City of Columbus officials and staff laid out department goals for 2020 during a Thursday planning session, addressing frugal spending, crime prevention, as well as other city policies.
The meeting is held once every year, said Columbus Mayor Robert Smith. He chose to hold it at the beginning of the calendar year this time, he said, eight months before the new fiscal year begins.
Due to the large amount of presentation materials, Smith said he plans to release presentation slides from the Thursday meeting two departments at a time during the following weeks. The first batch was released Sunday, outlining the city’s financial obligation, crime reduction and infrastructure projects.
Smith said his mention of frugal spending as one of his goals was in response to the city’s financial crisis last year. The city was projected to run out of cash by October, which was avoided after the city froze new hires, cut employee overtime and delayed pay raises for promotions, among other things.
Smith said the city hopes to update department heads on their finances monthly to closely monitor the spending. The city had used a more “relaxed” approach by conducting quarterly updates, he said.
“By doing it month by month and keeping them abreast where they are,” Smith said, “that’d hold them accountable.”
Another goal the city has set is for purchases to only be approved after purchase orders are obtained, Smith said.
“It is not something the city was doing before,” said Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin.
Department heads have credit cards billed to the city, which could be used for last-minute purchases sometimes as long as the money was within the budget and justifiable before the council, Gavin said.
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones said the council was also focused on the funding source for paving projects in the long run. The city plans to increase the property tax millage rate over time and designate some for paving, he said.
Jones said the effort to hold the planning session at the beginning of the year allows departments to be better prepared for the rest of the year.
“I think it’s always good to try to see which way you want to go and what you can do to get there,” Jones said.
The city will post department presentation slides on its Facebook page. Members of the public can also request copies by emailing city spokesperson Joe Dillon at [email protected].
Conflict disclosure: Managing Editor Zack Plair took part in editing this article. He is currently involved in legal proceedings with the city of Columbus.
Yue Stella Yu was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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