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Dear Editor:
Regarding the City of Columbus’s Proposed Property Tax Rate Increase and Revised Public Information Requests The City of Columbus has proposed a 33.4 percent property tax rate increase, raising taxes on the median homestead by 34.39 percent. As Precinct Chair, I’ve fielded a lot of questions from residents about what’s driving an increase this size. I thought the public deserved documented answers rather than assumptions. Apparently, wanting documentation makes me a difficult citizen with a taste for frivolous information, at least it seemed implied, according to a councilmember quoted in last week’s coverage regarding such requests.
I’ve filed several open records requests: the petition process available to residents who want to oppose the rate; costs and litigation exposure tied to the Strayhorn Drainage Project; whether the GLO CDBG-MIT MOD Drainage Project’s grant funds are being properly managed and accounted for; who the city contracts with and whether those contracts were competitively bid; whether water quality and infrastructure records actually support the “safety investment”; and whether current and former council members met the residency and eligibility requirements to legally hold their seats because if they didn’t, every vote they cast, is worth a second look. A conversation with the contractor, only reinforced why these records matter and what I learned raised more questions than it answered.
Together, these requests aim to give residents veri fiable answers about where their money is going and why the city says it needs nearly a third more of it.
This affects every property owner in Columbus, whether you’re on a fixed income, raising a family, or running a business. Once approved, this rate becomes the new baseline, and history suggests these things pass easiest when the room is empty. The public hearing is Thursday, September 24, 2026, and the adoption vote is Monday, September 28, 2026, both at 5:30 p.m. Residents will have 90 days after adoption to petition for a ballot vote.
These records are not free, for the record, I was quoted $1,480 plus in response to the drainage request, which I appealed to no avail. On September 14, the City Council voted to cap public information requests at 15 hours per month and 36 hours per year, per requestor, before fees kick in. City Secretary Bana Schneider said the change followed a requestor’s five large requests totaling roughly 80 personnel hours. I’ll let you guess who that was. Place 3 Councilmember Paige Sciba explained the goal was to discourage “frivolous requests” and urged residents to be “cautious and intentional” about what they ask for… advice I’ll consider right after the council takes its own advice on being cautious and intentional with a 33.4 percent tax hike. Asking how public officials spend our money, and whether they were even eligible to spend it, is not frivolous. It’s the job!
This shouldn’t fall on one resident. I welcome others’ help going in person to review records, covering records costs, filing your own requests, or just showing up on September 24. Nothing disciplines a budget quite like an audience.
