Ping-pong lottery decides Columbus council terms
The Columbus City Council on Monday ushered in 2024 with the first regular business meeting in its new form a week after a lottery selected how long the members’ initial terms would be.
A previous charter election increased the seven-member body to nine members, who are each required to live in a separate residential district.
During an organizational meeting last week, the newly seated council members voted to return Shannon Hardin, District 9, to the president’s chair for his seventh straight year. Council member Rob Dorans, District 3, was reelected by his council colleagues to his second one-year term as president pro tem, who fills in for Hardin in his absence.
Under the city charter change approved by voters that increased the size of the council and created the requirement for residential districts, all nine members were elected last November. Council elections had been staggered with roughly half the body elected every two years. To get back on that staggered election schedule, council members held a lottery on Jan. 2 — complete with pingpong balls — to decide which four members would serve a two-year initial term, and which five would serve a four-year initial term.
Those receiving two-year terms were
Dorans; political newcomer Christopher Wyche, District 1; and reelected council members Emmanuel Remy, District 4; and Shayla Favor, District 7, who recently announced she would run for Franklin County prosecutor.
Those whose ping-pong balls bounced their way, handing them four-year terms, were: Hardin; newcomers Nancy Day Achauer, District 2, and Melissa Green, District 6; and reelected members Nicholas Bankston, District 5; and Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, District 8.
After elections are decided in November
2025, all members will be on staggered four-year terms.
The new council on Monday went right to work taking care of some routine business, such as making the annual debt payments on the 20-year-old bonds used to purchase and renovate the former Lazarus department store on High Street in Downtown, waiving competitive bidding to buy new office furniture for city offices, and to set aside millions to back up the Greater Columbus Convention Center’s debt.
The council approved 9-0 a $7.05 million annual payment to the Riversouth Authority, which the state auditor considers a “component unit” of the city, or an entity that manages funds for the benefit of the city. This goes toward paying off bonds issued beginning in 2004 to redevelop the former Lazarus building for use as state offices.
Bankston said the payment is routine for the authority, which manages several Downtown properties slated for redevelopment.
The council also set aside just under $7 million to back up bonds issued by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority to cover its debt obligations in the event it fails to make payments. City officials said use of that money to subsidize the convention authority has never been used but is simply a safety net. That net is shared between the city and Franklin County.
In other business, the council approved seven $50,000 grants as part of the city’s 2023 “Flourish Grant” with the Elevate! program. The one-year grants are for local social services nonprofits focusing on homelessness, housing stability, financial security, workforce development, infant vitality, chronic disease prevention, violence elimination and other areas. The money comes from the city’s general fund, raised mostly by the city income tax. More grants are expected in the coming weeks. wbush@gannett.com @Reporterbush