Latest news with #ColumbusCityCouncil
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Columbus Council poised to reject fire truck contract amid Dublin company's worker strike
The Columbus City Council is poised to reject a contract it approved in May with Dublin-based fire-truck manufacturer Sutphen Corp. after the company's workers' union went on strike. The council will consider rescinding its May approval of a contract with Sutphen for a ladder truck at its July 21 meeting. The new ordinance states that the city was never able to agree on a contract with Sutphen that included the conditions the council wanted. The council sought a contract that allowed the city to cancel if a strike delayed delivery of the truck or if the company used non-union, or "scab," workers. Also tonight, the council will consider a contract with Atlantic Emergency Solutions to buy a ladder truck made by Pierce Manufacturing. Columbus would spend a bit more on the new contract: $2,589,077 versus $2,515,613. The difference includes $33,000 to deliver the truck. In the background of this dispute over a single truck, the Columbus Local 67 chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters has raised concerns that the city needs to replace aging fire trucks. Steven Stein, president of the union, went to the media in April and accused the city of inadequately funding fire trucks for years. The union asked the city to develop an aggressive plan to buy more trucks. Another union, Teamsters Local 284, represents about 85 workers at Sutphen Corp.'s Dublin facility who have gone without a contract since October. The workers went on strike in late May, less than a month after Teamsters Local 284 President Mark Vandak warned the Columbus City Council that labor negotiations were going poorly and a strike was possible. The council, which is made up of nine Democrats, is heavily pro-union and members have attempted to pressure Sutphen to negotiate in good faith with the Teamsters. A spokesperson for the Sutphen Corp. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Teamsters say Sutphen is punishing them for going to Columbus City Council Vandak told The Dispatch that Sutphen returned to the bargaining table in June with a worse offer than the company presented in October. "When the union asked Sutphen why it withdrew the proposal, company negotiators said it was because the union addressed Columbus City Council about the labor dispute and that cost them business," Vandak said in an emailed statement. "The First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the National Labor Relations Act protect the rights of our members to address our elected officials. Sutphen's conduct is outrageous." Vandak said Local 284 has filed additional unfair labor practice charges against Sutphen, which the National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating. Vandak says the strike in Dublin continues and the unfair labor practice picket line has expanded to Sutphen's Hilliard and Urbana locations. A timeline of the dispute over a fire truck contract The meeting this week is the third time this year that the Columbus City Council has considered this fire truck contract. On May 12, the council considered this contract with Sutphen for the first time. Vandak came to the meeting and asked the council to vote against the contract. He warned that a possible strike could delay delivery of a truck. The council voted 5-4 against the contract. A week later, on May 19, the council unanimously approved a contract as long as city staff was able to negotiate conditions the council was seeking, including provisions allowing them to cancel. City staff was never able to reach an agreement with Sutphen on a contract. On May 28, workers at Sutphen's Dublin facility announced that they were striking. In June, Vandak said that Sutphen continued to delay negotiating and has brought in non-union workers, or "scabs," from its Urbana facility. He said the company has come back to the negotiation table now, but continues to bargain in bad faith. This story will be updated based on Monday evening's Columbus City Council meeting. Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@ Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus considers new fire truck vendor due to strike at Sutphen Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
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Columbus approves $23M for improving cybersecurity infrastructure
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus City Council has approved $23 million to strengthen the city's cybersecurity infrastructure. This comes just days before the one year anniversary of the city being hit with a massive ransomware attack. NBC4 Investigates uncovered that half a million people's private information, including the identities of undercover officers and crime victims, was stolen and leaked on the dark web. Now, millions of dollars will be invested in a new system. Council approved $23 million for what is called a 'zero-trust network'. This model is 'never trust, always verify.' The city is hoping that implementing the zero-trust network will strengthen it's IT infrastructure against future attacks. Traditional networks assume everything inside an organization's network can be trusted. Now, this security mindset assumes that there are threats both inside and outside of a network and makes it so that only necessary users are authorized. Once implemented, only those with express permission and who go through strict verification can access the city's network. A spokesperson for Mayor Andrew Ginther sent a statement saying: 'Federal, state, and local governmental entities, including the City of Columbus, face persistent and sophisticated cybersecurity threats. These threats are constantly evolving and increasing in sophistication. Cybersecurity experts and researchers have developed the Zero Trust Network framework to adapt to these threats. 'Unlike traditional security frameworks that assume everything inside an organization's network is trustworthy, a Zero Trust Network assumes that threats can exist both inside and outside the network. Therefore, among other things, a Zero Trust Network requires strict verification for every user and device attempting to access resources within a network, regardless of their location. It also includes segmenting an organization's network into smaller, isolated zones or microsegments. These microsegments are typically aligned with organizational units such as departments or workgroups, are intended to limit unnecessary network traffic between segments, and are designed to prevent unauthorized movement between segments. 'Zero Trust is not a product, but a shift in security mindset, architecture, and operational approach. The City of Columbus is seeking to commence its Zero Trust Network project later this year and anticipates that it will take at least two years to implement with an estimated investment of $23 million.' Councilmember Nick Bankston also sent a statement saying: 'In today's world, cybersecurity is public safety. This $23 million investment in a Zero Trust Network is not just about protecting servers — it's about protecting the people of Columbus. By modernizing our infrastructure and adopting industry best practices, we are taking responsible, proactive steps to ensure that residents can trust their government to keep their information safe and services running securely. Council remains committed to sharing information about last year's cyberattack when it is appropriate to do so. However, what we can say is this: we're taking action to make sure our systems — and our residents — are protected against the evolving threat landscape going forward.' Hardware will need to be replaced across all city buildings and data centers. The city will start implementing the framework in its core network and largest facilities and expand over the next two years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
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Council OKs millions to help Columbus' less fortunate
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus City Council has approved millions of dollars to help the city's most vulnerable. More than $4 million has been approved for almost 200 units of affordable housing across two complexes, two examples of how the city is getting creative to meet the extreme demand for housing. 'We think that affordable housing is a top one, two and three issue in our community,' Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said. 'As rents continue to rise, we want to make sure that we can make sure that Columbus stays affordable for all of us.' Columbus approves $23M for improving cybersecurity infrastructure One development will be built on the near east side and will have 84 units. Rent will be restricted to 60% of the area median income. U.S. Census data for Columbus says that income would be a little more than $39,000 annually. 'It's all about housing innovation for affordability,' Hardin said. 'This is a local company that is building the houses in a modular factory right here in Columbus. So, we're hiring local folks to build housing quicker, which means it's more efficient and it saves money.' The second development that received a big chunk of funding is 88 units in Harrison West. Rent will also be restricted to 60% of the area median income. Structures already exist at this site, so the funding will be used for redevelopment and preservation of the existing buildings. 'We are not building new affordable housing here,' Hardin said. 'We are making sure that the naturally occurring affordable housing is able to stay. We're coming in, we're renovating.' Central Ohio organization on edge after 'big, beautiful bill' passes Hardin said the keyword for this legislation is innovation. 'We're really excited about this model of renovating and yet holding the costs so that the rent does not go up for the folks that are living there,' Hardin said. The money comes from bond dollars. This fall, the city will have a bond issue on the ballot for half a billion dollars for affordable housing. Also on Monday, council approved hundreds of thousands of dollars to increase access to food and addiction recovery. Half a million dollars will be allocated to a new residential addiction recovery campus. The organization building the space, called The Refuge, has been in operation for years, providing faith-based recovery services to men. Three hospitalized after Delaware County trench collapse The new space will be in the Hilltop and will centralize services, including group counseling and mental health services. It's a project that has been in the works for years. 'This is an investment in the Hilltop, like, we want to create a campus because we love the Hilltop and what it's done for us and we love how our guys partner with community organizations,' The Refuge Chief Development Officer Austin Hill said. 'This is a long time coming and we're excited to actually see it happen.' On the east side of Columbus, $2 million was approved for the Eastland Prosperity Center. The Mid-Ohio Food Collective is working on a massive space that will offer access to food, a health care center in partnership with Ohio State University, and additional support. Construction is planned to start this summer with a tentative opening date in the middle of next year. 'The Eastland community is one of the most underserved areas within the entirety 20 counties that we serve,' Mike Hochron with the collective said. 'In fact, many people in Eastland are driving all the way down to Grove City in order to access food, and it's really important that we make food accessible where and when people need it.' Resources from the Mid-Ohio Food Collective can be found here. Resources through The Refuge can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Columbus OKs $6 million police helicopter purchase
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An aging Columbus Police helicopter fleet is set to get an upgrade that comes with a big price tag. Columbus City Council has approved nearly $6 million to purchase two new helicopters for the department. The Columbus Division of Police uses its helicopter fleet to assist with chases, grab video of crimes from above, or help the Columbus Division of Fire understand a scene from above. Now, there will be more consistency with CPD's helicopter response. Out in Ohio: 10 years after Obergefell, advocates warn marriage equality still at risk 'We have a very small downtown, but a very big city, so it allows it to be a force multiplier,' Columbus Deputy Police Chief Robert Sagle said. The purchase will raise the department's number of helicopters to five. 'We have an average response time of 1.5 minutes anywhere in a city and we're first on scene over 2,000 times every year, which means it's eyes on a scene,' Sagle said. Sagle said that about 50% of the time, the helicopters are the first to arrive at a scene. Columbus City Council has approved $5,940,233 for the purchase; the money comes from the capital budget, not the general fund. The newest helicopter was purchased in 2012. The oldest in the fleet, nearing 20 years old, will be replaced. Bond set for former Ohio State football player charged in fatal Dublin crash 'With the reduced fleet over the last several years, we're flying less hours, which impacts all the citizens and the officers on the street because we can't produce the same effectiveness that we can with our full fleet,' Sagle said. 'The five helicopters allows us to rotate them in and out of maintenance more often.' CPD has put together a ten-year plan to replace every helicopter in the fleet, as parts become more expensive and harder to come by. 'This will make sure that we're able to fly a regular mission across our city on a consistent basis,' Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy said. 'Our maintenance costs are going to go lower. We're going to be able to fly higher. And it's going to be less noise over the city of Columbus.' The new helicopters are expected to be delivered in December, fully outfitted and ready to hit the sky. Remy also shared that CPD has agreed to a five-helicopter cap. As part of the agreement, the police department agrees to fly over major roadways instead of neighborhoods to reduce noise pollution as well as using the helicopters when they are most needed. This compromise came a number of years ago after complaints from the community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New commission forming to advise Columbus leaders on LGBTQ+ issues
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin announced the formation of an LGBTQ+ Affairs Commission on Friday. He said this effort is all about enshrining the queer community's voice in Columbus despite recent legislation at the Ohio Statehouse. As Pride weekend kicked off in the city, Hardin said that it is an important time to make sure that there is a group advising Columbus leaders on LGBTQ+ issues. 'They will be our official voice to city government, to City Hall to make sure that we are aware and moving policy forward that advances the community,' Hardin said. Wife of man detained by ICE in hallway of Franklin County traffic court says community is 'very afraid' The LGBTQ+ Affairs Commission will have 13 members serving three-year terms. They'll meet quarterly to stay up to date on the latest policies and programs affecting the queer community in Columbus. LGBTQ-elected officials across the state were in Columbus Friday for the announcement. 'It sends a message and a wonderful example to the state government as well as other communities in the state of Ohio. I mean, I think nothing but good can come from it,' said Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood). The commission will directly advise Columbus City Council and the mayor. Members will also monitor legislation at the state and federal level, recommend policies and promote community engagement. 'We're educating both elected officials and also our residents on how they can have a voice in Columbus, but also at the Statehouse and at the federal level,' Hardin said. The council president said now is the time to form an LGBTQ+ Affairs Commission in Columbus because recent legislation at the Statehouse has targeted the queer community. Antonio said the commission is a way to show current and future residents that Columbus will always be welcoming to all. 'Someone who's from the LGBTQ community or has loved ones or is an ally of looks at that and says, 'that's a city I want to live in,'' Antonio said. The LGBTQ+ Affairs Commission has not officially formed yet because the legislation needs to be introduced and approved by City Council. Hardin said he expects this to happen in July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
