Explanation
This ordinance amends previously passed ordinances 0888-2021 and 1490-2021 to authorize the expenditure of $441,000.00 from the Recovery Fund and to authorize the Auditor to and revise funding sources for the associated grant agreements.
Emergency action is requested in order to avoid any delay in deploying the financial resources necessary to support these expenditures.
Title
To amend ordinances 0888-2021 and 1490-2021 to authorize the expenditure of $441,000.00 from the Recovery Fund and to authorize the Auditor to revise funding sources; to authorize the modification of a grant agreement, and to declare an emergency ($441,000.00).
Body
WHEREAS, previously approved ordinances 0888-2021 and 1490-2021 were approved on April 5, 2021 and June 14, 2021, respectively; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an outsized economic downturn and sluggish recovery for communities of color and low-income individuals, and it and has also accelerated crime rates and the city’s homicide rate specifically; and.
WHEREAS, The End the Violence effort, which was approved for grant funding by operation of ordinance 0888-2021, provides violence intervention, work opportunities, and other supports to residents in order to address the root causes of violence and mitigate the economic instability that COVID-19 has brought to Columbus; and
WHEREAS, it is essential to overcome vaccine hesitancy in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 as improved vaccination rates are demonstrably the fastest, most effective means by which to slow the rate within the community; and
WHEREAS, the Right to Recover program, which was approved for grant funding by operation of ordinance 1490-2021, which began as a program to provide income replacement to low-income residents afflicted with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis is now seeking to improve vaccination rates in these same communities by incentivizing full vaccination for low-income residents; and
WHEREAS, the expenditure ...
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