The group pushing a ballot measure to create an alternative emergency response team for mental health and substance abuse calls is compromising with Columbus City Council on its ballot language.
City leaders and the Columbus Safety Collective announced a new, joint effort to put a change to the city's charter on the ballot this May. The measure would create a team of medical professionals and social workers that would respond to certain emergencies instead of police officers. This could include mental health, welfare checks and calls about substance abuse.
The city council is voting on both the original proposal and the new compromise at Monday's meeting. The Columbus Safety Collective had already submitted 30,000 signatures to the city to put an issue on the ballot, but organizers say they will withdraw the original proposal by Friday.
Chana Wiley with the Columbus Safety Collective said the compromise pushes back timelines to implement teams and leaves the budget up to the council, rather than enshrining costs into the city charter.
"We are shooting for having this stood up in 2028 and 24/7, seven days a week by 2030 and also we do not have budget numbers inside of this compromised charter," Wiley said.
Wiley said the group was "a little too descriptive" in the original proposal, but the new version that council agreed upon is more summarized and condensed.
"We just wanted to fill that gap and that missing gap was this non-police response system to mental health calls," Wiley said.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said in a statement having the correct response to an emergency can save lives.
“Today, as we confront rising mental health, homelessness, and substance use crises, this charter amendment is the latest chapter on the long arc that bends towards justice and progress. I am grateful to the Columbus Safety Collaborative for their half-decade of organizing and advocacy that got us here, and City Council looks forward to championing this proposal that we developed collaboratively with them," Hardin said.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther just announced a $1 million expansion to the city's alternative crisis response efforts, which this ballot measure hopes to expand even further.
Wiley said her group sees what Ginther proposed as "start up costs" for what could eventually be a full program. She said her group appreciated that the mayor acknowledged their ballot issue effort the day he announced the $1 million in funding.
"I was at that press conference last week and he thanked us and the residents for signing and showing that the people really want this. So, in my eyes, that was support for him to publicly acknowledge us during his press conference," Wiley said.
Wiley said the group also worked to address concerns by labor unions about what such a proposal could mean for the workloads of police officers, firefighters and city workers with the Department of Public Health.
Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9 President Brian Steel said in a press release Monday that he is part of the Safety Collective's effort. He said that as community expectations evolve regarding alternative crisis response, so too must law enforcement.
"Our officers respond to thousands of calls every year involving mental health crises, addiction, homelessness and other complex social challenges. While law enforcement will always be prepared to respond when there is a threat to public safety, we recognize that not every situation is best resolved through traditional enforcement alone," Steel said.
Steel said a thoughtful, well-structured alternative crisis response model — one that is properly funded, clearly defined and coordinated with law enforcement — has the potential to improve outcomes for individuals in crisis while allowing officers to focus on violent crime and serious threats to the community.
