to uphold the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations to wear cloth face coverings in public settings. 
 
By adopting this resolution, the Board of Commissioners support cities, townships and villages within Franklin County to pass local ordinances and emergency declarations, as allowable by law, to require residents in those communities to wear face coverings while visiting indoor settings like retail stores, restaurants and work settings.