Explanation
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this ordinance is to appropriate $106,000.00 within the Public Safety Initiative subfund to the Department of Public Safety, so that the department can provide funding for forgivable home loans for the Safety Forces Residential Incentive Program (SFRIP).
The SFRIP is a pilot program that began in 2020 to offer up to $10,000 in the form of a secondary home loan to police officers and firefighters who have successfully completed their probationary periods and are purchasing a home within the City of Columbus corporate boundaries. The officer or firefighter must then live in that home for five years for the loan to be completely forgivable. The pilot is administered by CME Federal Credit Union and the loan dollars disbursed by City payroll. This funding will allow for a continuation of the program.
Over the past several years, the City has been engaged in efforts to further diversify the safety forces in Columbus and ensure that those ranks reflect the communities in which they serve. The extension of this pilot program will continue to serve as an incentive for those charged with the safety of City residents to live in some of the same neighborhoods that they work.
EMERGENCY DESIGNATION: Emergency action is requested to ensure that the Department of Public Safety has the ability to provide the benefit as soon as practicable to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Columbus.
FISCAL IMPACT: Total appropriation is $106,000.00 and is available in the 2023 budget within the Public Safety Initiative subfund, Fund 1000-100016.
Title
To appropriate $106,000.00 within the Public Safety Initiative subfund to the Department of Public Safety to provide forgivable home loans for the Safety Forces Residential Incentive Program; and to declare an emergency. ($106,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, the City has been engaged in efforts to further diversify the safety forces in Columbus and ensure that those ranks reflect the communities in which they serve; and,
WHEREAS, continuing to promote City residency will serve to encourage police officers and firefighters to take the opportunity to live in some of the same neighborhoods in which they work; and,
WHEREAS, CME Federal Credit Union has been previously involved with this pilot, as well as in other benefits offered to Columbus uniformed personnel; and,
WHEREAS, $106,000.00 is available in the Public Safety Initiative Fund for appropriation to provide for this need; and,
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Department of Public Safety, in that it is necessary to ensure that the Department has the ability to provide funding for the benefit as soon as practicable and prior to the City Council summer recess for the immediate preservation of the public health, peace, property, safety, and welfare; NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1: That $106,000.00 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Public Safety to provide forgivable home loans for the Safety Forces Residential Incentive Program per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 2. That the City Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate $106,000.00 in the Public Safety Initiatives sub-fund, fund 1000, sub-fund 100016, to the Department of Public Safety, per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3: 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 4: That for reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is 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.