Council OKs $409,600 Energy Repair Program for Columbus Homes
MORPC will run an income-restricted repair program focused on weatherization, with seniors and veterans first in line. Status: Approved October 5; awaiting the mayor's signature; applications not yet posted.
Income-qualified Columbus homeowners are in line for a new repair program built around lower energy bills. City Council approved Ordinance 2757-2026 on October 5, letting the Department of Development sign a service agreement with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission to run an energy-efficient home repair program for the city. Members adopted an amendment and then passed the item 9 to 0 at the October 5 meeting. Because it passed as emergency legislation, it can take effect as soon as the mayor signs.
Up to $325,000 goes to the repairs themselves, drawn from the Green Home Replacements project in the Development Taxable Bond Fund. Another $84,600 from the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund covers MORPC's cost to run it, for a total of $409,600. The ordinance describes the focus as weatherization, energy efficiency and cost reduction for homeowners in need, and it allows the city to advance payments to MORPC on a set schedule.
The program is income-restricted. Its explanation cites 200 percent of the federal poverty level and 100 percent of area median income as guidelines, and it puts seniors, veterans and homeowners with the most urgent needs at the front of the line. The city asked for emergency passage because some roofing and HVAC jobs, it wrote, would leave residents at risk if bad weather arrived before a normal effective date.
MORPC will take applications, keep homeowners posted on repair status and manage the contractors. As of Wednesday morning, its residential services page did not yet list the new city program. That same page limits MORPC's existing Healthy Homes and Repair program to Franklin County homeowners who live outside Columbus city limits.
One option is open now. MORPC's year-round weatherization service is available to income-eligible Franklin County renters and owners, Columbus included, and can cover furnace and water heater repair or replacement, attic and wall insulation and air sealing at no cost. The posted cap is $66,000 in yearly income for a household of four, and the line to call is 614-621-1171. Whether the new city program will use those same cutoffs has not been published.
If the August storms also hit your house, our story on FEMA aid for Franklin County explains the December 1 deadline. Sealing gaps can keep some critters out too, and our Best Pest Control picks handle the ones already inside. More city decisions land on our Columbus page.
