A Cincinnati Council committee is expected to approve a budget plan Wednesday that now includes no layoffs for police officers and firefighters. But about 60 other city employees will likely be out of work in a couple of weeks.
Back in March the city manager proposed laying off 344 city workers including police officers and firefighters.
Right now there are three separate budget motions and the plan is to combine them in one large item for Wednesday vote.
However the city's longer-term issue of spending more money than it takes in will continue.
“Balancing the budget and reducing the number of layoffs projected by the administration, doesn’t solve the problem, it just delays the problem another year,” Qualls asked the city’s budget director. Lea Eriksen responded that is correct.
Once again the group is using one-time sources and some budget maneuvering to delay any public safety layoffs for another year while hoping the city's financial situation improves.
“You know I didn’t sign on to the motion with the majority for a number of reasons,” Quinlivan said. “The two main reasons are sustainability and balance. I think this actually takes us in the wrong direction because it makes the deficit worse in a year or two.”
Many city departments and outside agencies will have reduced funding and that's expected to delay the city's response in some areas.
Once the Budget and Finance Committee approves the budget motion, city staff will draft the ordinances necessary to implement the spending plan. The full Council will then consider those Thursday.
The budget must be approved by Friday to take effect on July 1st.
