On Thursday, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther proposed a $1.26-billion operating budget for 2026, slightly more than the $1.226-billion budget Columbus City Council adopted in February for 2025.
About 70% of the budget — $852 million — would go toward police, fire and other safety services. Officials want to add 120 police officers and 45 firefighters.
During an event to unveil the proposed budget at IMPACT Community Action on the south side, Ginther said the wages of city workers are outpacing income tax growth, with the cost of health insurance continuing to soar. And that puts pressure on the budget.
"We have enough to go around without considering a single layoff. But we're gonna have to be cautious about new hiring, moderate in wage growth," Ginther said.
The proposed 2026 budget lists 5,785 full-time employees. That doesn't include utilities, recreation and parks employees.
By comparison, the budgeted 2025 number was 6,057 employees. The actual number of full-time employees in 2024 was 5,519.
Ginther said federal money the city received during the pandemic is gone — Ginther said the city distributed $98 million in federal aid to help more than 33,000 households stay housed —so the city now has to step in.
"For the first time, we're going to use city of Columbus dollars. We'll invest in programming focused on homelessness prevention, not just emergency response," he said.
The proposed budget includes $6.5 million for homelessness prevention services for rental assistance and to Legal Aid to help prevent evictions.
"The Resilient Housing Initiative will seek to help families earlier in the process with $5 million in flexible support to cover rent, utilities or other unexpected costs," Ginther said.
A total of $1.5 million is designated for Legal Aid.
There are also funds for domestic violence programs.
The proposed budget also includes $79 million to operate Recreation and Park facilities, including the new Kilbourne Run Sports Park on the city's northeast side and $9 million in grants for human services.
Columbus City Council will hold hearings and possibly amend the budget before voting on a final plan early next year.
