The Budget

City budget passes

The budget passed by City Council on December 14, 2011 included no layoffs, kept pools open and maintained the school nurse program. Council will get to work early in 2012 on policy changes to move the city toward a structurally balanced budget. Read the omnibus motion amending the city manager's proposed budget here.

Manager's Recommended 2012 Budget

On December 2, 2011, Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. presented his proposed 2012 budget to Mayor Mark Mallory. The manager's budget eliminates the once projected $33.6 million deficit with no General Fund layoffs, no closures of health clinics, parks or recreation centers, and does not eliminate the Health Department's school nurse program. Download the budget and read more here.

2011 Mid-year Savings Plan

On August 1, City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. delivered his mid-year budget adjustment plan to save $5.1 million through police layoffs and departmental re-organization to City Council's Budget and Finance Committee.

Vice Mayor Qualls canceled an August 29, 2011 committee meeting when it was clear that a majority of council members did not support the manager's plan. Vice Mayor Qualls invited council members to submit alternatives to the manager's plan by September 7.

What's really driving the budget deficit?

A closer look at the city's General Fund revenue and spending from 2000-2011 shows that little attention has been given to what is really driving the budget deficit.

A new analysis released by Vice Mayor Qualls shows that:

Wage increases for Police and Fire dramatically exceed the CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers)

• Between 2000 and 2011 Police salaries increased 36% and Fire salaries 36.5%. The CPI-W increased 23.9%. (AFSCME salaries increased by 24%, closely tracking the CPI-W)Although there were periods between 2000 and 2011 when large numbers of public safety employees were hired, because of the elimination of recruit classes in recent years, there is little difference between the staffing in 2000 and 2011. The vast increase in cost is due to salary increases. While staffing in Police and Fire remained stable between 2000 and 2011, staffing in non-public safety departments fell by 44% in the General Fund.
• Consistent with the large increase in salary between 2000 and 2011, although staffing numbers changed very little between 2000 and 2011, actual dollars spent by the Public Safety departments increased by 35.6% in the General Fund.
• Consistent with the dramatic reduction in employees in non-Public Safety departments and the smaller increases in salaries received by their employees, actual dollars spent by non-Public Safety departments decreased by 28.6% in the General Fund.

Employee Health Care Costs have increased by 203.2% from 2000 to 2011

General Fund Pension Payments have increased 55.6% from 2000 to 2011

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

More on deficit drivers

2011 Budget Background

On December 30, 2010, City Council approved a biennial budget for 2011-2012 that made significant changes to the City Manager's proposed budget. The city faced a projected deficit of $60 million, which presented significant challenges to reaching a budget agreement.

See the budget approved by City Council here; read Vice Mayor Qualls' recap here.

In April, Moody's affirmed the city's bond rating and stable outlook. Read the manager's memo here.

Download: Budget Basics 2011

More background on the 2011 Budget