City hikes vehicle-license tax $5
It will cost Columbus residents more to register their vehicles next year under an ordinance approved by the City Council on Monday evening. license tax, with proceeds to be used for road and bridge projects.
Under the city ordinance, annual motor vehicle registrations as of New Year’s Day 2020 will cost about $65. The increase is expected to generate an estimated $3.6 million annually, said Councilwoman Shayla D. Favor.
Franklin County implemented a similar $5 increase in vehicle registrations
earlier this year, so Columbus residents will pay a total of $10 more for their licenses beginning next year.
In other business, the council approved a $1.1 million contract with Denver-based Easymile Inc. for professional services related to a new selfdriving shuttle for residents of the Linden neighborhood.
The shuttle service, the latest in Columbus’ Smart City efforts, will provide free daily rides in 15-passenger electric vehicles from the Linden Transit Center on Cleveland Avenue to the St. Stephen’s Community House, with stops in between at the Douglas Community Center and the Rosewind Resident Council.
A similar automated shuttle service was launched late last year along the Scioto Mile,
circling among COSI, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum and other Downtown stops.
The Linden shuttles are expected to begin service in November.
Also Monday:
• City officials posthumously honored community activist Amber Evans, 28, with a Create Columbus Visionary Award, a quarterly accolade that recognizes young professionals who are making a difference. For years, Evans was active in local community justice groups, including as leader of the People’s Justice Project, Voices of the Unheard and the Juvenile Justice Coalition.
Council President Shannon Hardin described Evans as “a community champion and a powerful force for a more just Columbus.”
Councilwoman Elizabeth Brown added, “I know she changed the lives of people that she saw all over the city,
and in those people, her soul will live on.”
Evans’ body was found in the Scioto River in late March, about two months after she was reported missing. Authorities believe she killed herself, although a final autopsy report has not yet been released.
• The council approved a contract with T&M Associates of Dublin for up to about $1 million to assess debris accumulation and structural issues in 102,200 linear feet of storm sewers.
It’s the first phase of a larger project and will involve large-diameter lines in an area bounded by Cemetery Road, Riverside Drive, West Broad Street and Alton Darby Creek Road.
• Members approved payments of more than $1.1 million to six area school districts as part of revenue sharing required under state law as part of property tax abatements on projects with $1 million or more in new employee payroll.
Two dozen local projects covered by abatements were involved, including 16 in the Columbus school district that led to nearly $786,000 inrevenue sharing approved by the council Monday night.
The other districts receiving funding are: Gahanna Jefferson ($20,574), Hilliard ($170,003), Olentangy ($48,313), Southwestern ($66,270), and Worthington ($22,424).
• The council agreed to assess the owners of 196 properties for the costs of weed and solid-waste removal from November through April.
Owners of the parcels were warned of the city’s requirements to deal with weeds and other issues. When they didn’t, the city hired contractors to do the work. The resulting costs will be added as tax liens until repaid.