The City of Columbus will ask voters May 7 to approve a $1.03 billion bond package to finance capital improvements that include a real-time crime center and an affordable housing component.
Mike Foley reports.
Most of the bond package, $425 million, will be spent on public service including road resurfacing, curb and sidewalk improvements, bridge rehabilitation, and refuse collection and facility improvements. $250 million will be devoted to public utilities in the form of water and sanitary improvements. $205 million would will be designated for safety, health, and infrastructure, including a real-time crime center. Columbus Mayor Andy Ginther says it will augment the city's continued efforts to police differently.
"It'll help us collect and analyze crime-related data and provide it rapidly to our first responders," Mayor Ginther said. "Another tool for us to serve the people of Columbus, a data-driven approach. With this bond package proposal, significant resources will help us to allow this 21st century real-time crime center to better serve the people of Columbus."
Ginther says the city is in the process of finding a site, and it will likely take 3 to 4 years to build. City officials stress that the bond package is not a tax increase, but simply a way for the city to sell bonds and use the proceeds for various projects. City Auditor Megan Kilgore explains the reason for seeking voter approval.
"Because unlimited bonds, which are synonymous with voted bonds, carry the absolute lowest cost of borrowing, it is absolutely essential that we try and seek our citizen support so that we can issue our projects with the lowest cost of borrowing," Kilgore said. "Today, approximately 83 percent of our entire debt portfolio is voted. That's spectacular. This means we are able to sell the City of Columbus' bonds to investors not only with a triple-A credit rating, which is like having a perfect score for an individual's credit rating, but also with a separate and distinct set of security. And that is that voted support."
Kilgore notes that 90 out of 96 bond issues have passed since 1956. Mayor Ginther says a new element to this bond package involves devoting $50 million to affordable housing.
"This will involve us from going a land bank to a land trust community, working with the county land bank and the city land bank, and working together to make sure we provide options for folks to remain in their neighborhoods as property values go up but also building, refurbishing, renovating, all of the above," Ginther said. "I don't think it's all new housing units. I think it's a combination of restoring and renovating existing units, but clearly we're not building enough housing units based on our population growth."
The city will hold four community input sessions, all from 6-8pm.
· Wednesday, January 16 – Linden Community Recreation Center, 1254 Briarwood Ave.
· Thursday, January 17 – Glenwood Community Recreation Center, 1888 Fairmont Ave.
· Wednesday, January 23 – Driving Park Community Recreation Center, 1100 Rhoads Ave.
· Thursday, January 24 – Marion Franklin Community Recreation Center, 2801 Lockbourne Rd.
