CINCINNATI — The City of Cincinnati is working to make sure it can continue to provide city services as part of the budget process going on right now.
Cincinnati city council members heard a presentation from the City Manager's office on the proposed budget Tuesday. City leaders said the city is facing a deficit. They said with more people working from home rather than commuting into downtown for work every day, the city's income tax revenue is decreasing, but expenses are increasing.
The city plans to use American Rescue Plan Act dollars to make up for it in Fiscal Year 2024, which starts in July.
By Fiscal Year 2025, though, the city could be facing a nearly $9.5 million operating budget deficit.
"It's unsustainable, right? And so we have to find solutions for sustainability," said Budget and Finance Committee Chair Reggie Harris.
He said every possible solution is on the table right now.
“What we’re looking at is what we’re spending, size of government, earnings tax, potential for revenue opportunities," Harris said. "We’re trying to understand what are all of the possibilities and we want to be able to just bring them out, lay them out on the table and make a decision from there.”
He said the Futures Commission is working to develop recommendations. It includes members of the local business community and Harris said it's set to give its recommendations to the city by the end of the year or early next year.
The city is also working to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern for about $1.6 Billion. The proposed sale has made it past several roadblocks so far, but voters would still have to approve the sale.
When the City Manager presented the proposed budget to the Budget and Finance Committee on Tuesday, one council member expressed concerns.
"I think we are leaving a lot of difficult decisions to one year from the day and we need to look very carefully at the budget on today's date to make those decisions easier a year from now," said Jeff Cramerding.
City Council has until the end of June to pass a budget. There will be a meeting for public comment June 5 at 5:30 pm.
You can read the full budget here.
