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Cincinnati council members outline budget priorities; chair to aggregate motions for Wednesday session
Summary
Members of the Cincinnati City Council’s Finance and Budget Committee presented competing budget policy motions emphasizing public safety, affordable housing, neighborhood investment and workforce programs and asked the chair to combine them into a single policy document for possible action at a special session Wednesday.
At a meeting of the Cincinnati City Council Finance and Budget Committee, council members presented individual policy motions outlining their priorities for the upcoming budget and asked the chair to aggregate those motions into a unified policy document for discussion at a special session on Wednesday.
The policy motions are intended as strategic direction to the city manager as she drafts the manager’s proposed budget; they are not the final budget. Chair (unnamed) said the motions “are our chance as a council to direct the manager” and that he would try to “aggregate yours into something that all or most of us will agree on.”
Why it matters: council members described competing needs at a time the city faces budget pressure, including a projected $10,000,000 shortfall and the first budget without ARPA funds. Members emphasized maintaining public safety and pensions, expanding affordable housing and neighborhood economic development, and investing in workforce and youth programs while seeking targeted revenue or cost-recovery measures.
The presentations grouped into several consistent themes. Council member Albee framed public safety and community investment as central, urging funding for the city’s “Achieving Change Together Act for CINCE,” a gun-violence prevention blueprint tied to action teams for secure firearm storage, trauma-informed care, mental health and policing innovations. Albee said Cincinnati’s “greatest days are still ahead” and called for resources to support those teams.
President Pro Tem Parks and Council member Owens emphasized continued funding for programs the city already funds, such as the alternative response team, the Boots on the Ground and Safe and Clean grants, the Building Futures pre-apprenticeship program, and home-repair or shelter programs through organizations including YWCA and Santa Maria Community Services. Owens reported that, from January 2024 to January 2025, the city had sent “over $500,000 in rental assistance to United Way,” and that 60% of city households are renters.
Council member Nolan prioritized growth, housing and equity, including investments in competitive pay for the law department, the office of strategic growth, an affordable housing leverage fund, and continued support for the vacant building registry and neighborhood economic programs. Council member Walsh urged investments in public safety fleet replacement, bridge sprinkler systems to reduce fire damage to infrastructure and a right-of-first-refusal program to help the city or nonprofits preserve key properties.
Council member Jeffries acknowledged the roughly $10,000,000 shortfall and suggested revenue and cost-recovery options including expanded parking enforcement, new or increased user fees (examples discussed included lift fees and fees for incidents that require city response), and shared-services work with the county to identify savings. He also called for stronger pension contributions to improve solvency by 2045.
Vice Mayor (unnamed) and Vice Chair Scottie Johnson stressed investments in people-focused programs including Habitat for Humanity, the Robert O’Neal Multicultural Arts Center (ROMAC), workforce initiatives such as Building Futures, youth employment goals in the Cincinnati Recreation Commission’s Youth to Work program, and expansion of community council supports and legal services for tenants. Vice Mayor urged that policy guidance remain strategic and not specify exact dollar figures in the policy document; the chair agreed the manager would find any submitted figures useful but they need not appear in the broader policy budget.
Process and next steps: the chair will combine the eight separate council policy motions into a single draft for the special session. He said committee members can amend that draft at the session; if the group reaches five votes on Wednesday, they will vote to adopt the policy budget. President Pro Tem Parks said she has a scheduling conflict Wednesday morning; the chair indicated the timeline could be adjusted if necessary after consultation with budget staff.
No final appropriation or budget adoption occurred at the meeting; the motions are advisory guidance to the city manager until the manager’s proposed budget is delivered and the council takes formal votes.
