Columbus City Council has unveiled it's amendments to Mayor Andy Ginther's 2017 city budget proposal. Council will put 500 thousand dollars into the city's rainy day fund on top of the 2.2 million Ginther proposed, bringing it to 75 million dollars by the end of the year. Council also plans to put 250 thousand into a second emergency fund called the Basic Services Fund. With Ginther's 1.5 million dollar set-aside, the fund will have 5.1 million dollars by the end of the year. Another 2.5 million dollars will spent on economic development, public safety and neighborhood initiatives, including a study on where to allocate money to fight sex trafficking, data collection on violence, expanding the police bike patrol, a program to sentence non-violent offenders to clean up neighborhoods, and the establishment of a citizens group to outline municipal priorities. Council finance committee chair Priscilla Tyson says the budget is now 872.7 million dollars, with council amendments funded with carryover money from last year.
Tyson says council will hold a public hearing on the budget tonight at 5 p.m. at City Hall. Council is expected to formally approve the budget next week.
