COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Council member Nicholas Bankston is head of the finance and governance committee, and he said the city’s budget this year is the tightest it’s ever been. He said it’s become even tighter as they try to help fund organizations that are suddenly in need.

“We're still going to serve as many residents that we can. We're still going to show up wherever we can,” said Bankston. 

What You Need To Know

  • Columbus City Council's budget is the tightest its ever been but councilmembers still found a way to support local organizations that lost federal funding by using funds from emergency human services and community partners 

  • Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said Cincinnati has been fiscally responsible prior to federal budget cuts and is prepared to help financially in anyway

  • Cleveland Youth and Family Success is relying on ARPA funding for now but when that runs out they will rely on community partners 

“With the foresight of thinking the cut that would be coming out of this current administration, council had set aside, particularly with council member Green and the health and human the services Committee, dollars specifically for this type of endeavor,” said Bankston.   

As examples, this year, Columbus has allocated almost $1.5 million to support the Legal Aid Society of Southeast and Central Ohio’s Tenant Advocacy Project and $40,000 to Green Columbus to help plant more trees. In most cases, the city has pulled the money from its emergency human services budget. But Bankson said it’s just a temporary fix. 

“It is a small, limited amount and in no way, shape or form will it be able to sustain those holes long term,” said Bankston. 

Columbus isn’t the only city filling the financial void. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said his city is reaping the benefits of being fiscally discipline in the past. He said that’s allowed them to spend some extra money this year where it’s needed most.

“Now that we're in a fiscal reality where not only is the federal government cutting investments in small and local governments, but also the expiration of the ARP dollars, Cincinnati is well-positioned to manage these uncertain and turbulent times,” said Pureval.  

On the other side of the state, Cleveland Youth and Family Success has felt the burden of the federal funding cuts. For now, it’s relying on leftover COVID money, but they’re also thinking of robust partnerships so it can continue to succeed in the future. 

“Our resources are limited. And so we have to be strategic as we possibly can to use not just our financial resources, but I think also the knowledge and public policy at the local level to make sure that residents are being supported,” said Chief of Cleveland Youth and Family Success Sonya Pryor-Jones. 

“Government is not going to be able to solve it alone. Nonprofits are not going to be able to solve it alone. Corporations are going to be able to solve it alone. It's going to take all of us,” said Bankston.