Mayor's Office

Congratulations to the graduates of the inaugural class of the Gahanna Citizen’s Academy!

In September, the City launched its first-ever Citizen’s Academy, offering residents behind-the-scenes access to city programs and services. Over a six-week period from late September through the end of October, residents met weekly with department leaders and staff, toured city facilities, and participated in hands-on activities and equipment demonstrations, where they learned about how services are provided and funded, and more.

Feedback from the participants has been overwhelmingly positive, and our team is already excited for the next Academy session, which will be held in Spring 2025. Please visit (https://www.gahanna.gov/587/Citizens-Academy) for more information on the Academy and how you can get engaged in our community.

The City of Gahanna’s Departments of Planning and Engineering were recently honored with the 2023-2024 High Performance Government Award by OpenGov.

Over the past year, the Departments implemented OpenGov, an easy-to-use permit software that makes it simpler to search for and submit permit applications. With a public portal that is available 24/7, residents and businesses can apply and pay for a variety of permits online, making it easier to engage with the Departments anytime, anywhere. Since OpenGov went into effect, the Departments have already seen a 50% reduction in review and approval times for permit applications.

The High Performance Government Award is issued by OpenGov to recognize government agencies that are forward-thinking and that utilize modern technology to solve problems, work smarter, and improve their community by operating more effectively and with greater accountability. This award highlights our commitment to continuously seek opportunities to improve our quality and delivery of services to our residents and businesses.

City Council Office

Discussions are underway on the 2025 Budget in Finance Committee meetings, chaired by Councilman Michael Schnetzer. Public hearings on the Budget are scheduled for Regular Council meetings on Monday, November 18 and Monday, December 2, which provide residents with opportunities to share your ideas before the final vote on the budget is made on Monday, December 16.

Questions and comments are always welcome during the Hearing of Visitors portion of Regular Council meetings (https://www.gahanna.gov/439/Hearing-of-Visitors) or by email to Council@Gahanna.gov. Let’s shape Gahanna’s future together!

Gahanna Energy Plus

Gahanna Energy Plus is the City’s new energy community choice aggregation program. Under community choice aggregation, the City is able to leverage local purchasing power to buy clean electricity from a retail generation supplier certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. By combining, or “aggregating,” all eligible residents and small businesses together into one group, the City can obtain utility rates that are competitive with those offered by AEP Ohio or other suppliers.

Gahanna Energy Plus is an “opt out” program. This means that all residents who currently are standard AEP Ohio customers are automatically included in the new aggregation program. Residents can opt out of Gahanna Energy Plus at any time, at no cost.

More details on Gahanna Energy Plus, including current rates, frequently asked questions, and customer service contacts, can be found at Gahanna.gov/CCA.

Town Hall meetings on Gahanna Energy Plus were held in October to explain the program and answer questions from residents. The meetings can be viewed on the City of Gahanna’s YouTube channel, @CityofGahanna.

Finance

The City of Gahanna has once again been honored with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award!

This award is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting and reaffirms the City’s dedication to being good stewards of public dollars and being transparent in reporting. Criteria for selection includes how well the City’s budget documents clearly communicate and disclose the City’s financial story, and how well they serve as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communication device for both the City and its residents.

This is the 11th consecutive year that the City and the Department of Finance have been recognized with this award.

Public Safety

The Gahanna Division of Police (GPD) conducts a citywide survey with residents every two years. The survey provides useful information about how community members view the quality of the Division’s services. It also helps to better understand and respond to concerns regarding safety in Gahanna. This survey is being conducted as part of the Division’s accreditation process through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The Commission requires that we include certain questions; others are designed by Gahanna Police to help guide and improve service delivery.

The survey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZPSCB2P or by visiting Gahanna.gov. The survey will be available through Sunday, December 15. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us!

Public Service

This fall, the City is excited to provide residents with an opportunity to dispose of pumpkins and yard signs in an environmentally-friendly way! Now through Friday, November 29, special bins are in place at Shull Park (236 Granville Street) for residents to use to dispose of pumpkins and recycle yard signs. The options are being offered in partnership with Go Zero and Local Waste. For more details, please click HERE.

Yard Waste

Fall is here, and with that comes falling leaves. While residents are not required to rake your leaves, please remember that yard waste follows the same rules as trash and recycling. Yard waste should be set out no earlier than 5 p.m. on the day prior to trash collection. Trash cans should be removed from the street and returned to an inconspicuous location within 24 hours of collection.

Also, please keep in mind that leaves should not be blown or raked into the street, as this can obstruct drainage and clog gutters. Keeping the curb and gutter in front of your property clear is the responsibility of the property owner. For more information on how to properly dispose of yard waste, click HERE.

Information Technology

Like others, you probably have many applications, or apps as they are commonly called, installed on your smart phone. Whether you have an iPhone or Android, please take steps to protect your device from malicious apps by doing the following:

Never download apps from a browser. To be safe, only install those that are available in your device's app store.
Be cautious when installing apps with bad reviews.
Install app updates when they are available. Developers often patch security issues in subsequent releases.
Be mindful of permissions an app is requesting, and only grant those that are necessary to apps you trust.

Parks & Recreation

Did you know that in addition to this newsletter, there is a monthly Parks & Recreation Newsletter? You can sign up to receive news from the Parks & Recreation Department directly in your inbox by visiting Gahanna.gov, clicking on “Subscribe”, and following the prompts. You can also learn more about upcoming events by checking out the latest Explore Guide HERE.

Upcoming Events

Monday, November 18 and December 2

2025 BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING DATES

Gahanna City Hall (Council Chambers), 7 p.m.

Your input is vital in shaping our city's future. Key budget discussions are taking place, with opportunities for public comment. We encourage you to join us, stay informed, and make your voice heard, as we finalize the budget leading to Council’s final consideration and vote on the 2025 Appropriation Ordinance at the Regular Council Meeting on Monday, December 16. More information can be found at Gahanna.gov.

Sunday, November 24

HOLIDAY LIGHTS CELEBRATION

Creekside Park & Plaza, 3 – 6 p.m.

Presented by Visit Gahanna and Nth Degree

The annual Holiday Lights Celebration brings a merry afternoon for all ages! The event features family-friendly activities, attractions, food trucks, vendors and more.  Kick off the holiday season with live entertainment on the holiday stage, the tree lighting and Santa at this free event.

Sunday, November 24 through Sunday, January 12

HOLIDAY LIGHTS DISPLAY

Creekside Park & Plaza

Make plans to stop by Creekside to see the more than 300,000 lights that will make up the incredible Holiday Lights Display. The lights will be on daily from 5 to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and from 5 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Saturday, November 30

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

Start your holiday shopping in Gahanna! Don’t miss out on the deals and promotions at the small businesses that help to enliven our city.

SAVE THE DATE

Sunday, December 1 through Wednesday, December 25

SANTA HOTLINE

Presented by Visit Gahanna in cooperation with FutureCom Technologies

The Santa Hotline is awaiting your call! Just dial (614) 478-1061 to hear a special message from Santa and his friends at the North Pole.

Saturday, December 7

THE SANTA RACE 5K AND LITTLE REINDEER DASH

Creekside Plaza, 9 a.m.

Presented by Visit Gahanna

Dress up in your most festive attire for the annual Santa Race 5K and Little Reindeer Dash! For event information and to register, visit TheSantaRace.com.

Saturday, December 7

VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

Gahanna Historical Society (106 S. High Street), 12 – 3 p.m.

Presented by the Gahanna Historical Society

Bring your family to this old-fashioned holiday celebration, where you can visit with Santa in the Log House. All three houses on the historical property will be open at this annual event that will include holiday crafts, games, music and refreshments.