Westside Messenger - May 15th, 2022

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PAGE 2 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - May 15, 2022 Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, and Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant outlined a plan to step up enforcement and prosecution of individuals who illegally ride vehicles like dirt bikes and ATVs on city streets, titled Operation Wheels Down. Public safety officials have seen an increase in calls from citizens complaining about noise and safety concerns due to motor bikes as the weather continues to warm in Columbus. Operation Wheels Down will take place multiple times throughout the spring and summer, utilizing intelligence and officers in the field to deter illegal operation of vehicles like ATVs and dirt bikes and step up enforcement of violations. Cases will be turned over to the city attorney’s office for aggressive prosecution to hold riders accountable and keep Columbus streets safe. “These vehicles, when driven recklessly and illegally on city streets, double as an unacceptable public nuisance and a clear threat to community safety,” said Ginther. “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated, and we are coordinating closely with all our partners across the city to leverage our combined resources, and strengthen enforcement and prosecution in ways that promote safety and maximize accountability.” Columbus City Council passed an ordinance in 2021 enhancing penalties for illegal, reckless operation of certain vehicles on city streets. The emergency measure created the misdemeanor charge of reckless operation of an ATV or dirt bike, which calls for a minimum fine of $500, a maximum fine of a $1,000, impoundment of the vehicle and the potential for up to 30 days in jail. “The city takes seriously our duty to protect the safety and security of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and all who use our streets. Illegally and recklessly operating any vehicle on city streets will be prosecuted - period,” said Klein, whose office will oversee the prosecution of cases forwarded from www.columbusmessenger.com Operation Wheels Down aims to keep illegal vehicles off the streets SWCS Continued from page 1 “I would even say we’re a little bit better in both areas, and even in our projected cash balance.” The updated projections show the district will see a modest increase in revenue in fiscal year 2022. “We do expect this fiscal year to end the year with our revenue surpassing our expenditures,” Garside said. “But in the next fiscal year and the ones throughout the forecast, we could possibly be spending a bit more than we bring in.” He said the revenue is expected to rise primarily due to reimbursements from Medicaid and funding received through the state. The district, he added, receives roughly 60 percent of its revenue from the state of Ohio. He said the recently approved Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP) has provided the district with more funding — they received roughly $120 million this fiscal year and are projected to receive roughly the same next year — but there has been no commitment to additional funding at that level beyond their current biennium budget. “They haven’t funded the whole thing yet but that is not uncommon for the state because they only have so many dollars themselves,” he said. “They need to figure out where they’re going to fund this funding formula and how they’re going to fund this funding formula.” He said the state has been fortunate to have financial stability but added that could change with the state of the domestic economy and other global factors. Garside said he is hopeful the state will find the funds to be able to fully fund the FSFP because he believes it provides an excellent opportunity for continued financial stability within the district. “I’m hopeful that the state will come through and we will keep pushing for that.” He did say, however, the state recently made it harder for districts throughout the state to collect assessed values from commercial properties by passing House Bill 126. “It limits our ability to work with commercial and industrial property owners when they have a market value sale,” said Garside. He said the district will have to be diligent to make sure commercial and industrial properties are paying their “fair share” in taxes. The updated forecast, which was approved by the CPD. “Our office will continue to work alongside CPD and public safety officials to keep our streets safe as we head into the summer months.” Columbus Police received hundreds of calls for service in the past year from residents concerned about how dirt bikes, ATVs and other motor bikes are being operated in neighborhoods across the city, citing public safety concerns for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike, as riders have been seen popping wheelies, doing burnouts and driving toward oncoming traffic and violating other traffic laws in heavy traffic areas like downtown, the Short North and along Livingston Avenue. “Consider this your notice: our officers and law enforcement partners will be on the lookout for this dangerous behavior. You won’t know where or when. This is not a game, and when we catch you, there will be consequences,” said Bryant. In a similar, limited operation conducted in 2021, there were 11 people arrested or summonsed, 11 ATVs or dirt bikes impounded and seized, two stolen ATVs or dirt bikes and five firearms recovered, and multiple misdemeanor and felony charges were levied against offenders. board, predicts the district’s revenue will be $270 million, $270.2 million, $279.2 million, $280 million and $286.6 million in fiscal years 2022 through 2026. On the expenditure side, Garside said the forecast predicts it will continue to rise throughout the forecast. “Our expenditures are expected to increase by $10 million, or 3.6 percent, annually throughout the forecast.” He said the contributing factors include a rise in salary expenses — salaries represent roughly 54.6 percent of total expenditures — a 6 percent increase in health insurance costs and an increase in purchased services expenses and supplies and materials. Garside noted the district will soon begin the collective bargaining process with the South-Western Education Association and the South-Western Administrative Association. The district recently came to a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement with its classified staff. Members of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees will receive a 2.75 cost of living increase in the contract years of 2022-23 and 2023-24 and a 3.23 percent cost of living increase in 2024-25. According to the forecast’s projections, the district’s expenditures will be $275.3 million, $285.2 million, $297.3 million, $310 million and $323.4 million in fiscal years 2022 through 2026. Despite the forecast projections that the expenditures will surpass the revenues in the next fiscal year, Garside said the district maintains “strong financial footing” as they will continue to have a positive cash balance throughout the five-year forecast. “Having a positive cash balance is a very good thing,” he said. He added he does not foresee the district requesting a new operating levy throughout this forecast but noted that a disclaimer may need to be included. “We get 60 percent of our funding from the state and if something major or weird would happen, then that would be really problematic for us,” he said. “But, as of right now, I feel confident that this is a great forecast and we are marching in the right direction financially.”
www.columbusmessenger.com Government Focus May 15, 2022 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - PAGE 3 West Broad transportation initiative presented By Katelyn Sattler Staff Writer A new initiative should help Hilltop residents with transportation. Zach Sunderland, manager of COTA’s West Broad Street Corridor initiative, discussed the plan with the Greater Hilltop Area Commission. Back in 2018, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) studied population growth in central Ohio and found that the population will be increasing by three million people by 2050. The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) looked at the data and decided something needed to be done to help people get around central Ohio with the expected population influx. The LinkUS Mobility Initiative is working on several high capacity bus rapid transit corridors - one along West Broad Street, one along East Main Street, and one to the Northwest. LinkUS is a partnership with COTA, MORPC, the city of Columbus, and Franklin County. Concerning West Broad Street, the route would go from Broad Street in Prairie Township to downtown. The part of Broad Street that goes through the Hilltop would see some changes. Currently, the Line 10 bus picks up and drops off passengers at frequent stops every block or two, with a bus running every 10 to 15 minutes. Because of the frequent stops and other external factors, like traffic or construction, getting to a final destination can take a long time. It’s one of COTA’s higher ridership routes, and this corridor was identified as needing more robust transit based on a pre-COVID study. LinkUS wants to install high capacity Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines along West Broad Street to ease the traffic burden. The BRT will have the middle lanes dedicated to bus traffic with signal priority along high ridership routes. Instead of having stops every 500 feet with a bus coming every 10 to15 minutes, the BRT system will have stations with safe places to wait and higher, level platforms which will help those with mobility challenges with wheelchairs or bicycles for getting on/getting off the bus every 1/2 to one mile. The locations of the stations are based on pre-Covid ridership. “This is really like nothing that we have in central Ohio today,” said Sunderland. For those who currently ride their bike Voters decline another police levy in Franklin Township to the bus stop, the buses have racks on the front to store bicycles while riding the bus. Sunderland said they are studying to determine how bikes will be stored on the BRT to avoid having passengers step on and off the ramp. In mixed traffic, because there are more slow downs and less reliability, the buses will travel on the right side of the road with stations on the right side, as well. Currently, buses are 40 feet long. The plan is to have large 60 foot possibly electric buses with an articulation in the middle. The six BRT stops now planned along West Broad Street are at Georgesville Road, Wilson Road, Westgate Avenue, Hague Avenue, Eureka Avenue, and Whitethorne Avenue. Commissioner Malik Moore asked, “As we look at where developments are coming, are these six stops going to be the places where stops need to be? I’m thinking of the Headstart as one place that’s probably going to be where large numbers of people begin to go. And as I look at our commercial district, if there’s going to be a Broad Street commercial district, it’s not going to be Hague, and it probably wouldn’t be Eureka. How dependent will we be on all of the work that goes to make those stops? And then we find out three years later, that’s not where the people are or need to be?” “We have an economic development team at COTA working with the city very closely and making sure we sync up the development patterns in a way that we haven’t done before,” said Sunderland. Sunderland also said there will be more formal opportunities for public engagement. “For the program, we requested entry into the federal transit administration’s capital investment grant program, which we could receive up to 50 percent funding through the federal government,” said Sunderland. LinkUS is currently in project development for the West Broad Street corridor. If all goes well, West Broad Street may have Bus Rapid Transit by 2027, with constructing beginning in 2024. While West Broad is under construction, Line 10 will still be running its regular schedule. To find out more, go to LinkUSColumbus.com. By Amanda Ensinger Staff Writer Voters have once again rejected a police levy. According to the Franklin County Board of Elections, the Franklin Township Police levy failed with 53 percent, or 378 voters opposing the levy and 47 percent, or 329 voting in favor of the levy. The township asked voters to approve 7.3-mill permanent police levy. This was the third time the department had asked taxpayers for a levy. In the fall of 2021, the township asked taxpayers to approve a 7.1- mill timed police levy, which would have replaced an existing timed levy that is set to expire at the end of 2022, as well as added an additional 3-mills. In the spring of 2021, the police department asked a 7.37-mill permanent levy, but voters rejected that. “This is the third time the levy has failed,” said Franklin Township Police Chief Byron Smith. “Cuts will be eminent to our department unless we receive another funding source. We can’t operate at our current capacity with the two smaller levies we have. However, it will be up to the board when that will occur.” Smith said the current five-year timed levy doesn’t expire until December 2022, so the trustees may opt to keep all the township police officers until the funds are no longer available. Currently, the township has 10 full-time and three part-time officers. The department is operating 24 hours a day when there is adequate staffing. They also are proactively patrolling neighborhoods when they can and responding to emergency and non-emergency calls, when possible. To stay afloat, the department has not been filling open positions. Smith said previously the department has up to 13 fulltime officers and six part-time officers. The department has two other permanent levies it collects from township taxpayers. Those two levies bring in approximately $700,000 a year for the department. Smith said he would be in favor of putting another levy on ballot. “I would support asking voters to approve another permanent levy,” Smith said. “Timed levies put us in a bad situation where we train people and then they leave because we don’t have consistent funding. Timed levies are more expensive for taxpayers, so I would only support a permanent levy.”
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Westside Messenger - May 15th, 2022

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