Columbus Council Votes 8-0 for Fiscal Guardrails on Income Tax Set-Aside Fund
The Columbus City Council in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, voted 8-0 on November 2 to pass a code change restricting how the mayor can use a budget-balancing tool; Councilmember Nick Bankston was absent.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, the measure, proposed by Council President Shannon Hardin, requires the city to gradually reduce its use of the Income Tax Set Aside subfund for operating expenses, curbing that use by 10 percent every year. The subfund holds 25 percent of all city income tax revenue and is intended for payments on debt taken on to build capital projects. Mayor Andrew Ginther's finance director, Chris Long, expressed alarm, saying the 2026 operating budget will tap about $50 million from the subfund, or about 4 percent of the operating budget, and that limiting the flexibility of the fiscal tool could hamstring the city. City Auditor Jacquelin Lewis supported the legislation, saying credit rating agencies have warned that continued reliance on the fund could lead to a downgrade. The final legislation also gives the auditor "break glass" authority to tap the fund in an emergency.
The Ginther administration has accused the council of politicizing the issue, while Hardin is challenging Ginther for mayor in 2027; the mayor must present a 2027 operating budget proposal in less than two weeks. Councilmember Nancy Day-Achauer said the legislation reins in the practice of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" and called it a very slow weaning.
(Source: The Columbus Dispatch)
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
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Photo: 图：哥伦布市政厅。General Ization 摄，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Columbus City Hall, Ohio. By General Ization, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
