Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance authorizes the City of Columbus to accept, appropriate and expend payments totaling up to $3,400,000.00 through the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Program with the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funds will allow the Lead Safe Columbus Program to provide property owners with grants for lead safe, healthier, affordable housing for families with low and moderate income under HUD guidelines. The program provides lead abatement and healthy homes activities in accordance with HUD guidelines, including but not limited to, lead paint level testing, risk assessments, lead hazard control and healthy homes interventions and clearance tests as well as outreach, education and training.
This legislation is submitted as an emergency to allow the program’s activities to begin immediately.
FISCAL IMPACT: This legislation requests the appropriation of $3,400,000.00 and the expenditure of $2,446,600.00 from the General Government Grant Fund.
Title
To authorize the Director of the Department of Development to accept payments totaling up to $3,400,000.00 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); to authorize the appropriation of $3,400,000.00 in several divisions and object levels of the General Government Grant Fund for the implementation of Lead Safe Columbus Program; to authorize the expenditure of $2,446,600.00 from the General Government Grant Fund; and to declare an emergency. ($3,400,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, the Department of Development has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration program. HUD funding will provide grants for property owners for lead safe, healthy, affordable housing for families with low and moderate income under HUD guidelines. Activities will include, but not be limited to, lead paint level testing, risk assessments, lead hazard control and healthy homes interventions and clearance tests as well as outreach, education and training; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to accept, appropriate and expend the funds from the federal agency for the aforementioned activities in the amount of $3,400,000.00; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Department of Development in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Director to accept, appropriate and expend said funds, all for the immediate preservation of the public health, property, safety and welfare; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Director of the Department of Development is hereby authorized to accept Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control payments of up to $3,400,000.00 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants for property owners for lead safe, affordable housing for families with low and moderate income under HUD guidelines. Activities will include, but are not limited to, lead level testing and lead paint clearance tests performed on lead hazard control and/or home repair projects, as well as, outreach, education and training.
SECTION 2. That from the unappropriated monies in the fund known as the General Government Grant Fund, Fund No.2220, Project ID G441600 and from all monies estimated to come into said fund from any and all sources during the time period ending February 1, 2020, the sum of $3,400,000 is appropriated per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That the monies in the foregoing Section 2 shall be paid upon the order of the respective departments for which the appropriations are made except that small claims in amounts
not to exceed Two Thousand Five Hundred dollars ($2,500.00) may be paid as authorized by Chapter 335 of the Columbus City Code, 1959, as
amended; that payments for premiums for official bonds, depository commissions, employees' hospitalization, life insurance, pensions, dental insurance, and prepaid
legal services, shall be made on the order and approval of the Director of the Department of Finance; and that no order shall be drawn or money paid except upon
voucher, the form of which shall be approved by the City Auditor.
SECTION 4. That, except in the matter of payrolls providing for the payment of salaries of officers and employees regularly employed by the City and extraordinary emergencies, no warrant shall be issued in liquidation of vouchers, unless the department contracting the expense shall have first obtained an order duly certified that there are sufficient funds appropriated to the credit of the proper fund from which the expenditure is to be made, which certificate must be obtained prior to the incurrence of the obligation, and the head of any department or division authorized to contract expenditures will be held personally responsible for any obligation incurred contrary to the provisions of this section. Except that such certificate shall not be issued for obligations pertaining to "Capital Outlay" in programs or activities funded by federal or state categorical grants without the prior approval of the Director of the Department of Finance; such prior approval must be obtained before submission of any requisition for items coded as "Capital Outlay" to the Division of Purchasing. The Director of the Department of Finance will review such requests for conformity with the approved budget.
SECTION 5. That this Council is not making specific appropriations for each item of every classification herein before contained but only for the total for each department and subdepartment, as shown in the attachment to this ordinance. The itemized classification shall, however, constitute limitations on the powers of the several department heads, and no such officer shall make any expenditure for any other purpose in any amount beyond that of the particular classification; provided, however, that transfers may be made from one character to another, within any one department or division. Transfers of sums exceeding $25,000 shall be authorized only by resolution of Council. Transfers of sums of $25,000 or less shall be approved by letter with the signatures of the head of the department, the Director of the Department of Finance, the City Auditor and the Chairman of the Committee on Finance.
SECTION 6. That for the purpose of making grants under the Lead Safe Columbus Program, the expenditure of $2,446,600.00 or so much thereof as may be necessary is hereby authorized in Fund 2220,
Project ID G441600 in Object Class 03, Contractual Services of $2,221,600.00 and Object Class 05, Other Expenditures, of $225,000.00 per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 7. 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 passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.