Explanation
The purpose of this ordinance is to authorize the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with the Community Development for All People for its ID for All People Program.
Millions of Americans do not have the proper forms of identification to access life’s necessities. Lack of ID, such as birth certificates, state identification cards and driver’s licenses, and social security cards jeopardizes access to employment, housing, food, healthcare, banking, education, voting, and even poses a barrier to accessing the Covid-vaccine.
Lack of ID is most pronounced among seniors, people of color, domestic violence survivors, and those who are homeless, returning from incarceration, or living in poverty. These populations are also less likely to be able to afford access to the forms of identification they need. That is, residents’ financial constraints prevent them from obtaining documents that are themselves necessary for access to economic security.
Community Development for All people began a program in 2019 to remove the financial barrier standing between residents on the South Side and the identification they need by providing bus passes and vouchers for residents to receive their Ohio state IDs, driver’s licenses, and birth certificates. During a pilot funded in part by Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown in that same year, the program demonstrated it was helping residents access resources that are the basis of economic wellbeing: 29 percent of participants utilized the program for employment, 21 percent for housing, 17 percent for their children, and 10 percent to be able to access social services.
Fiscal Impact: Funding is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Emergency action is requested in order to avoid any delay in supporting the Community Development for All People which helps those living in poverty meet some of their essential needs.
Title
To authorize the Columbus City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with Community Development for All People for its ID for All People Program; to authorize an appropriation and expenditure within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund; and to declare an emergency. ($50,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, possession of personal identification documents impacts residents’ quality of life and improves their ability to be productive members of their 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 for securing economic prosperity; and
WHEREAS, the cost of some forms of identification, especially birth certificates, puts them out of reach for residents who need them most and is due largely to the excessive fees placed upon them by the State of Ohio; and
WHEREAS, the ID for All People program 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; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City Council in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Clerk's Office to enter into a grant agreement with the Community Development for All People so it has the ability to continue to offer services to help those living in poverty, for the immediate preservation of 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 City Clerk is hereby authorized to enter into a grant agreement with the Community Development for All People for support of its ID for All People Program.
SECTION 2: That the City Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate $50,000.00 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 $50,000.00 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 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 nor vetoes the same.