Explanation
This year's campaign marks the 23rd anniversary of City of Columbus employees participating in a Combined Charitable Campaign. The Combined Charitable Campaign is a citywide collaborative effort that provides employees the opportunity to make donations to charitable organizations through payroll deduction or one time contributions. The city's annual Combined Charitable Campaign allows qualified multi-charity federations access to our work place for the purpose of soliciting charitable contributions from city employees while minimizing work place disruption and administrative costs. This year's campaign includes over 200 health and human services agencies.
Examples of direct health and human services are programs aimed at one or more of the following:
• health support and services
• research or education in the health fields
• safety and protective services for children and adults
• food and nutrition services
• preparation and delivery of meals
• adult, family and child care
• foster care for children and adults
• programs for school age children with special needs
• home management and maintenance
• transportation services
• information, referral and counseling services
• emergency shelter, care and relief
• adoption assistance
• neighborhood and community agency programs
• services to meet recreational and cultural needs
• social adjustment and rehabilitation services
• the protection, preservation or restoration of the air, water and land
• the preservation of the rights of animals that provide a direct benefit to individuals
During the campaign, presentations to employees reflect all health and human services agencies participating in the campaign. For the purposes of the Combined Charitable Campaign, health and human services are any combination of programs designed to meet the needs of adult, children and youth, the ill and infirm, the mentally and physically handicapped, the elderly, poor, minorities or women.
The city's annual Combined Charitable Campaign enables us to bring together labor and management, who all have a stake in the community, to go one step further in voluntarily supporting the needs of others. As the collective branch of government that is charged with leading this city, there are times when we simply need to support what is already working. Over the past 22 years, City of Columbus employees have voluntarily donated over $4 million through one time donations, fund raising activities, and payroll deductions.
In previous years, costs for campaign coordination services were withheld from employee contributions designated for a charitable agency or federation. Each agency that received donations had its share of the costs withheld from the first distribution. This effectively reduced the funds that reached the employee's designated charity. Beginning with the 2013 campaign, the Department of Human Resources has been funding the coordination efforts. Now, each dollar donated by city employees reaches the designated charity.
This contract modification allows for the third year of a three year agreement between the City of Columbus and the United Way of Central Ohio.
Emergency action is respectfully requested to ensure the ongoing contractual relationship between the United Way of Central Ohio and the continuity of the coordination of services provided by United Way of Central Ohio to the City of Columbus for the Combined Charitable Campaign.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funding for this contract modification is budgeted in the 2015 employee benefits fund budget.
Title
To authorize the Director of the Department of Human Resources to modify an existing contract with the United Way of Central Ohio for the purpose of providing coordination services for the City of Columbus 2015 Combined Charitable Campaign; to authorize the expenditure of $38,095.00 from the Employee Benefits Fund; and to declare an emergency. ($38,095.00)
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Columbus is currently in contract with the United Way of Central Ohio for the purpose of providing coordination services for the City of Columbus 2015 Combined Charitable Campaign; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the City of Columbus and its employees to fund this campaign to ensure that donations made by employees are reaching the employee's designated charity; and
WHEREAS, emergency action is requested to allow for continuity of coordination services by the United Way of Central Ohio for the city's combined Charitable Campaign; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Department of Human Resources in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Director to modify an existing contract with the United Way of Central Ohio in order to provide the coordination services for the City of Columbus 2015 Combined Charitable Campaign, thereby preserving the public health, peace, 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 Human Resources is authorized and directed to modify an existing contract with the United Way of Central Ohio for the purpose of providing coordination services for the City of Columbus 2015 Combined Charitable Campaign.
SECTION 2. 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 3. That for the purpose cited in Section 1 of this ordinance, the expenditure of $38,095.00 or so much thereof as may be necessary is hereby authorized to be expended from the Employee Benefits Fund as follows:
Fund: Employee Benefits Fund 502 | Department: Human Resources 46 | Division: 46-01 | OBL 3: 3336 | OCA: 464882
SECTION 4. 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 or vetoes the same.