CINCINNATI — Cincinnati City Council voted 8-1 to allocate $1 million in additional funding to address the city's aging vehicle fleet, bringing the total to at least $11.6 million for the upcoming budget year.
The funding will help tackle a $42.5 million backlog in standard vehicle replacements that includes essential equipment like snow plows, police cruisers and fire trucks.
Last month, the city’s fleet services manager told council members that while 242 vehicles meet criteria for priority replacement, only about half are currently in the process of being replaced, leaving an estimated deficit of $17.6 million.
Among the allocation for fleet in this year’s budget (according to council member Jeff Cramerding’s office):
- $10.6 million for base fleet improvements
- $250,000 for a SWAT truck
- $100,000 for stormwater fleet
- $750,000 for Fire Department fleet repairs
- $800,000 for EV charging equipment
- $1.5 million in fleet technology upgrades
- $4 million to improve the fleet garage
The city's draft budget originally allocated only $10.6 million to fleet replacement, which was a nearly $1 million cut from last year's budget after American Rescue Plan dollars were depleted.
Hear from council members about why or why not $1 million in fleet improvements is worth the investment:
On Monday, Cramerding, the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, proposed a motion increasing that fund by $1 million.
"Every million dollars helps," Cramerding said in an interview. "We've got unsafe conditions right now as far as our fire trucks and public service vehicles. So this is important."
But Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney argued the additional $1 million should be spent elsewhere, putting forward a competing motion.
“Given that the $1 million allocated … is not enough to purchase even one fire truck, WE MOVE that the $1 million for fleet is re-allocated where it can have real impact,” the motion reads (emphasis is the vice mayor’s).
“Another million dollars will not even buy one fire truck,” Kearney said at council. “It’s really a drop in the bucket for fleet, but it can have a real impact with organizations that really need this money.”
The vice mayor proposed instead allocating the same $1 million on July 1, when $7.2 million of unappropriated general fund surplus becomes available.
“One million is not going to do anything. So let's make, let's have real impact and support our priorities,” Kearney said.
In an interview prior to the meeting, Cramerding defended the allocation, emphasizing the practical impact of the funding.
"A million dollars is very real money," Cramerding said in an interview. "These are real dollars. This is gonna be real equipment. And it's important for everyone to see that we're continuing to move the needle."
Watch my report from that March debate:
In fiscal year 2027, fleet replacement funding increases significantly to $13.3 million.
“These allocations will be reviewed annually with the intent of increasing fleet investments to bring more of the fleet into lifecycle,” writes City Manager Sheryl Long in a memo to council on May 23, 2025.
Watch our report from May about the state of the fleet:
More money to address police officer shortage
Council members are also looking to address the police officer shortage by funding a "lateral class" that would allow experienced officers from other departments to join Cincinnati's force.
The budget already included three police recruit classes, each with 50 members. Those begin in July 2025, April 2026 and February 2027.
But the council moved Monday that the administration “prioritize increasing the number of CPD officers” through a police lateral class.
"We have to start getting more creative in how we solve this, and the lateral is the easiest and best and fastest way to do it and get police officers on the street immediately," council member Seth Walsh said.
The approach, which hasn't been used in Cincinnati for a decade, has support from the police union.
"If we do a couple of lateral classes over the next couple years, it's going to fill that gap," Ken Kober, Cincinnati police union president, said last Wednesday. "Hopefully, by sometime in 2027, we're at least close to being full complement, but it's going to be this yo-yo until we get that done."
Walsh said his office estimates the lateral police class would yield 30 officers in the city and cost about $2 million.
“There’s still some questions that need to be answered around that to make sure we’re still getting the best officers we can and exactly the cost,” he said.
Walsh expects a more detailed report on the process, which would come from this year’s budget, after council members return from summer recess in September.
What else did council change in the budget motion?
Council members voted to make the following changes to the proposed budget:
The final vote on the entire budget is set for Wednesday. It must be passed by July 1, 2025.
Watch our previous coverage of the overall budget:
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