Cincinnati City Council

Cincinnati's director of community and economic development says some interaction between council members and her department can be inappropriate. Markiea Carter briefed members of the new Economic Development Reform Panel at its second meeting Friday.

A charter amendment likely to be on the May ballot would require Cincinnati to spend at least $50 million a year on affordable housing. Advocates say it's long past time to act, while critics say the impact on the budget would be devastating.

Cincinnati officials have designated Monday, March 1, as "COVID-19 Memorial Day." Council passed a resolution Wednesday to honor local residents impacted by the pandemic, including at least 220 deaths in the city.

Cincinnati officials say the city's Parks and Recreation Departments are struggling under tight budgets and mounting repair bills. City administrators are in the early stages of preparing a budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Department heads briefed council members at a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee Monday.

Updated: Wednesday, 3 p.m.

Cincinnati firefighters will get a 5% raise this year under a contract negotiated between the city and union.

The inaugural class of City Council School graduated this weekend. The program from Action Tank, a local think tank, met virtually two to three times monthly since October.

A Cincinnati council member has moved away from a proposal to mandate affordable housing in most new development projects. 

The century-old Mercantile Library building on Walnut Street has been granted local historic landmark status after a vote from Cincinnati City Council Thursday.

Cincinnati City Council members started investigating affordable housing Wednesday in the first meeting of a new subcommittee. Local experts say the city needs at least 28,000 additional affordable units.

An officer shortage at the Cincinnati Police Department is expected to get worse over the next couple of years. Chief Eliot Isaac told the Budget and Finance Committee Tuesday that there are currently 990 sworn officers.

"We expect to fall to about 938 by the time the class graduates in March of '22," Isaac said. "If this class is 50, that will still put us about 71 officers below our authorized complement."

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.

The Cincinnati Fire Department hopes to train 40 new recruits by the end of the year, but Chief Roy Winston says the staff shortage will still strain the budget.

Cincinnati’s hate crime ordinance will be updated to include "gender identity" and "gender expression" as protected categories.

Updated: Wednesday, 6 p.m.

Cincinnati City Council voted 5-4 Wednesday to advance a controversial development at Liberty and Elm in Over-the-Rhine.

More text messages from the so-called "Gang of Five" Cincinnati City Council members could be released publicly. A council committee Tuesday passed a motion from Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman asking the city solicitor to release any additional messages related to city business.

Updated: Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.

The Cincinnati City Council voted 8-1 Wednesday to approve the members of a new development review panel. Council Member Chris Seelbach was the lone council member to vote no on Mayor John Cranley's appointees.

Updated: Thursday, 3 p.m.

Cincinnati City Council members hope to secure hazard pay for the city’s frontline workers. Council approved Council Member Greg Landsman's motion Wednesday.

Updated: Friday 10:30 a.m.

A major mixed-use development project at Liberty and Elm in Over-the-Rhine has been delayed for two weeks while City Council reviews the details and tries to work affordable housing into the project.

Community leaders gathered at the corner of Liberty and Elm in Over-the-Rhine on Tuesday to voice their displeasure on a development project that's up for a vote in Cincinnati City Council on Wednesday.

The city of Cincinnati will establish a Children and Families Cabinet to provide guidance on health and safety issues affecting children. Council Member Greg Landsman initiated the ordinance. He points to issues like the city's high infant mortality rate and lead poisoning.

Three Cincinnati Council members have been indicted this year and accused of creating pay-to-play schemes with developers. Now, other members of council are deciding exactly how to prevent those kinds of crimes, and they're getting down to the specifics.

Following corruption charges against three former and current Cincinnati City Council members, Vice Mayor Christoper Smitherman is proposing a "forensic audit" in which the city would look back at how all council members voted on development deals over a specific period of time.

Cincinnati native Liz Keating is the newest interim Cincinnati City Council member. She was appointed to the position Friday morning by Hamilton County Probate Judge Ralph Winkler, who said her high energy and the strongly rooted care she has for the community made her stand out from others he considered. 

Racial minorities have historically had unequal opportunities in education, employment and housing. This summer, inequity in policing and the criminal justice system brought millions of people protesting in the streets across the country, including Cincinnati. But over the past few months, it's the inequity in health care that's been pushed into the spotlight due to COVID-19.

Cincinnati's Racial Equity Task Force was appointed earlier this fall and has the tall order of trying to recommend policy to take on these issues.