Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance authorizes the City of Columbus to accept, appropriate and expend payments totaling up to $4,000,000.00 through the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control 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, affordable housing for families with low and moderate income under HUD guidelines by providing lead abatement activities in accordance with HUD guidelines, including but not limited to, lead level testing and clearance tests performed on city lead hazard control and/or home repair projects as well as outreach, education and training.
This legislation is submitted as an emergency to allow the program's activities to continue uninterrupted.
FISCAL IMPACT: This legislation requests the appropriation of $4,000,000.00 and the expenditure of $2,048,000.00 from the General Government Grant Fund.
Title
To authorize the Director of the Department of Development to accept payments totaling up to $4,000,000.00 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); To authorize the appropriation of $4,000,000.00 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 $2,048,000.00 from the General Government Grant Fund; and to declare an emergency. ($4,000,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, the Department of Development has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by which HUD is providing funding to provide property owners with grants for lead safe, affordable housing for families with low and moderate income under HUD guidelines by providing lead abatement activities in accordance with HUD guidelines, including but not limited to, lead level testing and lead paint clearance tests performed on city lead hazard control and/or home repair projects as well as outreach, education and training in targeted neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to accept, appropriate and expend the funds from the federal agency for the aforementioned activities in the amount of $4,000,000.00; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City of Columbus in that it is immediately necessary 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 $4,000,000.00 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide property owners with grants for lead safe, affordable housing for families with low and moderate income under HUD guidelines by providing lead abatement activities in accordance with HUD guidelines, including but not limited to, lead level testing and clearance tests performed on city 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.220, Grant Number 447027 and from all monies estimated to come into said fund from any and all sources during the 12 months ending December 31, 2007, there be and hereby is appropriated to the following divisions the following sums:
DIVISION 44-10
OBJECT
LEVEL ONE OCA AMOUNT
01 447027 $1,001,939
02 447027 21,500
03 447027 876,800
05 447027 2,048,000
DIVISION 44-10 TOTAL $3,948,239
DIVISION 50-01
OBJECT
LEVEL ONE OCA AMOUNT
02 507027 $50,000
03 507027 1,761
DIVISION 50-01 TOTAL $51,761
GRAND TOTAL FUND 220 $4,000,000.00
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; that the monies appropriated in the foregoing Section 2, Division 44-10, shall be paid upon the order of the Director of the Department of Development; that Section 2, Division 50-01 shall be paid upon the order of the Health Commissioner; 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. 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 it is understood 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 final column. 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 $2,048,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary is hereby authorized from the Department of Development, Housing Division, Division No. 44-10, Fund 220, Grant Number 447027, Object Level One 05, Object Level Three 5517, OCA Code 447027.
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.