City manager proposes $4.5 million public-safety package; council debates equity, approves chair’s amended plan

City Manager presented a recommended $4.5 million public-safety package to the Budget & Finance Committee and answered questions about how the funds would be spent; the committee debated competing amendments and ultimately approved the chair’s motion to move forward with a modified plan.

The manager told the committee the $4.5 million recommendation divides into four broad categories: outreach, curfew and youth services, police staffing/visibility and technology upgrades. Specific line items the manager named included a one-time $880,000 to expand 3CDC’s ambassador program in Over-the-Rhine and the Central Business District; an additional $100,000 to support 3CDC outreach workers and FUSIS camera integration; and roughly $200,000 to bring additional community partners into downtown youth outreach. The manager said curfew centers and related services were budgeted (a combined figure discussed in committee was $380,000 to cover a full 12-month contract for curfew centers). The manager recommended $500,000 for police visibility overtime (PVO) to cover targeted patrols and off-duty details; and “more than $2,000,000” for technology upgrades, including street lighting, fixed city cameras, expansion of the police drone program and integration of privately owned cameras into CPD’s real-time crime center via the FUSIS camera system.

Public comment and council questions focused on process, equity and effectiveness. Daniel Berndge, a public commenter, asked…