Starving Columbus to Death

The primary goal of any city government is to provide safety for citizens.

This is the most basic goal possible – even above water and power. If there is a threat to a citizen, there is someone to call who can solve the problem, for example if your house is on fire or someone is stealing your car.

This is why we collectively pay taxes to the city of Columbus.

We trust that our city leaders will use those tax dollars to protect us from each other and ourselves. It’s why we have fire and police departments in Columbus. It’s a requirement to survive.

Unfortunately, the Columbus Mayor and City Council have chosen to not fund either of these requirements and instead chose to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the wallets of developers and real estate investors. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to make obscene levels of profits and control the leaders we elect.

Columbus Fire Department

Everyone loves firefighters.

They don’t judge you if you’ve overdosed on cocaine. They are just here to make sure you don’t die. They respond to horrific accidents and exist to help protect everyone whether you’re rich or poor. 

The Mayor and Columbus City Council have systematically defunded the fire department for decades. It’s been slow, but by not funding the department there are now stations without air conditioning, broken fire trucks, and long-term staffing problems. This is the result of an incredible evil decision to allow wealthy developers to reap the benefit of not paying property taxes (aka tax abatements) while Columbus residents pick up the bill.

Those flashy new apartment buildings will catch fire, but their owners won’t invest in providing the tax dollars to protect the residents. Profit is their only goal and the Mayor and City Council are happy to give them a free pass to avoid paying property taxes.

This is a choice by your Mayor and City Council. and not by accident.

Columbus Police Department

Police don’t prevent crime, but they do respond to it and try to solve the problem.

• 25 years ago, Columbus had about 1800 police officers. At that time our city population was about 720,000. That’s approximately one police officer for every 400 tax-paying citizens.
• Today in 2026, Columbus still has about 1800 police officers. The city population is about 944,000. That’s about one police officer for 524 tax-paying citizens.

The police’s ability to patrol the city is limited as they are all busy responding to crime. Due to the lack of personnel, the existing officers log massive number of hours in overtime. Some earn well over a hundred thousand dollars in overtime pay.

No new officers are being trained and there is no strategy to expand the department. Nobody voted to defund the Fire or Police Departments. The Mayor and City Council made that decision and just ignore the subject entirely.

This is a choice by the Mayor and City Council. This isn’t an accident or due to stupidity. They are doing this on purpose.

Starving Our Public Schools

Those property tax breaks (aka tax abatements) don’t just hurt the fire and police departments, they also starve our public schools. Columbus City Schools (CCS) is officially rated as a “D” school system by the state because of low test scores, broken buildings, and not enough teachers. Their Columbus Board of Education – chosen by the Franklin County Democratic Party (FCDP) and Chair Michael Sexton – fights with themselves and moves from one bad decision to another.

Yes, their central office has layers and layers of administration that are not necessary, yet the leadership to change their direction doesn’t exist. You should feel pity for the classroom teachers who are underpaid on purpose and try their best in spite of inadequate funding.

The CCS Board of Education has the goal of not asking the Mayor or City Council to end the massive property tax breaks for developers and real estate investors. They never bring it up on their agenda; therefore, they don’t even do their jobs. For all practical purposes the board of education exists as a jumping off point for a future political career on City Council or as Mayor.

This Won’t Change Quickly.

In a real democracy we would have the choice to elect leaders who would force the wealthy developers (who often send their own children to private schools) and real estate investors to pay their fair share of property taxes. We don’t. All of the politicians inside Columbus City Hall have dedicated their lives to serving the rich and powerful. In return, they receive a few thousand dollars in campaign donations and then use the existing staff of City Hall to record and post unrelated propaganda to Instagram 24 hours a day.

Ginther and Hardin are the Same

Both of these career politicians have pledged their allegiance to the rich and powerful who control the city whether it’s the Haslam Sports Group or the Columbus Partnership. Neither has any interest in helping your Fire or Police Departments; much less the public schools. They both stay focused on simple social issues that are easy to support without any financial investment. They are the leaders of a starving city; begging for the basic city services that we continue to ignore.

We are Our Own Worst Enemy

Fewer than 50 percent of Columbus residents vote and I don’t blame them for not showing up.

We have no other choice when it comes to Ginther or Hardin. City Council doesn’t listen to anything the citizens say and will soon approve a 32 percent salary increase for themselves (because earning $94,000 for a part-time job isn’t enough?).

We Must Expect More from City Hall.

City Council still has no official job description or attendance policy. So why should they care?

• Imagine a job where you had no expectations and you could show up and leave whenever you wanted?
• Imagine being automatically given your job every election cycle because the system is built to reward mediocre leaders?

Start Asking Questions. Get Involved.

The only place to start from is the bottom – that’s where Columbus sits. Start asking questions of the Mayor and City Council. Consider supporting Our City Our Say so that each district may choose their own representative. Run for office. Volunteer for a candidate who isn’t bought and paid for by the establishment.

You will feel like you’re alone in this fight because City Hall wants you to give up. The Mayor and City Council love neglecting their responsibilties. Columbus deserves to have a democracy that provides for the most basic needs of the citizens: fire, police, and public schools. It’s a choice and a struggle worth fighting.

Electing leaders that have empathy is the first step to ending all tax abatements.

Columbus deserves to be a great place to raise a family.