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Finance committee opens budget season, schedules public hearings and department presentations
Summary
The Cincinnati Finance Committee held a kickoff meeting to start the fiscal 2026 budget process, outlined a multi‑phase timeline with public hearings in March, and warned of a lean budget and an $18 million shortfall compared with prior cycles.
The Finance Committee of the Cincinnati Board & Committees opened the city’s fiscal 2026 budget season, laying out a four‑phase schedule that includes three community public hearings in March and department presentations beginning March 17.
Chair (unnamed in transcript) called the session “the kickoff to the budget season” and said the committee will use the next weeks to set budget policy priorities, work with the administration on numbers and release a recommended budget tentatively on May 22. The committee set a tentative target of passing a budget “no sooner than June 18,” and reminded members that a final budget must be adopted by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Why it matters: Council members said this committee’s work sets the city’s priorities, staffing and spending for the coming year. Members repeatedly warned the budget will be tighter than recent cycles and urged public participation at hearings.
Committee leaders outlined the schedule the committee will follow. The first community hearing was scheduled the evening of the meeting in Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m.; two additional hearings are planned for March 3 at the Dunham Recreation Center and March 12 at the Evanston Recreation Center. Department presentations were scheduled across three Mondays—March 17, March 24 and March 31—with additional special‑meeting mornings on March 19, March 26 and April 2 to receive department briefings.
Dr. Dutis (finance/budget staff, as referred to in the transcript) described the multi‑phase approach the administration and committee had adopted. The March 17 meeting will open with a city manager overview and include presentations from the Office of Performance and Data Analytics and the latest community survey results. The committee plans to deliberate on a budget policy motion in early April to give the manager direction for developing the recommended budget.
Committee members cautioned that finances will be constrained. Vice Chair Scottie Johnson said the city is “probably $18,000,000 behind than we did for the last 2 budgets” and said vacancies may go unfilled and fewer new programs will be possible. The chair described the coming budget as “leaner” and urged patience as the committee reviews a large volume of material.
The committee encouraged residents to attend the scheduled community hearings and said the additional time between release and final passage this year will give council more time to consider amendments.
The meeting closed with a reminder of the hearing dates and an adjournment.
