City officials decide on 2011 budget

CINCINNATI - After weeks of heated debate at City Hall, the Cincinnati Budget and Finance Committee finally approved a 2011 budget proposal late Wednesday night that avoids police and fire layoffs. 

In addition, the budget does not include a trash fee nor managed competition for sanitation services.

"This budget is about making sure we don't go into a 'Continuation Budget' because there were many disagreements over some fundamentals," said Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls.

Councilmembers who voted against the proposal are outraged, saying it merely kicks the can down the road and will eventually lead to more budget issues.

"We are committing financial suicide, we are breaching every fiduciary duty and ethical duty we have to the taxpayers," said council member Leslie Ghiz.

Ghiz, Chris Bortz, Chris Monzel and Jeff Berding voted 'no'.

"There is no cut, not a single cut in this budget that is structurally impactful. Nothing. No changes. We're going to be back here again next year," said Bortz.

The budget taps into roughly $27 million by borrowing from emergency reserves and the workers compensation fund.

It also cuts departments like Health and Parks and police overtime.

Councilmember Jeff Berding, who voted against the budget, credited Vice Mayor Qualls for attempting to create a structurally balanced budget regretting that it fell short due to disagreement over the issue of garbage fees and managed competition.

"Look, this is the same type of budget we've done for numerous years. We're so structurally imbalanced and here we are kicking the can down the road again," said Berding.