NEWS FROM THE CITY OF WESTERVILLE • MAY/JUNE 2020
CityReporter www.westerville.org
Separate But United
How the Community Came Together During a Global Pandemic It was mid-March when the impact of the international coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) crisis truly came into focus in the state of Ohio. What once was an issue relegated to other countries quickly crossed the U.S. border, triggering a series of statewide restrictions related to physical distancing. Non-essential businesses, recreational amenities and schools would all be closed for weeks. Much-loved-andanticipated community events were postponed. In the end, the City joined the rest of the world in doing what was tough but what was right for the benefit of the greater good. At the time of this writing, it’s difficult to know what recovery will look like in Westerville and everywhere else in the world. What’s sure is that we will grow stronger, united as a community. Here’s a glimpse of how the City came together during this unprecedented time: PAYING IT FORWARD: City Council Approves Utility Bill Holiday Based on economic uncertainties for residents and businesses caused by the spread of COVID-19, the City enacted a payment holiday relief program to waive payment of electric, water, sewer and trash/recycling fees for the month of March and due in April. Residents were encouraged, if they were able, to consider paying-it-forward by supporting a local charitable www.westervillemagazine.com
organization providing assistance during the pandemic. The fiscal impact of this bill waiver on all of these various utility enterprise funds of the City (Electric, Water, Sewer, and Refuse) in the aggregate is approximately $5.5 million. These funds have cash reserves as a matter of fiscal policy which City Council adopts for each enterprise. Those fiscal policies dictate how much cash reserves should be held in each of these enterprise funds to provide sufficient operating cash to sustain critical utility services. Each year as part of the budget process, the City Council and Administration reviews the adequacy of those reserves in relation to fiscal policy, and if necessary, provides for rate adjustments for any enterprise fund projected to be non-compliant with that fiscal policy.
Postponed: Keep an eye out for announcements about the following City programs and events postponed during the pandemic. • State of the Community • Spring Household Hazardous Waste Collection • Shredding Day • 10th Annual Bunny Hop 5K • Westerville Citizen’s Academy • Westerville Citizen Police Academy • Women’s Self-Defense • Car Seat Inspections • Public fingerprinting • Westerville Youth Explorer meetings Find the most up-to-date information on the City’s website at www. westerville.org. May/June 2020
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