The Cincinnati city manager and mayor released their budget recommendations for what could be the city’s “leanest year yet.”
City Manager Sheryl Long, in her introduction to the proposed budget, described the city’s budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1 as the tightest since she became city manager in 2022. The city faces a $29.5 million deficit.
“In a lean year like the one we’re facing, we can prioritize key investments and pull back where appropriate, doing so without disrupting core services,” Long wrote in the introduction to the budget proposal.
Still, the mayor and city manager found money for the new Farmer Music Center, also known as Riverbend 2.0, on the city’s eastern border. They also didn’t propose any tax increases or layoffs.
The budget released May 22 by Mayor Aftab Pureval and Long is just that, a proposal. Cincinnati City Council has until June 30 to pass the final budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Here are five takeaways.
Riverbend 2.0 would get money. How much remains a question
In what has so far been the most contentious budget issue, the city manager and mayor both proposed giving money to the construction of the Farmer Music Center on the city’s border with Anderson Township.
They differed on the amount.
The music center’s owner and developer, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Music and Events Management Inc., known as MEMI, asked for $8 million from the city.
The city manager recommended the city give $6.5 million to the Farmer Music Center out of the city’s dollars for capital projects.
Pureval, in the budget adjustment letter he sends out with each budget, proposed lowering that to $2 million. The mayor also wants to make that $2 million contingent on guaranteed tax revenue the city would get from the music venue over the next decade. The city and MEMI would negotiate the amount, Pureval said.
Pureval also wants the city to purchase “key, developable land” next to the music venue “to secure our interest in future growth in the area.”
Out of the $738 million general operating and capital budget, the Farmer Music Center has so far proven the most divisive among the nine Cincinnati City Council members. In March, Cincinnati City Council voted 5-4 to pass a resolution in support of $8 million for the Farmer Music Center.
But it’s not clear whether a majority of council still supports it.
Also known as Riverbend 2.0, the $160 million music venue would upgrade the 42-year-old Riverbend Music Center on Kellogg Avenue on the site of the old Coney Island amusement park in Cincinnati’s California neighborhood. Designed by GBBN, the outdoor performance venue is expected to be able to hold 20,000 people.
Positions would be left vacant
To make up the $29 million deficit in the $593 million general fund operating budget, the city manager has recommended the city not fill many current vacancies. That would save $8.5 million.
Among the positions the city manager suggests remain vacant: a $144,470-a-year assistant to the city manager job. Positions not filled span a wide array of city departments, including the city manager’s office, the police and fire departments, public services, transportation and many others.
Vacancies in the police patrol bureau are projected to save $3.7 million.
City still spending on police recruits, drones
Long and Pureval recommended increased police spending to address the growing crime and public safety concerns that have become the dominant political issue in the past few years.
The police budget would increase 15.2% from the current year to $217 million.
This includes $1.8 million for two 50-member police recruit classes, the first of which will graduate in November 2026. The second will start in February 2027.
The mayor and city manager also want more police drones. The city manager wrote in her budget that the $1.6 million she’s recommended for drones “expands policing capacity and allows for more efficient deployment of uniformed officers.”
Pureval, in his budget adjustment, also recommended an additional $500,000 for “physical public safety improvements on Fountain Square.” Pureval didn’t specify what those would be.
Pools will open a week later
The Cincinnati Recreation Commission will open pools a week later next year.
The commission will also reduce hours on certain recreation centers. The budget didn’t specify what those hours are and where but said it’s based on how often the centers are used and maintenance staff reductions.
Some residents could pay more to park
Some people who live in urban and high-traffic areas of Over-the-Rhine, Clifton and other areas pay $30 to $60 annually for residential parking permits. Under the proposed budget, that fee would be increased to $150 and raise an additional $147,000.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘Lean’ Cincinnati budget would hike police spending, parking fees
Reporting by Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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