Gahanna outlines 2026 budget priorities and civic center move as top tasks
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Summary
City leaders presented 2026 priorities Nov. 10, centering on the move to a new civic center in early 2026, a 90‑day implementation plan for the recently adopted strategic plan, departmental continuity planning, and studies on workforce, housing and economic sectors.
Gahanna’s administration and finance staff presented department priorities for the 2026 budget at a finance committee meeting on Nov. 10, with the transition to the new civic center and implementation of the recently adopted strategic plan as the central tasks.
Mayor Jadwin said the largest near‑term lift will be "the transition of city services and employees to the new civic center, which is projected to be late February, March, of 2026," and described work streams that include cross‑training a single customer service desk, establishing building policies, and preparing senior‑center operations and police functions for the move. The administration identified a 90‑day launch by a consultant to implement the strategic plan, an internal COOP (continuity of operations) plan to keep essential functions running during disruptions, and a slate of departmental priorities the budget supports.
Economic Development described three 2026 focuses: implement the North Gahanna/Creekside strategy and manage construction impacts to preserve foot traffic; continue business retention and marketing and stand up studies (economic sector and gap analysis, workforce demand, updated housing demand and land‑development playbook) to guide investments. Communications and HR highlighted plans for civic‑center marketing, podcasts, employee training and a new employee academy to support the move.
Finance staff walked through budget line‑item questions submitted by council, explaining increases in contract services for strategic plan implementation and business continuity work, and describing a $85,000 professional‑development pool for citywide training. Councilmembers asked for more detail on cadence for community updates, the scope of consultant work and how the mayor’s advisory/business panels will be used.
What happens next: departments will present additional operations detail on upcoming committee agendas (parks & planning on Nov. 17; public service and engineering on Nov. 24) and staff asked council to submit follow‑up questions ahead of those meetings.
