CITY CLERK CGOtf-OO?? IN COUNTY fAiltJ \.\JU\Jt.:. VULUMBU5 AftD OHiO DiViStON ANNUAL REPORT—1978 CITY DEPARTMENTS INDEX Office of the Mayor 2 Department of Law 2 Department of Energy & Telecommunications 6 Department of Finance 8 Data Center 11 City Treasurer 13 Division of Purchasing 15 Income Tax Division 16 City Auditor 17 Department of Recreation & Parks 18 Municipal Court 30 Municipal Civil Service Commission 41 Charitable Solicitations Board 44 Department of Development 44 Community Service 47 Council of the City of Columbus 52 Office of the City Clerk 52 Hare Charity Trust Fund 54 Municipal Garage 57 Public Lands and Buildings 57 THE CITY BULLETIN Official Publication oi the City oi Columbus Published weekly under authority of the City Charter and direction of the City Clerk. Contains official report of proceedings of council, ordinances passed and reso­ lutions adopted; civil service notes and announcements of examinations; advertise­ ments for bids; details pertaining to official actions of all city departments. Subscriptions by mail, $10.00 a Year in advance. Second-Class Postage Paid at Columbus, Ohio HELEN M. VAN HEYDE City Clerk (614 222-7316) CITY DEPARTMENTS. COLUMBUS. OHIO 1978 OFFICE OF THE MAYOR 1978 ANNUAL REPORT 1978 was a year of many accomplishments in the City of an operating grant for the first year of the two-year program Columbus. The City continued its innovative approach to designed to put 3,400 unemployed residents to work in the solving problems common to large cities in the United area. While federal budget cuts may reduce the total amount States; continued to provide basic services to the citizens of received, we will probably receive most of the $31,000,000. Columbus, with an eye toward improving those services; City parks and recreational facilities continued to flourish and yet ended the year with an unencumbered cash balance in the City during 1978. Over $12,000,000 in capital projects of $4.4 million, unlike many cities that are in severe financial were under construction or completed during the year. And dilemmas. special programs such as community gardens, the tree- 1978 saw developments in the City. Mt. Vernon Plaza, planting program, Music-In-The-Air, the many fine ac­ which hopefully will spark rejuvenation in an area of the tivities at the Cultural Arts Center, and the 10,000 meter run, City that had been deteriorating, was officially dedicated all added a very special touch to the quality of life in Colum­ this year. In addition to providing low-income housing that bus. might not otherwise be available, Mt. Vernon Plaza has be­ One aspect of Columbus which has subjected our City to come a show place for other communities interested in that criticism has been the present Port Columbus facility kind of facility. which, when constructed in 1958, was one of the most mod­ The City's Office of the Handicapped was opened in 1978. ern in the nation. But the growth of our community has Its initial duties included identifying architectural barriers reduced the airport's ability to handle our passenger traffic, to the handicapped in City-owned buildings, and deter­ which in 1978 totalled 2.6 million. As a consequence, new mining needs in such areas as employment, transportation, airport plans have been developed and are being finalized. recreation, and housing for the handicapped of our commu­ The fiftieth anniversary of the original Port Columbus nity. opening will be held in the summer of 1979, when signs of For those who are ambitious enough to renovate an older construction should be apparent. The new airport will con­ home, the Urban Homesteading Program held three lot­ tinue the proud tradition of aviation in Columbus that dates teries, which brought the total number of homes in the pro­ back to the early days of flight when Columbus was a major gram to 166. Of those, 34 rehabilitations were completed stopping-off point for coast-to-coast travel. during the year. Additionally, the Mobile Tool Library and Another major project for which planning advanced dur­ Paint-Up Programs provided assistance to thousands in our ing 1978 was the refuse- and coal-fired power plant, which community who care enough for their homes and neighbor­ was approved by Columbus voters in 1977. Although con­ hoods to put their own time and energy into refurbishing. struction will not begin until 1979, the engineering design On a broader level, the Development Department pro­ work was begun this year and contracts for all of the large vided extensive neighborhood liaison and technical assis­ equipment necessary to build the plant were negotiated. tance with neighborhood organizations, including That trash plant, when completed—hopefully on schedule in neighborhood projects involving Harrison West, Clinton- late 1981—will power, among other things, the City street ville, Victorian Village, the University area, North Linden, lights. During 1978, 1425 new street lights were installed, Olde Towne East, German Village, the Bellows Pocket Area, which means increased safety on approximately 50 miles of Hoover Reservoir, and the Agler/Cassidy area. Work in the City streets. neighborhoods in Columbus proved to be very worthwhile, One of the City's thorniest traffic problems has histori­ since Columbus residents seem to share a special sense of cally been the intersection of Morse Road and Interstate 71. neighborhood and to cooperate in City-sponsored programs. After lengthy negotiations with property owners in the area, An area of concern for the City of Columbus during 1978 agreement was finally reached which will enable construc­ that will continue into 1979 involves decisions made in tion to begin shortly. Upon completion, traffic in the im­ Washington that have an impact on Columbus, especially mediate area will markedly improve. upon the economy in ColumTbus. I am referring to the an­ The Division of Sewerage and Drainage reached agree­ ticipated statement regarding Rickenbacker AirForce Base ment to begin an aggressive pilot program in cooperation which could call for a vast reduction in manpower at the with the Ohio Farm Bureau to distribute sludge to area base, and the decision by the Federal Trade Commission to farms for use as fertilizer. In the program, 90 wet tons of not allow the sale of Federal Glass to Lancaster Colony Cor­ sludge will be applied per day, with the figure increasing to poration. The City administration will continue to be a 600 wet tons per day within five years. strong advocate for keeping jobs and industry in the City. Another innovation during 1978 was the initiation of a re­ Because of the need to be very competitive in drawing mote water metering system by the Division of Water. These industry and business into Columbus, the Division of Eco­ new meters, which eventually will be installed in all area nomic Development was established. This Division is in­ homes, will permit meter reading without the necessity of volved in a wide variety of activities that have a beneficial entering the home. The program is scheduled to be com­ impact upon the economic climate in the area. One such pleted in 1980. economically optimistic note for 1978 is that new construc­ A sewer separation project, which is part of the 1975 bond tion permits for the first six months of 1978 totalled the sixth issue totaling $31,000,000, was initiated in one of the target highest of all cities in the United States. areas, Milo-Grogan, which has long been in need of the We have worked diligently to recruit qualified minority work. applicants to join the police and fire divisions; 52 recruits The first satellite teleconference between the Mayors and were graduated in the Division of Fire during the year, with Cabinets of two American Cities — The "Baltimore/Co­ a recruit class of an additional 36 beginning in December. lumbus Connection" — was held during 1978, in conjunc­ The Police Division graduated 111 officers. Minority re­ tion with QUBE. It proved to be an enlightening experience cruiting efforts will continue with the same diligence as in for all concerned, with certain Baltimore policies stirring the past. interest in Columbus — an example being Baltimore's As for minority representation in jobs throughout City ethnic parties — and ideas of ours creating similar interest in government, minorities now comprise 25.4% of the total City Baltimore. work force, and women comprise 17.8%. The Marconi Building remodeling saw most of the work The Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation Program met with completed during 1978, and The Beacon Building, recently enthusiastic participation by the public during the year, purchased by the City, now houses five City agencies. Be­ with 25,000 more Columbus area residents learning the life- cause of the use of those two buildings, the City will not be saving technique through Division of Fire efforts, which forced to pay rent for office space in other buildings, and brings the total to 32,000 who have learned it since the pro­ will generate equity. gram began. In this report, I have attempted to summarize some of the Due to an exhaustive study conducted during 1978 at the activities of Columbus City Government during 1978. The administrations's request, areas requiring managerial list is by no means exhaustive, and I urge one interested in strengthening were pinpointed. One department began a more detail to consult the Annual Report of the appropriate reorganization designed to effect improvements, and two department. others made appropriate changes. Two departments not in­ While the City has many positive aspects that make City cluded in the report are also in the process of improving the government in Columbus an effective and beneficial force in skills of their managers.