Budget committee approves carryover spending for fleet, skate park and other projects after heated debate

The Cincinnati Budget & Finance Committee voted to advance a motion allocating carryover funds that will channel roughly $994,000 toward fleet needs, a Camp Washington skate park and several other projects, sending the item to the full council for final consideration.

The vote followed nearly two hours of public comment and debate in which nonprofit leaders asked the committee to hold the money for community capital projects. Jens Rosenkrantz, chair of the Clifton Cultural Arts Center board, urged the council to delay any vote so all nine council members could participate: “I respectfully suggest that council takes the time to come together to propose a new motion that has unanimous votes of all council members,” he said, noting that the community organizations had waited months for decisions.

The carryover dispute centered on a $1.3 million bucket of one-time closeout funds that council members previously intended to use for community capital projects. Council discussion referenced an earlier policy that capped one-time awards at $500,000 per project; Council Member Seth Walsh said that cap was important to the original agreement and criticized moving money to city fleet purchases now. “That cap of $500,000 was really, really important,” Walsh said.

Supporters of the motion said the city’s January snow event, when many plows were inoperable, made investing in fleet a higher near-term priority. Jeremy McCleese of AFSCME Local 240 told the committee the city’s aging fleet limited workers’ ability to serve residents during the storm; committee members also noted reports that as many as 20% of plows were down during the event. Vice Chair Scotty Johnson described the plan as “a step in the right direction” to begin addressing neglected equipment.

Several community groups spoke during public comment seeking funds from the same bucket. Speakers included Artworks representatives who requested $150,000 to close a capital campaign in Walnut Hills, Clifton Cultural Arts Center leaders who said prior city seed funding had leveraged millions in private funds, and leaders from PigWorks and the Flying Pig Marathon who highlighted the economic impact of events and programs such as Pig Abilities. Evan Walker and supporters presented a letter of support from the Camp Washington Urban Revitalization Corporation for the Cincinnati Skate Park project; Walker said the park would “draw individuals from across the region” and provide youth recreation.

Council deliberations included proposals to delay the vote and to pursue alternate funding sources. Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Limon Kearney moved to hold the vote to allow time for a fuller discussion and to consider a separate motion Council Member Seth Walsh was preparing; that motion to hold failed on a 4–3 roll call. The committee then approved the original motion. The clerk recorded the final committee roll call as follows: 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 committee chair announced, “The motion passes. Item number 1 will be on the agenda at council on Wednesday.”

No final ordinance was adopted by the committee; the item will appear on the City Council agenda for a final vote.