Explanation
Background:
This legislation will authorize the appropriation of $100,000.00 from the Bad Checks Fund. This fund is generated by fees collected by the City Attorney's Bad Checks Diversion Program and used to pay the annual salary of the Bad Checks Program Coordinator and for the services of various professional facilitators.
The Bad Checks Program is designed to reduce the number of bad check cases that backlog the court and to help local merchants recover the money they are owed. Facilitators work directly with the merchant and the check writer to resolve the matter and therefore keep the case out of the court system.
In 2008 over 17,000 cases were diverted from the court system and over $405,000.00 was recovered for the merchants
Fiscal Impact: The Bad Checks Diversion Program is entirely funded from collected fees. The 2008 year end cash balance was $179,741.23.
Title
To authorize the appropriation and expenditure of $100,000.00 from the fees collected by the City Attorney's Bad Checks Diversion Program for the purpose of paying the salary of the Program Coordinator and the cost of professional facilitator services, and to declare an emergency. ($100,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, administrative fees are imposed and collected by the City Attorney's Office for participation in the Bad Checks Diversion Program, and
WHEREAS, the cost of this program is solely supported by the fees collected, and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City Attorney's Office in that it is necessary to immediately authorize the appropriation and expenditure of these collected fees for the continuance of the program and for the preservation of public health, peace, property, safety and welfare, and now therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO:
SECTION 1. That the City Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) from the Special Purposes Fund as follows: City Attorney's Office, department 24-01, Bad Check Fees fund , fund #223, organizational cost account 223131, object level three 1101, the amount of Eighty-five Thousand Dollars ($85,000.00) and object level three 3336, the amount of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00).
SECTION 2. That the City Attorney is hereby authorized and directed to expend those funds for the purposes of paying the salary of the Bad Checks Diversion Program Coordinator and for professional facilitator services.
SECTION 3. That the monies appropriated in foregoing Section 1 shall be paid upon order of the City Attorney; and that no order shall be drawn or money paid except by voucher, the form of which shall be approved by the City Attorney.
SECTION 4. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor or ten (10) day after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.