The city of Cincinnati has about $38 million left over from the last fiscal year budget, which ended June 30. The surplus is thanks to federal stimulus as well as some revenue coming in higher than expected.
About two-thirds of the carryover is already accounted for, following policies established by City Council over the last several years. City Manager Sheryl Long is recommending a spending plan for about $12.3 million.
City Council has final say over allocations. Reggie Harris is chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, which will consider the suggestions Monday.
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"There's opportunities for tweaks or changes here and there, or questions around why this rose to the top over other things," Harris told WVXU. "And that is the process that will unfold on Monday in Budget and Finance."
The recommended plan for one-time spending includes:
- Deferred capital maintenance: $8,474,191
- Industrial site redevelopment: $1.6 million
- West End Community Development initiatives: $2 million
- Keep Cincinnati Beautiful capital facilities improvements: $250,000
- City Manager's Office project to digitize records for multiple city departments: $45,000
- City Manager's Office for detail needs at special events: $50,000
- Department of Community and Economic Development for a tax abatement study: $55,000
The deferred capital maintenance projects recommended for funding are:
- Radio replacements: $750,000
- Telephone system upgrades: $250,000
- Lifecycle asset acquisition and replacement: $500,000
- Uninterruptible power supply system: $250,000
- Solar panel battery backup resiliency hub: $675,000
- Parking garage rehabilitation: $1,649,191
- Public safety facilities improvements: $1 million
- Fire training facility tower: $500,000
- Arc flash hazard mitigation: $400,000
- City facility asbestos abatement: $1 million
- City facility HVAC upgrades: $500,000
- City facility security upgrades: $500,000
- Fleet replacements - SWAT truck: $500,000
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See the full recommended plan below (story continues after):
Other than the titles listed, the city manager's spending plan includes no detail about each project. Mayor Aftab Pureval offered a bit more information during the City Council meeting Wednesday.
"I want to lift up the strong, forward-looking downpayment this carryover budget makes in the future of the West End," Pureval said. "Over the next year, we will continue our partnership with CMHA with local community councils and the [community development corporations] and with residents to plan and prepare the strongest possible application for the HUD CHOICE grant. This grant is a massive, massive opportunity to improve the quality of existing homes for legacy residents to build new, quality affordable housing and to do so with a complete vision for the future of the neighborhood."
Council Member Harris says the administration will give a detailed presentation about the plan in Monday's Budget and Finance meeting. He says the committee may not be prepared to vote on spending the $12.3 million in carryover next week; instead, they could vote only on the "waterfall" portion.
"Just like last year's carryover, the waterfall process that this Council championed has led to the full maximum investments with $8.6 million going to stabilization and reserves at a time when we were facing down deficits," Pureval said.
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The waterfall now also includes three buckets established last year:
- Pension contribution: $2 million
- Affordable Housing Trust Fund: $5 million
- Operating Budget contingencies account: $500,000
The policy sets a maximum amount for the pension and housing fund, and reached the maximum for both. City officials say future carryover budgets may have smaller amounts for those buckets.
Monday's Budget and Finance Committee meeting is at 1 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall. You can stream the meeting live on CitiCable.
