Explanation
In the fall of 2019, President Pro Tempore Elizabeth Brown, the Mayor’s Office, and the Columbus Women’s Commission were awarded a CityStart grant from Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) supporting the creation of a financial empowerment roadmap to help women and families achieve financial security. Prior to the pandemic, one in four women were financially insecure, with women of color disproportionately struggling. With the knowledge that an extreme economic shock such as a global health crisis would likely to have an outsized impact on families who were already living with financial insecurity, CFE Fund created another grant opportunity for existing grantees soon after the pandemic struck. The City of Columbus applied successfully for an additional $80,000 to launch a financial navigation initiative to support families’ increased need for resource navigation during the health crisis.
The City intends to partner with HandsOn Central Ohio to embed enhanced resource navigation for residents within the existing 211 information and referral service line. HandsOn Central Ohio will hire and dedicate staff capacity for program management and a financial navigator position in order to help residents understand and connect to new and existing federal, state, and local resources intended for residents who are struggling financially.
This service agreement is being entered into per the provisions of Section 329.30 of Columbus City Codes. The City does not currently have the capacity to operate its own referral line for resource navigation, and HandsOn has the ability and experience needed due to their existing 211 information and referral line service.
Emergency action is in order to allow HandsOn Central Ohio to begin providing this public service as soon as possible.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funding is available within the private grant fund.
Title
To authorize the Office of the Mayor to enter into a service contract with HandsOn Central Ohio for the purpose of providing financial navigation support to residents; to authorize the expenditure of $57,760.50 from the private grant fund; and to declare an emergency. ($57,760.50)
Body
WHEREAS, the health of Columbus is tied to the wellbeing of its families; and
WHEREAS, the global health pandemic is resulting in major economic shocks for residents, especially those who were already financially insecure before it struck and may suffer disproportionately severe consequences because of it; and
WHEREAS, a critical means of supporting families who are struggling during the crisis, and therefore also to support the Columbus economy, is to help them navigate the new and existing federal, state, and local programs and resources available to them; and
WHEREAS, HandsOn Central Ohio manages the 211 information and referral service line, a well-known resource that provides related services to the public currently, and is an ideal partner for providing enhanced resource navigation to residents who are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 crisis; and
WHEREAS, this contract is awarded pursuant to provisions relating to non-profit services of City Code Chapter 329; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in that it is immediately necessary to authorize a grant agreement to avoid any delay in initiating this critical public service; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Office of the Mayor is hereby authorized to enter into a service contract with HandsOn Central Ohio for the purpose of providing financial navigation support to residents.
SECTION 2. That with regard to the action authorized in Section 1 of this ordinance, the expenditure of $57,760.50 is hereby authorized within the private grant fund, fund 2291, per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That this contract is awarded in accordance with the relevant provisions of Columbus City Code Chapter 329 relating to awarding not-for-profit service contracts exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00).
SECTION 4. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.