Cincinnati residents get their first chance Wednesday evening to comment on the city's proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
A public hearing begins at 6 p.m. at the LeBlond Recreation Center at 2335 Riverside Drive.
City officials explained their proposed spending plan to a City Council committee Tuesday.
A chart that got a lot of attention was one showing the decrease in non-public safety employees in the last 20 years.
"So 17 departments, there used to be almost 2,000 employees of those 17 departments and today there's 1,000," said Council Member Chris Seelbach.
During the same 20-year period, public safety staffing increased by about 5%, or nearly 100 employees.
Council Member P.G. Sittenfeld said such a trend is worrisome.
"At the end of the day, no one likes paying taxes and everyone expects good services," Sittenfeld said. "But I think we just need to be clear-eyed with the people that we're serving about what's not getting done when this happens to your city workforce over a two-decade period."
City Council must approve a spending plan by July 1. Right now those final votes are set for June 19.
Other budget hearings are on Monday, June 3, at UC Innovation Hub at 2900 Reading Road, and Tuesday, June 4, at Madcap Theatre at 3064 Harrison Avenue. Both of those sessions start at 6 p.m.
