Explanation
Background: The Columbus Division of Police has a need to purchase food and/or beverage items for the TAPS program, OMVI Training for recruits, and various community events throughout the year. This ordinance authorizes expenditures from the Division of Police General Fund for the purchase of food and/or beverage items, which serve the public purpose of protecting health and improving lives, for the following occasions:
The TAPS program is a mentoring program with officers for the middle school youth of Columbus. Food and beverages are provided at all of their events which include the following:
-Working with students at 4-6 of the City of Columbus Middle Schools and 10 Weeks of Summer Camp, these events provide candy and pizza or lunch with the TAPS mentor officer. Candy 100-150 pieces a week for 52 weeks in a year at $20.00 per bag of candy equals $1,040.00 for the year. The lunches are scheduled to take place 8-10 times a year and they lunches include 437 Officers and at-risk youth from 12 TAPS current in pervious schools. These lunches allow the officers to check up on their students and continue the mentoring relationship. The approximate annual cost for these lunches would be $3,500.00.
-A Summit Day - This includes 250 lunches and drinks for TAPS students, family members, school officials, administrators and officers at $8.00 a person would be a total of $2,000.00 for this event.
-TAPS Student Family Panel
-10-15 Community Events The TAPS program will purchase candy for these 10-15 events. The approximate cost for the candy for the number of events is $450.00. These meet and greet events for the families of at- risk youth and the community. We discuss the program and hand out gun safety information along with other TAPS related information. Also, we encourage our former TAPS youth graduates to come to the events to visit their mentors, receive candy, and talk to new possible TAPS students. These events include TAPS Family/Student pa...
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