Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the City Clerk to enter into a service agreement with Heart & Hunter Inc, dba Hunter Marketing to provide communications services regarding salary transparency.
On November 3, 2025, Columbus City Council adopted ordinance 2898-2025, a measure requiring salary transparency in job postings. The pay transparency code change is intended to increase uniformity in policies for employers in Ohio, promote best practices in human resources, support job seekers in their search and in pay negotiations, and ensure that Columbus employers are operating competitively in the market by implementing these best practices.
The salary transparency requirements will be enforced beginning on January 1, 2027. In advance of employers being subject to compliance, Columbus City Council wants to ensure that both workers and employers are aware of the requirements through a multiplatform communications campaign.
Hunter Marketing has developed a proposed slate of deliverables associated with increasing awareness of Columbus’ new salary transparency laws, including social media engagement, creation of video and storytelling assets, collateral for an employer toolkit, among others. The proposed time frame for Phase 1 of the marketing and communications campaign is January 1 through April 1, 2026.
Fiscal Impact: Funding is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Emergency action is requested in order to authorize an agreement in time to initiate services within the proposed timeframe.
Title
To authorize the City Clerk to enter into a service agreement with Heart & Hunter Inc, dba Hunter Marketing to provide communications services regarding salary transparency; to authorize an appropriation and expenditure of $40,000.00 within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund; and to declare an emergency. ($40,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, on November 3, 2025, Columbus City Council adopted ordinance 2898-2025, a measure requiring salary transparency in job postings; and
WHEREAS, salary transparency requirements will be enforced beginning on January 1, 2027; and
WHEREAS, in advance of employers being subject to compliance, Columbus City Council wants to ensure that both workers and employers are aware of the requirements through a multiplatform communications campaign; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily business of City Council in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the City Clerk to enter into a service agreement with Heart & Hunter Inc. dba Hunter Marketing to provide a marketing and communications services campaign concerning the recently enacted salary transparency ordinance explaining the goals of and need for the legislation as of January 1, 2026, all for the immediate preservation of the public health, peace, property, safety and welfare; and now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the City Clerk is hereby authorized to enter into a service agreement with Heart & Hunter Inc, dba Hunter Marketing to provide communications services regarding salary transparency in an amount not exceeding $40,000.00.
SECTION 2. That the Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate $40,000.00 within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That the expenditure of $40,000.00 or so much thereof as may be needed pursuant to the action authorized in SECTION 1 of this ordinance, is hereby authorized in the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund, fund 1000, subfund 100018 per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 4. That the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated, and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
SECTION 5. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modifications associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 6. 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 days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.