Part of the "COMMUNICATE. CONNECT. COLUMBUS" initiative
Launch Experience Columbus 360, an immersive, multi-tiered civic education and structural governance platform engineered to empower residents of all ages. The initiative establishes four synchronized community programs: (1) Reinvigorating the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) to supply high school students (grades 6–12) with direct policy input; (2) Establishing a free Citizens Academy to train cohorts of residents aged 18+ on city administration functions; (3) Deploying City Council on Tour to hold quarterly official council voting sessions in community venues, recreation centers, and high schools; and (4) Structuring a volunteer-based Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU) system across all 8 city council districts, coordinated by a team of paid Neighborhood Navigators to deliver grass-roots advisory feedback on zoning, land use, and local policy directly to the Mayor's office.
Total active student headcount successfully integrated as district representatives within the reinvigorated Youth Advisory Council (YAC).
Total volume of active, district-level Neighborhood Planning Units successfully formalized to route non-binding policy recommendations.
Headcount of full-time, paid Neighborhood Navigators hired to coordinate and guide grassroots NPU advisory networks across the city.
Total localized student seat capacity set per individual cohort cycle for the free Columbus Citizens Academy civic series.
Total initial implementation capital required to fund YAC operations, Citizens Academy cohorts, tour tech, navigator staff, and NPU accounts.
$573,000 Total Capitalization & Operating Budget (Blended Fixed Setup & Annualized Operations). • Youth Advisory Council Operations: $5,000 annually (Covers student public transit stipends, meeting refreshments, and materials). • Citizens Academy Series: $7,000 per cohort (Covers food/beverage lines, cohort shirts, printing, and graduation receptions). • City Council on Tour Logistics: $2,000 annually (Allocates $500 per event for specialized off-site AV technology setup, streaming tools, and recording labor). • Neighborhood Navigator Staffing Matrix: $440,000 annually (Funds $55,000 individual annualized salary lines including comprehensive benefits and extra overhead for 8 total employees). • NPU Local Resource Accounts: $119,000 total ($16,000 annualized base budget split at $2,000 per district for 8 districts, plus a $100,000 annual operating and neighborhood beautification project fund). • Graduate Intern: $12,000 annually (Sustains student assistant staffing line modeled at $15/hour for 20 hours/week).