Each April, counties all over the nation celebrate National County Government Month with information and activities designed to highlight all the ways that county governments are relevant to their residents and positively impact their lives throughout the year. This year, the national theme is
Counties Thrive, and the Franklin County Commissioners will be noting the many ways that they work to serve every Franklin County resident every day, and to help them thrive as we all continue to recover from the pandemic.
“Franklin County government touches the lives of every one of our residents in some way over the course of a year, and we’re very proud of how we as a community have weathered the past two difficult years,” said Board of Commissioners President Erica C. Crawley. “We know that many of our residents were struggling even before the pandemic, though, and are laser-focused on how we can help them to not only to survive, but to thrive in the years ahead.”
Franklin County is the largest county in Ohio with more than 1.3 million residents, and the 30
th largest in the nation. The commissioners oversee a nearly $2 billion budget as well as more than 1,400 employees who work in 14 county agencies from Job and Family Services to the Office on Aging, and from Sanitary Engineering to the Dog Shelter. They are committed to serving, supporting, and uplifting all the residents of Franklin County through a lens of respect and human-centered care, and governing according to a set of
Core Principles for good governance. Already this year, the commissioners have increased direct
outreach to seniors, made millions in
grants to local nonprofits and
small businesses, created a new program to help
women of color join the tech sector, and made
historic new investments in child care.
“I’m proud of everything that we’ve accomplished in the past year, but also very aware of the continued challenges that our residents and businesses face,” said Commissioner John O’Grady. “It’s an honor to be able to serve them and we’re excited to talk more about how we’re working to make the future bright in Franklin County.”
As the month goes on, the commissioners will be talking at their weekly
General Session meetings about how local government serves the people of Franklin County and using social media to educate the public about services that are available to them. They’ll also release their annual State of the County report and a newsletter highlighting some of their recent work.
“Franklin County is a great place to grow a family or build a business,” said Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce. “Not everyone knows how local government impacts their lives, but we’re working hard to change that even as we work to ensure that all of our residents have an opportunity to share in our county’s success.”
Every American lives in one of 3,069 counties which are overseen by nearly 38,000 elected officials. They maintain almost two million miles of roads and 38% of the nation’s bridges, and operate 1,943 public health departments. Counties support more than 900 U.S. hospitals, and invest more than $38 billion in human services annually. They oversee more than 100,000 polling places and invest almost $11 billion per year in housing and community development. To learn more about county government and National County Government Month, visit the National Association of Counties at
NACo.org.