Cincinnati City Council finalized the next city budget in a series of votes Wednesday, for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Although most of the spending plan proposed by City Manager Sheryl Long won unanimous support, Council disagrees on $2 million for the Farmer Music Center, plus a few additions to the budget.
"So much work goes into producing a strong balanced budget, and this is doubly true given the challenges we have faced," said Mayor Aftab Pureval. "The priorities we were able to fund [are] a testament to the shrewd financial planning and the diligent work done by so many city employees."
Learn more about the budget process from WVXU here: How Cincinnati officials spend your tax dollars
You can see the full budget documents on the city's website: cincinnati-oh.gov/budget
Learn more about the budget for fiscal year 2027 below.
General Fund and deficit
The operating budget pays for wages for city employees and the cost of supplies needed to deliver services provided by the city, like police officer patrols, filling potholes, and trash collection.
The operating budget includes the general fund, where City Council has the most flexibility in spending decisions. General fund dollars can be used for capital projects, but capital dollars cannot be used for operating expenses.
While preparing this budget, city officials estimated a $29.5 million deficit in the General Fund. City Manager Long addresses that shortfall with about $20.2 million in cuts while bringing in about $17.2 million in new revenue.
The biggest money saver is from position vacancies, which is not quite a hiring freeze. Some of the savings comes from position specific vacancies, where a department identifies a specific job title that is not currently filled and agrees not to fill it.
The City Manager's office says most of the savings comes from "lump sum vacancy," where a department has to save a certain amount of money from personnel, but has flexibility in how to meet that goal. It could include natural turnover, like expected retirements during the fiscal year.
The next largest source of savings comes from delaying a recruit class for the Cincinnati Fire Department — instead of starting in summer 2027, the class will start in fall 2027, which puts the associated cost into the fiscal year 2028 budget.
Long says the change is aimed at long-term savings, as well; because summer is the most popular time for fire fighters to take vacation, training a recruit class in the summer requires a lot of overtime. Permanently scheduling classes in the fall is expected to cut down on the departments overtime costs.
New revenue sources include the city seeking Medicaid reimbursement for emergency services like ambulance rides.
Ordinances related to the operating budget passed unanimously.
Mayor's adjustments
Before forwarding City Manager Long's budget proposal to City Council, Mayor Pureval made several adjustments. One was to reduce the amount of money for the Farmer Music Center (more on that below).
Other changes include $1 million for a new disparity study, "to gain an updated picture of where our contracting and economic development tools can and should be reviewed."
Pureval recommended $1 million for BLINK, the art and light festival scheduled for this October, and $100,000 for Black Tech Week in July.
On the capital side of the budget, Pureval added $500,000 for unspecified "physical public safety improvements" at Fountain Square. That will include lighting and cameras.
You can see all of the mayor's adjustments at this link.
The ordinance with the mayor's adjustments passed with a 5-3 vote. Council members Mark Jeffreys, Scotty Johnson and Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney voted against it, citing the inclusion of the Farmer Music Center.
Council member Cramerding voted in favor "despite reservations about the music venue."
Capital budget and railway money
The capital budget covers purchasing or improving assets like buildings and vehicles. It includes assets that cost at least $5,000 and last at least five years. The capital budget includes some cash and some borrowing.
As explained above, general fund dollars can be used for capital projects, but capital dollars cannot be used for operating expenses. In other words, none of the money in the capital budget could legally be used to fill the deficit in the general fund.
The largest source of revenue for the capital budget is now proceeds from the 2023 sale of the city-owned Cincinnati Southern Railway. The $1.6 billion sale revenue was placed in an investment trust fund managed by an independent board of trustees. That fund has reached nearly $1.9 billion and is continuing to grow.
A portion of the earned interest is transmitted to the city to spend on maintaining or replacing existing city-owned infrastructure.
In fiscal year 2027, the city has $58 million in railway sale revenue; the capital budget this year totals $99.4 million for existing infrastructure.
Long says the city plans to purchase land this year to eventually replace two fire stations, but the locations have not been identified.
Street rehabilitation is budgeted for a total of $22,020,000. The city expects outside grant resources of an additional $800,000. That's expected to cover full repaving or preventative maintenance for 70 lane miles, about 20% more than the previous fiscal year.
An ordinance related to capital projects specifically for Greater Cincinnati Water Works passed unanimously. An ordinance for the general capital budget passed on a 7-2 vote, with Jeffreys and Johnson opposing because of the inclusion of the Farmer Music Center.
See a breakdown of "Cincy on Track" spending proposals below (article continues after):
Farmer Music Center
When City Council hammered out the final budget details in committee on Monday, the nine-member body was split on whether to give any financial support to the Farmer Music Center venue.
In March, City Council voted 5-4 on a resolution promising $8 million to the project. A financial analysis from the city later concluded the project would move forward regardless of any city support.
The city manager's budget draft recommended $6.5 million for the Farmer Music Center. Mayor Aftab Pureval reduced that to just $2 million.
Pureval proposes an agreement with MEMI guaranteeing tax revenue for 10 years. He also wants the city to purchase two lots adjacent to the Farmer Music Center site, with separate city funding.
Five of nine council members voted Monday on two different motions that would have delayed or redirected the money for Farmer — but neither motion got the majority support needed to pass. Council member Ryan James later clarified that despite his vote in committee, he supports the $2 million in city funding, meaning opposition is a decided minority.
Public safety
The Cincinnati Police Department is budgeted for $217,140,230; that's about 35% of the general fund, and a 15.2% increase from FY26.
Police officers are represented by a labor union and are currently under a contract that expires during FY27. Officers are budgeted for a 2% wage increase this fiscal year.
An additional $1.6 million is budgeted for CPD's drones as first responders program.
The Cincinnati Fire Department is budgeted for $168,413,950; that's about 27% of the general fund, and a 5% increase from FY26.
Fire fighters are represented by a labor union and are currently under a contract that expires during FY27. They are budgeted for a 1% wage increase this fiscal year.
Long budgeted an additional $1.1 million to continue health and cancer screenings for CFD sworn staff.
The police and fire departments, combined, make up about 62% of the general fund in the FY27 budget.
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