By Ronda Barber
Hey Columbus Taxpayers and Voters! Are you paying attention to what is going on at Columbus City Hall? Do you know where your tax dollars are going? Do you care? Is the City monitoring the programs that precious tax resources are being funneled to? Last October, City Council approved giving the Columbus Chamber $50,000 for its diversity project, Diversity Bridge. The “emergency funding” was issued to support the administrative costs to implement the program. I’ve got questions? What program/activities are the funding supporting? What exactly does Diversity Bridge do for small and minority owned businesses? Did City Council only fund this project during a campaign season to get support from the Columbus Chamber? Why was this an emergency? Does declaring an emergency means there’s no public input?
In reviewing the site, no bid opportunities are posted. There are no discussions on the forumn portal. No events have been posted to the calendar during the months of November, December or January. The last member announcement posted on the page is from June 6, 2011. How many minority businesses have actually applied for certification through the portal?
In the past three months, the only announcement forwarded to registered Diversity Bridge users via email was to announce the opportunity to purchase tickets for a Columbus Black Leaders event of which the Diversity Bridge administrator was receiving an award.
So what’s up with Diversity Bridge? Where’s the emergency? Is Diversity Bridge just a dog and pony show project of the City of Columbus and the Columbus Chamber? Why did the Small and Minority Business Committee chaired by A. Troy Miller press for the funding of a project that appears to have been idle prior to sponsoring the funding and still is? Who is monitoring City Council and its expenditures? Is this how you want your money spent?
Just my thoughts…
