City, county convene FRAC 2 to reassess funding for human services, arts and tourism amid federal cuts

Columbus and Franklin County officials on April 1 convened the Funding Review Advisory Committee’s second iteration, known as FRAC 2, asking a panel of civic, business and nonprofit leaders to reassess how public resources support human services, cultural arts and travel and tourism as federal and state funding streams shift.

The committee, co-convened by the city and the county, will meet roughly every four weeks from April through November and is charged with producing recommendations and a road map for sustainable funding. Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said the panel’s work is urgent given recent federal actions: "I've agreed to be the storm cloud so that my colleagues, president Crowley and president Harden can be the sunshine," and warned that a federal blueprint adopted in Washington will "demand at least $1,500,000,000,000 in reduced spending and spending cuts over the next 10 years." He added that a revoked pandemic preparedness grant forced the city to let 11 employees go and flagged that roughly $7,500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding and about $22,000,000 to the Department of Development could be at risk.

Why it matters: The committee’s remit covers programs that provide food, shelter, public health and…