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Cincinnati Council Still Plans To Act On City Budget Next Week

City of Cincinnati

Cincinnati Council Members are still expected to take final votes on the city budget next week.  

They're supposed to submit their proposed changes by noon Friday.  
The Budget and Finance Committee held a special session Wednesday to hear from department heads about the spending plan.  

Vice Mayor David Mann asked for the meeting. "Any concerns that you have at this point? What gives you heartburn," Mann asked. "We need to know that, and hopefully, we will take that into account as we make our decision before next week."

Council Member P.G. Sittenfeld picked up on the "heartburn" line and provided this caution.

"I think I have a pretty good sense of what gives them heartburn, both from individual conversations as well as intuition," Sittenfeld said. "But if something gives one director heartburn; and then Council were to take action, then guess what? It's going to cause more heartburn on somebody else."

Most department heads talked about challenges with vacant positions left open, a lack of funds for new technology, and a continued wage gap between employees represented by labor unions and those who are non-represented.

City Council is expected to take a series of budget votes on June 21.  By law, the city must have a budget no later than June 30.

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.