Explanation
Residents must possess personal identification documents such as birth certificates, state identification cards, driver’s licenses, and social security cards in order to be able to access the basic necessities of life. When residents lack these forms of identification and cannot afford to replace them, it jeopardizes their access to employment, housing, banking, and education - even the ballot box.
Vulnerable populations such as seniors, domestic violence survivors, and those who are homeless, returning from incarceration, or living in poverty are among the most likely to lack identification documents and also the least likely to be able to afford replacements. That is, residents’ financial constraints prevent them from obtaining documents that are themselves necessary for access to economic security.
The South Side ID Project was created to help Columbus residents access birth certificates and state identification cards at no cost. Few resources exist in the community to help residents bear the cost of replacing identification documents, especially families. South Side ID Project estimates that 75% of those whom it has helped are women seeking birth certificates for their children and grandchildren for school enrollment. South Side ID will be able to serve hundreds of additional residents with this funding.
Fiscal Impact: Funding is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Emergency action is requested in order to more rapidly provide resources for the delivery of program services.
Title
To authorize Columbus City Council to enter into a grant agreement with Community Development for All People for its South Side ID Project; to authorize an appropriation and expenditure within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund; and to declare an emergency. ($8,500.00)
Body
WHEREAS, possession of personal identification documents impact residents’ quality of life and improve their ability to be productive members of the community; and
WHEREAS, lack of identification hinders access to basic resources such as employment, housing, banking, and education and perpetuates the cycle of poverty; and
WHEREAS, lack of identification is an acute problem for vulnerable populations in Columbus, such as seniors, domestic violence survivors, and those who are homeless, returning from incarceration, and living in poverty; and
WHEREAS; it is counter to the public good to allow financial barriers to prevent residents’ access to personal identification documents, which are themselves vital to securing economic prosperity; and
WHEREAS, the cost of some forms of identification, especially birth certificates, puts them out of reach for many residents who need them most and is due largely to the excessive fees placed upon them by the State of Ohio;
WHEREAS, the need for identification is especially urgent during the lead-up to the start of the school year because enrollment in public school requires documentation of the date and place of birth of the enrolling student; and
WHEREAS, the South Side ID Project housed within Community Development for All People allows residents to apply for assistance to obtain personal identification documents and requires additional funds to meet the high demand from the public, due in part to the urgent need for birth certificates ahead of the 2019-2020 school year; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of City Council in that it is immediately necessary to authorize this grant agreement in order to more rapidly provide resources for the delivery of program services and for the preservation of the public health, peace, property and safety; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That City Council is hereby authorized to enter into a grant agreement with Community Development for All People for its South Side ID Project.
SECTION 2. That the City Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate $8,500.00 in the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund, fund 1000, subfund 100018, to Columbus City Council per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That the expenditure of $8,500.00 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 for reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared an emergency measure and shall take effect and be enforced from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.