News

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners this morning unanimously approved a contract to acquire body cameras for each of the county’s 565 certified deputy sheriffs and a policy that will govern their use.  The contract is for just over $2.5 million with WatchGuard Video, and the money to procure the cameras is being made available by the commissioners from the county’s General Fund.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and are inspired by his example of tireless service to others.  Difficult times require us to work collectively for a brighter future, and for our nation to finally live out the self-evident truth that all men are created equal.  The commissioners encourage all Franklin County residents to set aside time today for service to the community in honor of King’s legacy and to continue to make our county a wonderful place to live.

 

The Franklin County commissioners this morning announced that water and sewer rates for their customers would be unchanged for 2022.  The county’s Sanitary Engineering division has about 4,000 water customers and close to 6,000 sewer customers in more than 30 small service areas around the county, and annual rate increases usually mirror those implemented by the City of Columbus. 
 

Yesterday, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners selected Erica C. Crawley to serve as president of the board for 2022.  Commissioner Crawley was appointed to the board in July following the retirement of long-time commissioner, Marilyn Brown.  She is the first African-American woman to serve on the board and the first to serve as board president.  Commissioner Crawley is a U.S. Navy veteran and previously represented the 26^th Ohio House District in the southeastern portion of Franklin County.
 

At their final meeting of 2021, the Franklin County Commissioners this morning voted unanimously in favor of a county budget for 2022 that is balanced and forward-looking, and which contains no fee or tax increases.
 

This morning, the commissioners approved a resolution providing $500,000 to fund a program of the United Way that is aimed at ensuring that Franklin County students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners honor and thank the more than 20 million living veterans of America’s armed forces.  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.
 

This morning, the commissioners voted to approve a resolution that will provide funding to support Franklin County Public Health’s Community Health Improvement Plan in order to strengthen pandemic education efforts and generally improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable residents of Franklin County.  The Community Health Improvement Plan is a comprehensive initiative of Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) to improve the health of the community, especially in the four priority areas of Chronic Disease, Mental and Behavioral Health, Maternal and Infant Health, and Overall Access to Healthcare.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners have launched a new webpage where residents can track how the county uses funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to help our community recover from the pandemic.  The site, Recovery.FranklinCountyOhio.gov provides information about the ARP, what it means for Franklin County, a graph of expenditures so far, and links to information about the individual expenditures.  The commissioners have already allocated more than $26 million for recovery.
 

The Franklin County Commissioners today approved a $2,537,300 contract with the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio to fund Women @ Work, a program to support Franklin County women who are returning to the workforce following the pandemic.