A competing plan for how Cincinnati should spend more than a million dollars in stimulus money from the U.S. Justice Department appears to be dead. Council Members Leslie Ghiz and Greg Harris announced Monday they wanted part of the money used for leasing electronic ankle monitoring bracelets and combating blight in some neighborhoods. But a Council majority voted Wednesday against debating the plan at the meeting. The proposal instead remains in the Finance Committee and that group will not meet until after the deadline to apply for the federal grant. Harris says it’s disappointing. The Ghiz/Harris plan would have had the city lease the devices and then Hamilton County would monitor them. The county is also using money from the same grant to buy additional electronic bracelets. Mayor Mark Mallory says he worked out an agreement to split the money with the county. He says if the county feels more devices are needed it can use its share of the grant to buy them. An e-mail from the mayor’s office also says according to state law counties are responsible for jails not cities. Cincinnati’s police department presented its plans for spending the federal grant dollars a couple of weeks ago. That proposal will remain in place unless Council Members reach a compromise in the next week.
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Friday, September 03, 2010 
