News

A memo from Cincinnati Council's Budget and Finance Committee chairwoman says the city manager will send his 2013 budget proposal to the Mayor on November 26th.  

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls announced public hearings will be held on December 6th and 10th.  Both will begin at 6 o'clock in the evening with the locations to be announced.  

The manager's spending plan will outline his ideas for closing a general fund deficit that has been reported to be between $34 and $40 million.  

Hamilton County Commissioners are hammering out the 2013 budget. Lone democrat Todd Portune released his proposal today/yesterday. Key to his 5-year plan is generating extra funds through a state provision allowing counties with land banks to issue securities based on expected tax revenues.

"While the use of this vehicle is limited to counties that are land bank counties, nowhere in the legislation, and nowhere have I found, are the use of the proceeds limited to just land bank activities," he says.

Cincinnati Council is again debating the police department's program where off-duty officers provide security for business and organizations in the city. The issue is who should pay for the administration costs of the program.

Council's Budget and Finance Committee heard this week the off-duty detail program costs the city about $676,000 a year.

City Budget Director Lea Eriksen said that translates to about $3.28 per hour.

Eriksen also said officials weighed the benefits off-duty officers have for public safety in the city.

John Cranley, the 38-year-old Democrat elected to four terms on Cincinnati City Council from 2001 through 2007, has become the first announced candidate for Cincinnati mayor in the 2013 election.

The present mayor, Mark Mallory, can't run again because of the city's term limits law, which limits the mayor to two four-year terms.

Now that the election is over, you may have some old campaign signs laying around.

Instead of tossing them out and allowing them to land in a landfill, you have an opportunity tonight to recycle them in a way that will help the homeless of Cincinnati.

A group called Re:Signed to Help is collecting political yard signs and plans to "re-purpose" them - converting them into water-resistant blankets that will be donated to the City Gospel Mission and be distributed to the homeless.