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Residents tell council they’ve lost property under receivership, urge action on ICE and water-billing complaints
Summary
Several public commenters accused city processes and outside agencies of harm — alleging improper property receiverships, criticizing ICE and surveillance contracts, and accusing Greater Cincinnati Water Works of unfair charges during meter shutoffs; council members received the comments but did not take immediate policy action.
Multiple speakers used the citizens forum to raise sharp complaints about local enforcement and regional agencies.
Stanford Poole accused the building and law departments of targeting Black neighborhoods and alleged corruption in receivership cases, saying residents were not receiving promised relief. “You listen to them and don’t do nothing,” Poole said, calling for accountability.
Stephon Pryor described a specific receivership case at 48 Vine Street and said a property sold under receivership yielded $247,500 that was not distributed to an identified owner; he urged the city to review receivership practices and to return properties when appropriate.
Jonathan Nortman urged the council to go beyond condemnation of ICE and to divest from partnerships with federal immigration enforcement. Nortman also alleged the city had committed $30,000,000 to surveillance vendors Axon and Skydio and said that the technology could be used by ICE.
Online commenter Michael Uhlehorn accused Greater Cincinnati Water Works of continuing to take payments from customers after water had been shut off and said he had been referred between state agencies and the mayor’s office without resolution.
Council members acknowledged the comments; the meeting record shows no immediate policy or investigatory motion in response. The comments were entered during the public-comment portion of the meeting, and several callers asked council staff to follow up.
