Council members spar over reallocating some funds; ask for closer look at how Cincinnati uses surveillance technology

Notes

Attendees: Committee Chair Jeff Cramerding, Vice Chair Evan Nolan, Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney, Committee/Council Members Mark Jeffreys, Anna Albi, Meeka Owens, Scotty Johnson, Seth Walsh and Ryan James 

• Public comment (15 speakers)
  • Several speakers reminded the council of the impact that several of their grant programs have made, including:
    • Matt Long from United Way of Greater Cincinnati regarding the United Way’s 211 program.
    • Elizabeth Risch of HOME advocated for support in housing security.
    • Bonita Campbell of Lighthouse Youth Services spoke in support of the Curfew Center.
  • Several speakers urged the council to reconsider funding decisions to ensure their organizations received urgent funds, including:
    • Jonathan Adee from Keep Cincinnati Beautiful urged the council to reconsider the lack of funding sent to this nonprofit this year.
    • A YWCA program manager, Jennifer Milani of Community and Court Services, and Rickell Howard Smith of YWCA spoke in support of Project Care, which requested around $100,000.
    • Nick DiNardo and Mary Asbery from Legal Aid Cincinnati emphasized the importance of accessible legal representation for low-income populations.
    • Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh urged the council to support the county’s help center, boasting high return on investment. Three other attorneys for the center spoke on behalf of this as well.
    • Peg Dierkers of Bethany House Services spoke for the resolution to send $50,000 to help in emergency housing services.
  • J. Donaldson, a resident of Over-the-Rhine and owner of parking lots, expressed concerns about the ordinance requiring thousands of dollars in licensing fees for parking lot operators in downtown Cincinnati. He said this policy favors large corporations and hurts small business owners.
• Open discussion on the motions to follow, especially process improvement for the leveraged support program:
  • Committee Chair Jeff Cramerding took responsibility for this process being difficult, cumbersome and stressful for nonprofit organizations this year. Changes were made to the process that created delays, but he looks forward to a healthier and more informed process moving forward. He acknowledged that no funding decisions were made without notable compromises. Committee/council members Mark Jeffreys, Anna Albi and Ryan James voiced interest in improving this process.
  • Committee/Council Member Seth Walsh criticized his fellow council members, saying, “the process isn’t broken. We chose to make it what it is right now.” He said the city administration should have less power in this process, and administrators (rather than the elected body/city council) are slowing this process down. He argued that the council is creating legal risk with the proposed motions.
  • Committee/Council Member Meeka Owens said the leverage support process has created the idea that the city has more resources than it actually does. She argued the systemic solution would be to invest these dollars upstream in governmental support and changes, rather than outsourcing to nonprofits through leveraged funds. Funds from previous fiscal years on the docket to be reallocated for different purposes should instead be invested in government initiatives, she said.

• Motions
  • PASSED Motion to reallocate $300,000 from the FY2024 budget Impact Award (previously allocated to Strategies to End Homelessness) be moved to the Leveraged Support Supplement. In addition, City Manager’s Recommended Leveraged Support allocation of $66,667 to the Children’s Choir of Greater Cincinnati be amended to $50,000 and the $16,667 remaining be moved to the Leveraged Support Supplement. Finally, that the attached allocations be made using the Leveraged Support Supplement (including funding allocations to Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio, Cincinnati Ballet, Civic Garden Center, Film Cincinnati, Green Umbrella, Groundwork Ohio River Valley, Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, Red Bike, Robert O’Neal Multicultural Art Center, and Santa Maria).
    • Council member Owens abstained; Walsh voted no.
  • PASSED Motion that, of the $840,000 of funds unspent from the FY2024 budget Impact Award (previously allocated to Strategies to End Homelessness) be redirected to support applicants of leveraged funds.
    • Walsh expressed shock that this is even on the docket and that the council would consider defunding housing security because they don’t want to say no to these organizations. He said that any nonprofits that are funded through these dollars should “watch your back,” because the council would fearlessly strip them of any dollars being used frivolously.
    • Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney insisted that these organizations do have high and worthy needs, and that perhaps carryover funds from years past can be utilized to cover any gaps in housing security. “We’re not defunding anything,” Kearney said, “these dollars came back to us unused.”
    • Owens rebutted that these dollars are indirectly being taken from housing security, and that Kearney was misrepresenting fund appropriation. This resulted in conflict between Walsh and Kearney that defied Roberts Rules of Order and required the chair to intervene. Albi laughingly noted as she took the floor, “I appreciate all the theatrics today.”
    • Albi and Nolan had a similarly heated discussion about amending this motion to delay $100,000 of these appropriations on child savings accounts. They were unable to make this amendment, as it was already amended once.
      • At this point in the meeting, many members took an impromptu side bar that was kept private from the audience.
    • Nolan, Owens and Walsh voted no
  • FAILED Motion that $100,000 for 1001 Colors (formerly known as Artworks) in support of youth development come from the FY 2024 Impact Award (previously allocated to Strategies to End Homelessness) or an alternative source advised by the city administration.
    • Some council members expressed general anxiety about passing this motion without knowing with certainty where the funds would come from; Albi noted that this kind of motion has precedent and it ought not inhibit voting.
    • Cramerding, Nolan, Owen, Walsh and Johnson voted no
  • PASSED Motion for $50,000 for Freestore Foodbank in support of food access and homelessness prevention;
    • Kearney recused herself from this vote due to a conflict of interest. Walsh voted no

• Motions, Modifications and Ordinances Delayed until future meetings:
  • Municipal Code Modifications, sponsored by the Mayor. This parking ordinance was proposed by city administration; tabled this vote until a future meeting, when revisions have been made and reviewed
  • Motion for a presentation (within 30 days) with an overview of the city’s use of surveillance technology, including cameras, drones and license plate readers, covering current deployment, data retention and any data-sharing agreements; a draft of an ordinance including limits on data sharing and storage; a state-of-surveillance annual impact report; surveillance use policy; and council approval of related contracts.
    • Albi noted that this motion has been in preparation for almost a year, though it’s becoming especially commonplace in political discourse of late. Walsh and Cramerding voiced their support.
    • Cramerding and Johnson insisted that, whatever comes from these findings, no policies be instated that “handcuff” (as Johnson said) or inhibit the work of Cincinnati police. Kearney supported this motion as well, noting the urgency of this presentation.
    • James insisted that Flock cameras ought not be used, as they disturb more peace than they preserve.
  • Motion for a report within 90 days regarding all city-owned buildings and properties currently subject to third-party lease agreements. Albi noted that many of these city-owned buildings are leased out to civic and cultural organizations, with inconsistent lease terms and circumstances. A report of these properties will be generated.
  • Motion that City Council allocate to the Center for Addiction Treatment (which provides accessible care and tools for lifelong sobriety and recovery to addiction patients) $150,000 for the Fiscal year 2027 Budget. This was shelved as council members discussed different funding options.
  • Motion to allocate $50,000 to the Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) from funds that were set aside but not used for the Continuum of Care programs, to increase year-round youth employment opportunities in CRC’s Youth2Work program. This was shelved as council members discussed different funding options.
  • Motion to use the $150,000 in unspent funds previously allocated for the City’s Curfew Center program in Fiscal Year 2026 to provide funding to Lighthouse Youth & Family Services to support youth programming and services in Cincinnati. Status of accounts and carryover was different than anticipated and will be evaluated at the next meeting.
  • $75,000 for Women Helping Women and YWCA in support of survivor support, education and homelessness prevention. 
  • Motions for administration to prepare an ordinance to allocate funding from the sources identified as part of the Leverage Support process; and instead for administration to prepare an ordinance that reflects proper uses of the FY24 Impact Award Funding. Delayed indefinitely as it came in conflict with how the council already voted during the meeting to appropriate funds. Walsh and Owens expressed discontent that the council “did not deem this important today.” (Owens)
  • DELAYED Motion to identify funding for Keep Cincinnati Beautiful (KCB) to continue their citywide programs in Fiscal Year 2027 beyond the Leveraged Support process. Jeffreys noted that KCB is essentially a nonprofit arm of the Department of Public Services and therefore necessitates ongoing investment from the city. Albi noted that KCB is requesting ongoing funding (ex. for staffing), not supplemental funding.
• Reports
  • Cincinnati Retirement System Annual Report; not shown during meeting.
  • Composition of the Workforce Engaged in City projects; not shown during meeting. Jeffreys noted that 37% of workers on city projects don’t live in Cincinnati; investments in bringing these jobs back to Cincinnati would amount to $123 million in economic boost, and KCB is a big driver of this.
• Grants and Donations
  • Emergency ordinance to authorize application for $130,000 of in-kind services from Public Allies AmeriCorps for two positions from the 2023 Green Cincinnati Plan.
  • Emergency ordinance to increase the grant amount to $315,000 from the Ohio Department of Health Get Vaccinated Ohio program.
  • Ordinance to authorize application for $225,406 from Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Health Preparedness for emergency preparedness in response to public health threats such as bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks and health-related emergencies. 
  • Ordinance to authorize application for $51,840 from the Seasongood Good Government Foundation to administer an internship program for temporary placement of nine interns.
  • Emergency ordinance to authorize application for $40,000 from the Cincinnati Fire Foundation to provide a firefighting all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and other necessary equipment and supplies.
  • Emergency ordinance to authorize application for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency of $146,371: $32,452 of which to support the Cincinnati Police Department’s Port of Cincinnati Ohio River Surveillance Camera Network; and $113,919 to support the Cincinnati Fire Department’s night vision equipment and explosive disposal robot.
• Payments
  • Emergency ordinance to pay $244,773 from the Cincinnati Fire Department to Digitech Computer LLC for services rendered.
• Leveraged Support
  • Emergency ordinance to allocate $1,305,000 in leveraged support
    • There are two attachments: The itemized attachment includes allocations of $1,305,000, but the allocations ordinance schedule of transfer is for $1,644,420.
    • Jeffreys noted that one of the grantees had a reduced award that should have affected this total amount.
    • Kearney recused herself from this vote.
  • Emergency ordinance to allocate $370,000 in leveraged support resources to the African American Chamber of Commerce, including $300,000 for general operating support and $70,000 to support the City of Cincinnati Business Enterprise Expo. 

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcincinnati.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

Find more Documenters’ notes here.