CINCINNATI — Cincinnati City Council leaders are in the early stages of crafting a new budget, and public safety departments — including police and fire — could face significant cuts in the coming months.
Last September, council approved an additional $5.4 million for public safety. That funding included $1.2 million for Cincinnati Police Department public visibility and overtime, $1.2 million for street lighting and cameras and $90,000 for recruitment efforts.
Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, said the previous funding boost did produce results.
"Just to have an increase visibility, which certainly did make an impact," Kober said.
Despite those investments, Kober said staffing remains a serious problem.
"We're still 100 officers short; we have officers leaving weekly," Kober said. "We did just graduate a class of 54, which is certainly something that will be impactful."
WATCH: Why departments could soon be facing major cuts
Kober warned that reductions to the budget would have real consequences.
"If they choose to make these budget cuts they have to understand that safety will be impacted," Kober said.
Council members have not yet set their official priorities, but WCPO 9 News asked council member Jeff Cramerding what a cut could mean for public safety.
"We don't know at this juncture we will see where our police and fire come back at where they think they will make cuts if they were looking at a 5% cut will look like, and then that will be up to the manager or council to determine whether those cuts are feasible," Cramerding said.
Kober said the prospect of cuts is troubling.
"It is certainly concerning that there could be these potential cuts," Kober said. "It is something that will certainly be impactful with the police department if they chose to make those cuts."
City Council is calling on the public to weigh in at three public budget hearings. They have until June 30 to make a final vote.
Here are the dates and locations:
March 4 – 5:30 p.m.
City Hall Council Chambers
801 Plum Street, Room 300
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
March 11 – 5:30 p.m.
North Avondale Recreation Center
617 Clinton Springs
Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
March 16 – 5:30 p.m.
Sayler Park Recreation Center
6720 Home City Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45233
