In May, Cincinnati voters will decide on a proposed Charter Amendment that would give $50 million dollars annually to an affordable housing trust fund but the language that will appear on the May ballot is still under dispute. Supporter Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, says the city needs 28,000 affordable housing units.
Last week Cincinnati City Council approved significant changes to the summary of the amendment, despite protests from the original petitioners. The petitioners are now suing the county Board of Elections, City Council, and the Ohio Secretary of State.
The proposal has received significant pushback from city officials and candidates in this year's local elections. Cincinnati City Council Member Greg Landsman doesn’t support the charter amendment effort but has proposed his own legislation in response to the city's affordable housing shortage.
City Manager Paula Boggs Muething says the financial impact of the charter amendment would be "catastrophic." She says if it passes, "basic services would be dramatically impacted, and departments eliminated."
Joining Cincinnati Edition to discuss the affordable housing charter amendment are Greater Cincinnati Homeless CoalitionExecutive Director Josh Spring; Cincinnati City Manager Paula Boggs Muething; and Cincinnati City Council Member Greg Landsman.
Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.
Never miss an episode by subscribing to our podcast:
