Franklin County commissioners allocate $5 million in federal COVID relief funds for nonprofits

Franklin County commissioners approved on Tuesday the allocation of $5 million for grants to help area nonprofit groups weather the economic impacts of the ongoing pandemic.

Up to $50,000 will be available for nonprofits serving residents in qualified census tracts meeting lower household income requirements — those hit hardest by the pandemic. Up to $25,000 grants will be available to nonprofits helping residents in other areas.

The funds were earmarked from the county’s allocation of federal COVID-19 relief funding. Dayna McCrary, the county's community partnerships administrator, said applications for funding would be available Friday afternoon.

Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce expressed support for the resolution, but said he would prefer individual funding requests for grants come before the board of commissioners in the future rather than the board approving an overall total allocation up front.

“I do feel like we have an obligation to get funds on the street and really ensure that these agencies are able to carry out their function to the community in an expedient manner,” Boyce said. “I think there is some urgency and keeping all of the wheels moving, but I’m going to caution you on that process, that we will be monitoring closely.”

Commissioner Erica Crawley agreed. “I, too, want to see who is being recommended or referred … but I’m also curious to those who aren’t recommended for funding,” she said.

In other business Tuesday, the commissioners formally approved a resolution signing off on the expected collections and rates for various tax levies that help to fund county operations.

The authorization, completed each year by Oct. 1, is the next step in the county’s annual budgeting process, following adoption of the tax budget earlier this year and in advance of finalizing spending plans for 2022, said Zak Talarek, county budget director.

More:No tax increases expected in 2022 as Franklin County projects record sales tax revenue

The resolution projected more than $505 million in general and special revenue collections and total resources for 2022 of $2.6 billion, including carryovers and funds from other sources.

The earlier tax budget projected about $507 million in county general fund spending, up from about $491 million in 2021, $534 million in ’20 and $469 million in ’19. More than 60% of the county’s total general revenue funds come from sales tax collections.

mkovac@dispatch.com

@OhioCapitalBlog