Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Carryover Funds topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Budget and Finance Committee advances nearly $1 million carryover allocation for fleet and community projects after public appeals
Summary
The committee voted to advance an item that would draw roughly $994,000 from a $1.3 million carryover bucket — a decision that drew sustained public comment from nonprofit leaders who said the bucket was intended for community capital projects.
The Budget and Finance Committee voted to advance to the full City Council a motion to allocate roughly $994,000 from a $1.3 million carryover “one-time capital” bucket toward fleet replacements and several city projects after a lengthy public-comment period and debate among council members.
The committee action moves the item onto the Wednesday council agenda for final consideration, after public speakers representing Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Artworks, PigWorks (the Flying Pig Marathon organization), the Camp Washington skate-park project and labor representatives urged the council to reserve the funds for community capital projects.
The discussion matters because council members had earlier earmarked $1.3 million of last year’s $65 million carryover as a separate bucket for one-time community capital projects with a $500,000-per-project cap. Several nonprofit leaders told the committee they expected those funds to be used to close capital campaigns, open headquarters or complete community facilities and asked the council to delay action until absent members could vote.
Jens Rosenkrantz, board chair of Clifton Cultural Arts Center and board treasurer at Artworks, said the community groups had waited months and “we can wait a few more weeks,” urging council to postpone a vote until all council members could participate. Colleen Houston of Artworks described a near-completed creative campus in Walnut Hills and said the project needs immediate support to close its capital campaign. Evan Walker, lead organizer for the Cincinnati Skate Park project, and multiple PigWorks speakers urged support for projects they said would catalyze neighborhood investment and year-round programming.
On the other side of the debate, council members and labor representatives emphasized public-safety and operations needs revealed by a recent snow event that grounded roughly 20% of the city’s plows. Jeremy McCleese, regional vice president for Ohio Council 8 and president of AFSCME Local 240, told the committee the aging fleet left employees working “in an unsafe condition” and asked council to prioritize equipment purchases. Several council members said the snow event and related equipment failures justified investing a portion of the carryover in fleet improvements and technology upgrades to improve snow-plow tracking and vehicle reliability.
Committee members repeatedly noted an outstanding administrative report the body had requested evaluating the city’s snow-removal plan and related funding needs; several members said they prefer a comprehensive plan from administration before larger fleet purchases but described the motion before them as a limited step to address urgent shortfalls. Council members referenced an earlier policy that capped one-time allocations at $500,000 per project and said amending that cap should be done explicitly if the council intends to change it.
After the committee debate, the clerk recorded the roll call on item number 1. The committee vote recorded: Council member Cramerading — yes; Council member Johnson — yes; Council member Nolan — yes; Council member Jeffries — yes; Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Limon Kearney — no; Council member Parks — yes; Council member Walsh — no. The chair announced the motion passed and that item number 1 will be on the council agenda Wednesday.
The committee also received and filed a midyear finance and budget monitoring report showing general-fund revenues ahead of estimates by about $18.9 million through Dec. 31, 2024; staff noted a projected general-fund shortfall partly tied to labor negotiations and that funds have been set aside in a reserve for those costs. Other ordinances and grant items (TechCred credential reimbursement for CPD, ODOT pedestrian/bicycle grant, multiple highway-safety grant applications and a $500 donation for CPD honor guard) were placed on the consent or passage calendar with no extended debate during this meeting.
The full council will consider item number 1 on Wednesday; council members asked the administration to provide the requested fleet and snow-response reports and to revisit options for funding community projects through leverage-support processes and other discretionary resources.
