This morning, the Franklin County Commissioners released their annual State of the County report and an interactive website, which provide the community with valuable insight into the ways that their county government is working for them and what the commissioners are focused on for the future. The report is available at
Report.FranklinCountyOhio.gov, and the commissioners also hosted a luncheon this afternoon to celebrate 2023’s accomplishments, recognize community partners, and present awards to stand-out employees. A recording of the luncheon program is available on the commissioners’ Facebook page.
“We work hard every year to make Franklin County into the best place in the country to live, work, or raise a family, and the State of the County report details those efforts,” said Board of Commissioners President, Kevin L. Boyce. “But we also know that our community and our residents continue to face challenges such as with affordable housing and public transportation, and we’re committed to continuing our work on those priorities in the years to come.”
The ninth annual State of the County report is organized around the commissioners’ six
core principles of good governance, and includes data from all of the commissioners’ 15 county agencies, other county elected officials, and partners from throughout the community with which the commissioners work to support residents and move the community forward. The accompanying interactive website includes videos and innovative new features to make it accessible to people with disabilities, including people who have trouble seeing or reading a website, who struggle with animations, or who are dyslexic.
“It’s such an honor to get to be a part of leading this wonderful community, and we’re proud to recognize all of the great work that our team did for our residents in 2023,” said Commissioner John O’Grady. “I firmly believe that we’ve got the best local government team in Ohio, and an amazing array of government and private partners all of whom are working all year long to help us serve every one of our residents each day.”
Among other things, the annual report reveals that nearly 60% of last year’s General Fund budget was devoted to public safety and that about 40% of the All-Funds budget went to human services. The commissioners’ team served more than 80,000 senior citizens last year, and supported more than 76,000 children’s child support cases, and their Job and Family Services agency worked with nearly 1-in-3 Franklin County families in all. In addition, the county continues to be one of only about 3% of local governments nationwide with a double Triple-A bond rating, which is similar to a credit score.
“The state of Franklin County is strong, but we cannot ignore the fact that many of our residents are struggling,” said Commissioner Erica C. Crawley. “Every day as commissioners, we support working families as they strive for economic success and ensure that they have the necessary resources to not only survive, but to thrive.”
The State of the County report is released each year in April, which is National County Government month, and this year, the county also unveiled a newly redesigned website,
FranklinCountyOhio.gov, which serves as a new digital front door set up with modern features to make it as easy as possible for users to find what they need. In the coming months, more and more of the county’s websites will be reimagined with more intuitive and optimized search functions, and service-centered navigation to best serve residents.