COLUMBUS, Ohio — With more than one million new people moving to the central Ohio region in years to come, Columbus is on a hiring spree for public safety.
“We have never before as a city invested in three classes a year for several years in a row,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther. “It's unprecedented.”
This story is part of 10TV's "Boomtown" initiative — our commitment to covering every angle of central Ohio's rapid growth. This includes highlighting success stories, shining a light on growing pains and seeking solutions to issues in your everyday life.
Ginther said he hopes to have more officers on the street than ever before by the end of next year. It’s a bold mission to bring its safety forces in line with the region’s explosive growth despite a loss of sworn officers.
Data from the Columbus Department of Public Safety shows there were 1,947 sworn officers in March 2020. As of March 2024, the City of Columbus reported 1,859 sworn officers.
The city attributes a loss of 88 officers to separations, new recruit classes and lateral transfers. Right now, Columbus is budgeted for 1,980 sworn officers.
“Safety is going to continue to be top priority,” said Ginther.
It is also a top priority in another Boomtown located down south. Due to a shortage in police staffing in Austin, Texas, there is now a new a safety patrol team much like Columbus' Community Crime Patrol.
“This really helps allow APD to focus on the bigger crimes than Class C misdemeanors downtown,” said Brandon Fahy with the Downtown Austin Alliance.
Firefighter shortages are also issues facing both cities. EMS crews just outside Austin are now being pushed into the suburbs. But lack of space is forcing those crews to work out of rented apartments.
“We've had our ambulances vandalized because they're just out in the open,” said Selena Xie, president of the Austin EMS Association. “It's just not a safe place. It's not an appropriate place for public safety.”
Round Rock is another Boomtown city located near Austin. It is now building its ninth fire station with a 10th about to break ground. The city manager said the best way to serve a city of 130,000 is to build safety services before the growth arrives.
“It was a lot more difficult to identify this property, but it's going to serve our community better into the future,” said Brooks Bennett, who will take over the role of Round Rock city manager in December. “Then we don't have to hire a bunch of new firefighters and have a whole bunch of people sitting in the wrong part of town.”
Bennett said the city stayed ahead of the staffing concerns by constantly challenging assumptions and not just doing what is easy. He said other Boomtown cities would be best served by making sure everything is lock step when you break ground.
“If I know I'm going to bring a fire station on in three years, I need to have a financial plan that can fund the hiring of firefighters and they can fund their salaries into the future,” Bennett said.
Austin recently opened a new fire and EMS station as part of its “five stations in six years” project to decrease response times in the city.