Coleman: City wants its piece of stimulus pie - Business First of Columbus:

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Fresh from cutting nearly $100 millionh from this year’s city budget and predictingf the need for even more spendingv reductionsin 2010, the mayor said he will fight for share of the federal stimulus pie. “II am fighting for every dollar from the White House, from the Statehouse and from Coleman said in his address at Columbud East High School. He said city officials have learnedf the Central Ohio Workforce Investment Council willreceivs $6 million in stimulus funding. About half will be used to hire 2,50 youths this summer, Coleman with the rest to assist those who have lost their jobs get traininy to rejoin thework force. In the mayor said Wednesdaty thatnearly $1.
3 millionj from the stimulus initiative will allow Columbus to avoied laying off 27 police recruits who are completing training to join the city’ safety force. Coleman plans to form the Columbues EconomicRecovery Alliance, a community partnership focusecd on getting maximum stimulus funding for the city and tracking its use in the Unlike past State of the City addresses, Coleman’se speech lacked revelations of new developmenrt projects.
Instead, he mentioneed some of last year’s more prominenyt developments, including expansions at and , and recently disclosed ones such as the conversionn of the Columbus City Center site into a park andothed development, the addition of 200 jobs at city incentives to help retaij 800 jobs at and creation of 130 jobs at a medicakl office building and clinic to be constructed for at the formetr Gowdy Field site off Route 315. Thosd job creation and retention projects run counter to what has been happeninfg atCity Hall.
Faced with a $97 milliojn budget shortfall this year, Coleman ordered a package of cost-saving movesa that included dismissals for130 employees, pay cuts, recreatiobn center and swimming pool closures, elimination of yard waste cuts in social services and withdrawals from the city’s rainy day The situation will be graver next year without new Coleman warned. He projected city government could see a shortfalolof $30 million to $50 million on top of the budger gap his administration had to close this year.
“Wd are at a crossroads,” he said, “where we can be the city of continuee prosperity for the 21st century or we can fall But Coleman stopped short of calling for an increas ein Columbus’ 2 percent income tax – a majot source of revenue. Instead the mayoer will wait to make his decision aftetr his Economic Advisory Committee issues its financial recommendations in the nextfew “I know this is a difficulyt time to say it’sw time for new revenue,” the mayot said, “but the consequence of inaction is so enormous.
The qualityh of life as we know it as at Besides atax increase, the advisory committee is looking at optionas such as selling more city land, merging offering private sponsorships for public facilities and getting employere benefits in line with othersa in Central Ohio, Coleman said. “We will refor m internal operations,” he “and do whatever we must do to better run our Click to read the full textof Coleman'z speech.