Human Resources requests investments in Dayforce optimization, talent acquisition and ADA coordination

Director Christopher Moses presented the Department of Human Resources’ proposed 2025 operating budget to Columbus City Council, describing investments to centralize talent acquisition, support ADA coordination and optimize the city’s Dayforce payroll and HR platform.

Moses said the department’s total proposed budget for 2025 is $11,781,557, an overall increase driven primarily by employee-benefit fund adjustments, a $300,000 expansion request for public‑safety health and fitness testing contracts and budgeting for talent-acquisition and training investments. “Ultimately, this is about the employee experience,” Moses said, describing a push to unify disparate HR systems and reduce redundancies.

Why it matters: Personnel costs and benefits are a major portion of city spending; the department framed investments in HR technology and staffing as measures to improve hiring speed, reporting and cost control for departments across the city.

Details and context -The 2025 HR budget request is $11.78 million; the general-fund portion is $3,937,913 (about a 7.5% increase from 2024), with other increases coming from employee-benefit fund changes. -Expansion requests include a human-resources analyst to enhance talent acquisition work and an employee programs coordinator to support an upcoming full‑time ADA coordinator; the department is also filling a vacant deputy director post and reallocating vacancies to staff a Dayforce optimization section. -The Dayforce work — initially funded by the auditor in 2025 — aims to unify payroll/benefits and HR business functions, reduce redundant systems and improve reporting; the department said future years will include City budgeting for ongoing costs. -The department highlighted 2024 accomplishments, including completing bargaining cycles with four unions, rolling out a high-deductible health plan, acquiring a firefighter exposure grant and achieving $4.3 million in savings through risk-management measures.

Discussion highlights -Council members asked about personnel cost trends and health-care cost pressures; Moses said health benefits continue to rise and that many city employees are covered by collective-bargaining agreements with planned increases. -Council members also discussed vendor costs tied to collective bargaining and noted the department is preparing for future negotiation cycles.

Ending -Moses said HR will proceed with Dayforce optimization and talent‑management staffing to provide consistent HR tools and reporting across departments while preparing for upcoming labor cycles and ongoing benefit pressures.