Lincoln Heights council reallocates transit grant funds for Simmons Avenue, approves payroll transfer

The Village of Lincoln Heights Council on Dec. 9 approved a series of resolutions to reorganize grant accounting for the Simmons Avenue road project and later added an emergency transfer to move money between general‑fund object codes to cover personnel costs. All measures on the supplemental agenda passed unanimously, 5–0.

Council members moved through four linked items — R‑94, R‑95, R‑96 and R‑97 — that together repeal a prior appropriation, accept Southwestern Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) funds, and place those funds in a Simmons Avenue special revenue/project fund (fund 4209). A council member explained the steps as an auditor‑prompted cleanup so previously separate grant receipts would be consolidated into the proper fund for the Simmons Avenue street project.

Why it matters: consolidating all Simmons Avenue grant receipts into a single fund is an accounting step required under Ohio law for grant administration and ensures that money intended for the road project is tracked and spent in a single special revenue account rather than fragmented across multiple source‑specific accounts. Council members said the action corrects a prior setup and will make future reporting to auditors and grantors simpler.

Votes at a glance

- R‑94 (repeal earlier acceptance language): passed, roll call 5–0. - R‑95 (repeal earlier appropriation from fund 4210): passed, roll call 5–0. - R‑96 (accept SORTA funds into fund 4209 — Simmons Avenue): passed, roll call 5–0; emergency clause applied, 5–0. - R‑97 (appropriate monies from fund 4209 for Simmons Avenue project): passed, roll call 5–0; emergency clause applied, 5–0.

Council discussion and accounting details

A council member summarized the package as four connected steps: repeal the earlier appropriation that had been placed in the wrong fund, then accept and reallocate the SORTA grant into the Simmons Avenue fund so the project can be billed and tracked correctly. The clerk and others referenced fund numbers and explained that, under Ohio practice, a special revenue fund must be set up to hold grant proceeds for the purpose specified by the grant.

Following the Simmons Avenue votes, council accepted a late resolution (R‑98) that the finance director had requested regarding payroll. R‑98 authorizes the finance director to transfer monies between object codes (the new UAN labels for line items) in the general fund so personnel/personal service budgets can cover temporary staffing and payroll shortfalls. Council members asked for and received clarification that the municipality’s migration to the UAN accounting system changed the labels for line items (now called object codes), and that the transfer moves money from contractual/service object codes into personal services to cover pay obligations.

Public comments and meeting tone

The meeting included a contentious public‑comment period before the supplemental agenda. Resident and business owner Carlton Collins accused council members and the village manager of obstructing a local development effort he called the Heights Movement, criticized the removal of a community mural and cited unfulfilled pledges of private support. Collins said the community had worked toward a $31,600,000 effort and voiced frustration that he believed projects and youth programming were being blocked. “You fought us at every turn when we’re trying to do great things for this community,” Collins said. His remarks were recorded as public comment and were not taken as a council response.

Another resident, Aretha Brown, questioned why solicitor Deepak Desai had not responded to what she described as unlawful conduct and urged the council to address allegations concerning a young community member she named during her remarks. Those claims were raised as public comment and were not resolved during the meeting.

Next steps

Council voted to reschedule its regular Dec. 23 meeting to Dec. 16 to avoid holiday scheduling and quorum problems; the clerk will update meeting postings. The Simmons Avenue accounting changes and the payroll transfer are effective as passed (emergency clauses applied where noted), and the administration will proceed with the fund transfers and reporting steps described by staff and council.