Hello Worthington! Here's your recap of what happened at the September 21, 2026 City Council meeting. Below are brief summaries of the most significant discussions. For those interested in the full details, we've included links to longer articles where appropriate.
Council pauses outside sharing of license-plate-camera data
The meeting's longest discussion was about the city's 14 Flock automated license-plate-reader cameras, and it ended with a decision: council directed staff to stop sharing Worthington's camera data with outside law-enforcement agencies, keep the cameras running for local investigations, work toward a formal data-sharing agreement with trusted central Ohio communities, and report back in December. The motion passed with a single "no" vote (council member Maria Ramirez). Interim Police Chief Jeff Kubasek described the cameras, which photograph rear license plates rather than faces and purge data after 30 days, and credited them with cutting catalytic-converter thefts on Huntley Road from 22 to one. But council members and three residents raised concerns about what happens once Worthington's data leaves Worthington, citing a neighboring city's roughly 14,000 searches tied to immigration terms and the difficulty of verifying why other departments run searches. Ramirez argued the cameras should go entirely, calling privacy "a foundational right;" others favored keeping the cameras for local use while shutting off the outbound sharing they were most concerned about.
A new five-year waste contract, and a composting vote still to come
Council awarded its 2027–2032 trash, recycling, and yard-waste collection contract to Local Waste Services, the city's hauler for more than a decade, at $21.74 per household per month. That is a $3 increase over the current $18.74, roughly $190,000 more a year, but still the lowest rate among neighboring communities, which staff attributed to Worthington paying the full cost through its budget rather than billing residents directly. Weekly Friday pickup and the familiar totes and red bins stay the same, and new contract language lets the city withhold payment for repeated missed pickups. A separate decision, whether to add citywide curbside food-waste collection for composting, was tabled to October 19 so council can weigh the added cost against next year's budget.
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In Other News
- Linworth Park may grow. Council approved buying the residential property at 5995 Linworth Road, at the southern edge of Linworth Park, so it can eventually be added to the park (Ordinance 27-2026). The Worthington Community Improvement Corporation bought the property at auction on the city's behalf; staff said there are no active plans to pursue other parcels along that stretch.
- Fire service for a new Perry Township development. Council approved a contract to provide fire and EMS service to the 22-unit Cottages at Brookside condominium development in Perry Township, consistent with the coverage the city already provides to about 80% of the township (Resolution 57-2026). Staff said the broader Perry Township fire contract will be revisited over the next year.
- A budget transfer. Council approved moving previously appropriated funds between accounts, chiefly to cover a vacant field-inspector role in Planning and Building now being filled on a contract basis (Resolution 58-2026).
- Coming up October 5. Council introduced three items for public hearings at its October 5 meeting: funding to design the Kenyon Brook trunk sewer improvement, acceptance of the county budget commission's tax rates and levies, and a General Fund and FEMA grant budget adjustment.
Upcoming Dates
- Sunday, September 27 — Sunday Fundays: Harvest Festival, a family-friendly event hosted with the Worthington Partnership.
- Monday, September 28, 6:30 p.m. — Worthington Board of Education meeting, presenting 2025–26 student achievement results.
- Tuesday, September 29 — Community Relations Commission "Big Table" coffee conversation.
- Wednesday, September 30 — Deadline to sign up a property for the city's second season of volunteer deer-management removal.
- Saturday, October 3 — Old Worthington Market Day.
- Monday, October 5, 7 p.m. — City Council public hearings on the proposed e-bike, e-scooter, and traffic-code rules (Ordinance 31-2026), plus the Kenyon Brook sewer design funding, tax rates and levies, and the General Fund/FEMA budget adjustment.
- Monday, October 19 — City Council is set to vote on the curbside food-waste (composting) collection contract.
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Thanks for reading this summary of the City Council meeting, you can watch the original full video here