2022

Franklin County is the first local government in the country to join the Justice Counts initiative intended to provide criminal justice statistics quicker and improve public safety.

This morning, at their last General Session meeting of the year, the Franklin County Commissioners approved the county’s more-than $2 billion annual budget for 2023.  As the administrative division of county government, the commissioners directly oversee 14 county agencies and set the budget for all of county government, including agencies that report to other elected officials.  They held three days of budget hearings in November at which agencies presented highlights from 2022 and their budget requests for next year.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners opened their annual budget hearings this afternoon with a presentation from County Administrator Kenneth N. Wilson, in which Wilson laid out his proposal for a more-than $2 billion county budget for 2023.  The commissioners will host three days of hearings in which various county agencies will highlight their accomplishments from 2022 and present their budget proposals for the year ahead.  The commissioners set the budget for all 35 county agencies, even those that report to other elected county officials, and will vote to approve the final budget in December.

The Franklin County Commissioners honor and thank the more than 20 million living veterans of America’s armed forces and the many thousands who call our community home.  Their service and sacrifice, and that of their families, has preserved our nation of high ideals and helped America to project a beacon of freedom around the world.
 
All county offices are closed today in observance of the holiday.
 

Last week, the Franklin County Commissioners continued their ongoing investment in public health initiatives for their residents by providing a more-than $1.7 million grant to Franklin County Public Health (FCPH).  The grant will support FCPH’s Community Health Improvement Plan, which is a collective impact strategy to identify core health priority areas that impact the health and wellbeing of Franklin County residents and to develop plans to address those community-wide.  In addition, the funding will provide for training for FCPH staff, strategic planning, upgraded data and technology infrastructure, and additional resources to bring the agency’s services into the community to meet residents where they are.
 

For almost 30 years, Franklin County residents have benefited from their county government’s double Triple-A bond ratings from the ratings firms Moody’s Investors Service and Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings, making it just one of 2% of the nation’s 3,069 counties to enjoy this highest-possible rating.  Last week, Moody’s updated its credit analysis of Franklin County, retaining the Aaa rating and noting the county’s “strong financial management and resilient revenue base.”
 

The Franklin County Commissioners this morning voted to approve a $5 million grant to the Affordable Housing Trust of Columbus and Franklin County, which is an independent non-profit lender that works to develop affordable housing in Central Ohio.  More than 30,000 evictions have been filed in Franklin County since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a quarter of Ohio renters lack confidence in their ongoing ability to pay their rent.
 

This morning, the Franklin County Commissioners approved a $50,000 grant to Service! to fund relief and services for low-income hospitality workers in Central Ohio who continue to suffer the effects of the ongoing pandemic economy.  Service! was founded in 2020 to assist the many restaurant and hospitality workers that we all rely on, but who suddenly found themselves without work as the COVID-19 pandemic crested.  Service! began with boxed meals, and the moved on to directly raising money for low-income service workers in need.  This grant will allow Service! to widen its focus beyond direct assistance and to expand into programs that will help workers secure well-paid jobs for the future and ensure sustainability and equity in the workplace.
 

Each of the Franklin County Commissioners and several of their top staff are again in leadership positions this year with the National Association of Counties (NACo).  The organization represents nearly 40,000 elected officials serving in the more-than 3,000 American counties, helping share best practices among communities from across the nation and representing the interests of counties in Washington D.C.  As usual, Franklin County has more staff and commissioners among NACo leadership than any other county in Ohio.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners unanimously approved a $1 million grant for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio, allowing the nonprofit to help more families in their greatest hour of need and move the charity closer to meet their funding needs for completion of the world's largest Ronald McDonald House here in Columbus.