Cincinnati City Council voted Monday to give preliminary approval to the next city budget, making some additions to the draft proposed by City Manager Sheryl Long and Mayor Aftab Pureval.
Budget and Finance Committee Chair Jeff Cramerding says he's satisfied with the outcome in a tough budget year, with a deficit and no federal stimulus to fill it. He says Long put together a good budget with public works as a top priority.
"That was critically important," Cramerding told WVXU. "It's in response to the feedback and the polling we've done with citizens, where they're very happy with many areas of our city work, but they're not happy as far as public works when it comes to snow removal, litter and potholes."
Council made very few changes to what Long and Pureval proposed, but identified a few places to cut funding so it could be reallocated. That includes funding $2 million in renovations to the Regal Theater using Tax Increment Financing funds, and $1 million recommended for convention center maintenance (not needed this year as the center is undergoing a complete renovation).
Council then voted to add more than $4.5 million in funding to the biennial budget, outlined below.
The city's law department will now prepare the necessary ordinances to pass the budget. Council's Budget and Finance Committee will meet again Wednesday morning in a special session to vote on those ordinances so they will be ready for a final vote Wednesday afternoon.
Economic development
Some of the largest additions are related to economic development, including $1 million for "Catalytic Neighborhood Futures." The motion indicates this will be rolled into "a Cincinnati Futures Economic Development Pipeline and provided through a partnership between The Port and [Cincinnati Development Fund]."
Cramerding says it's based on the success of partnerships with 3CDC in developing Over-the-Rhine.
"3CDC is in one neighborhood — it's very specific, we're not gonna be able to replicate that — but it's looking at the 3CDC model and building on it," Cramerding said. "This fund is the foundation for us really taking our economic development to the next level."
Council also added $1 million to the Quick Strike Acquisition Fund, an existing program currently managed by HomeBase Cincinnati. Funds are distributed via grants to nonprofit community development corporations seeking to purchase property for housing or significant economic development. Council's addition brings the total to $2 million.
Cramerding says it's not clear yet if the city will continue to work with HomeBase on this fund, or find a different external partner that can handle more of the contracting on behalf of the city.
Fleet
City Council added $1 million for replacing outdated city vehicles. That makes this fiscal year's fleet budget $11.6 million, which is still less than last year:
| Fiscal Year | Fleet Replacement Budget |
| 2021 | $4,570,000 |
| 2022 | $10,484,000 |
| 2023 | $5,702,000 |
| 2024 | $8,736,000 |
| 2025 | $13,123,000 |
| 2026 | $11,626,000 |
The city fleet includes 2,623 vehicles across all departments, including police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, mowers, garbage trucks, and snow plows.
A city vehicle is considered out of lifecycle if it meets two of three criteria related to age, mileage, and maintenance costs. Lack of sufficient funding, however, means the city is only working to replace vehicles that meet all three criteria.
As of April, 127 meet all three criteria and do not already have a replacement on order. The cost to replace them all is estimated at $17.4 million, meaning there's still a $5.8 million gap after the fiscal year 2026 allocation.
An additional 331 vehicles meet two of the three criteria with an estimated replacement cost of $42.5 million.
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney put forward a motion to not put any additional funding toward fleet, and instead allocate it to several outside organizations. Her motion failed 2-7 with Scotty Johnson joining her in support.
Public safety
Council added $100,000 to support the city's Act for Cincy (Achieving Change Together for Cincinnati) violence reduction blueprint.
"I'm really excited to have funding in here specifically to support those initiatives, especially as we think about the action teams that have been formed around some of those initiatives," said Council member Anna Albi.
Those action teams include trauma-informed care, secure firearm storage, mental health, and more.
Council added funding to two competitive grant programs:
Boots on the Ground is aimed at funding small, grassroots organizations with operating budgets of less than $1 million. This grant fund is managed by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Council added $152,061 to the city manager's recommended $147,000 and the mayor's recommended $250,000 for a total $549,061.
Safe and Clean supports community-based and community-initiated efforts to improve neighborhood safety, eliminate blight, and increase livability. This grant fund is managed by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful. Council added $152,060 to the city manager's recommended $147,000 and the mayor's recommended $250,000 for a total $549,060.
The budget also includes three recruit classes for the police department, and two for the fire department.
Read more:
