Franklin County’s strong population and economic growth have made it the largest county in Ohio, with an estimated 1.33 million residents.
While that growth has brought problems — housing shortages, traffic and infrastructure needs among them — they are problems that most other counties in Ohio that are losing population would love to have, said Kevin Boyce, president of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.
On Wednesday, Boyce will use the annual State of the County luncheon to highlight to the public what Franklin County government and its approximately 6,500 employees do everyday to help meet the needs of county residents. As an illustration of the size of the county’s operation, Boyce noted that employees use more than 500 county vehicles to drive about 5 million miles a year on average.
“What that means to me is that we’re not just sitting in some building on 373 S. High St.,” Boyce said of how the county spends its $2.18-billion budget, including about $660 million in its general fund funded mostly from sales tax receipts. “That we’re deploying human resources throughout the county, but also trying our best to cover the challenges and some of the growth opportunities that exist in Franklin County. We’re trying to get ahead of that.”
The county’s fleet includes 128 alternative-fuel vehicles, including hybrids, electric, propane, and biodiesel.
The biggest portion of the county’s budget — almost 60% — goes toward public safety, including the sheriff’s office, the county court system, animal care and control, and the jail. Boyce said devoting that much money to public safety is “saying a lot” and demonstrates how the commissoners “listen to the priorities of the public.”
“One of the things that we constantly get feedback on about the public’s feeling about our work is about safety,” he said.
The county also operates a water treatment plant and four sewage treatment plants around the county, serving some 40,000 residents with a $17.2-million budget. The Timberlake Water Plant at 6613 Lambert Rd. provides clean water for the Timberlake community and the Village of Harrisburg.
Franklin County is also a major social services provider, with the Board of Developmental Disabilities, Children Services, Child Support Enforcement, Job and Family Services and the Office on Aging accounting for more than $700 million in spending annually.
“We really feel good about the state of the county,” Boyce said. “We know that we’re not perfect. We’ve got areas, particularly around growth and public transit, that we’re working really hard to address as we grow in the county. Housing is another issue that we know we need to deploy more resources.
“Not only will we talk about some of those things at the State of County (address), but we will be listening for possible partnerships and collaborations, and seeing what we can do.”
The public can listen to the State of the County presentation on an internet live stream on the commissioners’ Facebook page, with the program starting at noon Wednesday.
wbush@gannett.com
@ReporterBush
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Boyce: Franklin County’s growth problems can be addressed