The ongoing effort to restore trust in Cincinnati government includes a new development scorecard. Council Member Greg Landsman presented his plan to the Budget and Finance Committee Monday.
"My hope is that we'll pass something in the next couple weeks that does give the administration much greater clarity as to the priorities, and gives clarity to communities and to developers," Landsman said.
Three council members were arrested on federal corruption charges in the past year, all accused of accepting bribes in exchange for supporting development projects.
Interim Council Member Steve Goodin was appointed to fill one of those vacancies at the end of November.
"Our current situation creates a swamp in which individual council members are talking to individual developers about priorities and expectations," Goodin said. "And it is an invitation to bad behavior."
The proposal has bipartisan support, but council members may disagree on what to prioritize and how much leeway administration should have during negotiations.
Budget and Finance Committee Chairman David Mann says it's a much-needed proposal.
"We talk about affordable housing is something we care about; inclusion is something we care about; local hiring is something we care about; community engagement," Mann said. "But there’s not one document that says those things."
Council members are considering whether the final product should score each development numerically, or just describe how it does or doesn't meet the priorities. Landsman says there are pros and cons to each approach. But Billy Weber, chief of staff to the city manager, told council the administration would not support a more prescriptive scoring policy.
Landsman hopes the final version of the scorecard will get a vote in two weeks.
See the current version of the proposed scorecard below.
Draft of Development Project Scorecard by WVXU News on Scribd
