Cincinnati Rox! [Cincinnati City Councilmember Roxanne Qualls]

Putting Money Back in Your Wallet

2012-01-26T07:57:00.005-05:00

The Budget and Finance Committee will hold 2 public hearings on the city’s plan to form community buying groups for electricity and natural gas. The committee will hold an evening hearing on Monday, January 30 and a second hearing at its regular meeting on February 6. Both hearings will take place in City Council Chambers.

As a result of voters overwhelmingly approving natural gas and electric aggregation in November the City has a tremendous opportunity to negotiate savings and put real money back in the pockets of city residents, so that we can enjoy the benefits of competition that other communities in the region seen.

Cincinnati voters approved Issues 44 and 45, authorizing the city to negotiate group buying rates for electricity and natural gas. I sponsored the ordinances to put the measures on the ballot. More than 300 communities across Ohio have saved hundreds of millions of dollars on their electric bills since Ohio made this innovative tool — known as aggregation — available to communities in 2000.

Aggregation has proven to be an effective way for residential and small business utility customers to save money. According to a report last fall by Ohio Citizen Action, electric rates negotiated by other buying groups in the area ranged from 2 to 3 ½ cents per kilowatt-hour less than Duke’s generation rate, or “price to compare.” Read the full report on aggregation in Southwest Ohio here.

Administrators from nearby communities will describe their programs and the savings they’ve achieved at the pubic hearings. Green Township Administrator Kevin Celarek will speak at the January 30 hearing; Springfield Township Administrator Michael Hinnenkamp will talk about the savings their communities have seen.

Once City Council and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio have approved a plan, the city administration will put the contracts out to bid, analyze the responses and recommend providers to the City Manager. The city will then notify residents of the terms of the contracts and how the program will work, including how residents can choose not to participate. The process should be completed ― and residents can start saving money on their monthly bills ― as soon as June 1.

I also have introduced a motion asking the administration to investigate incorporating renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency into the provider selection critieria.

EVENT: Budget and Finance Committee public hearings on utility aggregation

DATE/TIME: Monday, January 30, 6 p.m.

Monday, February 6, 1 p.m.

PLACE: City Council Chambers, City Hall, Room 300

801 Plum St.

Vote Yes to Issue 44 – and reduce your electric bill

2011-10-29T07:55:00.002-04:00

The concept of electric choice takes on new meaning this Election Day in Cincinnati. By voting yes on Issue 44, Cincinnati voters will choose to harness their collective buying power and empower the city to negotiate lower electric rates on their behalf.

The lower rates are possible through “aggregation” – a proven, effective model that allows a community to band together and obtain a volume discount on electricity supply. Consider it like a city-wide Groupon, good toward a sizable discount for all participating homeowners and small businesses. But unlike half-off movie tickets or cut-rate spa treatments, governmental aggregation affords us a break on something everyone needs and uses every day – an affordable, reliable supply of electricity.

A hallmark of competitive energy markets promoted under Ohio law, governmental aggregation has already helped more than 300 Ohio communities save hundreds of millions of dollars since the state began promoting these programs in 2000. And the timing of these ballot measures couldn’t be better. With the lingering recession, electric power prices are at historic lows – providing consumers with a genuine opportunity to lower their electric bills.

Against this backdrop, Issue 44 is a slam dunk. Many of our suburban communities have adopted similar measures and are saving a lot of money. The City of Cheviot’s supply contract saved its residents 65 percent over Duke Ohio’s best price. The average resident of the Village of Indian Hill saves $74 a month on electricity with a guaranteed rate. Incredibly, West Chester Township homeowners and small businesses collectively saved nearly $5 million on their electric bills in just 10 months.

City residents and businesses should ask themselves: why should this financial windfall be reserved for affluent suburbs? The concept is tailor made for our city. Despite battling through a stubborn recession, Cincinnati remains one of the largest cities in Ohio. “Strength in numbers” is an asset we have, but seldom leverage to our advantage.

Pending the ballot outcome, the city has not yet entered into a contract with a third-party, competitive electric supplier. But suppliers are already lining up to compete for the business. Without a supply contract in place, how much each customer can save still remains unclear. But with individual homeowners already getting offers of 30 percent or more off the Duke Ohio generation charge – and judging by the results in surrounding communities – the volume discount in Cincinnati could be substantial. According to Ohio Citizen Action, electric rates negotiated by other buying groups in the area range from two to 3 ½ cents per kilowatt-hour less than Duke’s current generation rate, or “price to compare.”

In light of these potential savings, the benefits of aggregation should far outweigh any perceived risks. All customers will continue to receive one bill from Duke Ohio, who would remain responsible for billing, upgrading and maintaining the electric distribution system, and responding to outages and emergencies. Concerned voters – particularly those inclined toward individual choices – should recognize that participation is optional. Like other aggregation groups, Cincinnati’s program would employ an “opt-out” model, so residents will be automatically enrolled unless they choose otherwise.

If the measure passes, city residents and businesses will allow the city to create an aggregation group, and a supply contract would be put out for bid. Only after a thorough process takes place – including at least two public hearings – will residents be enrolled in the program unless they freely choose to opt out.

In the meantime, the best thing Cincinnatians can do is vote “yes” for electric aggregation on Nov. 8. It’s a proven, effective means of reducing energy costs – and putting more money in the pockets of our residents and small businesses.

9-11 Remembrance

2011-09-11T20:28:00.005-04:00

Comments made by Roxanne at the Museum Center Remembrance ceremony 9-1-2011.

Today we remember and pray for the dead- the 3000 men and women who lost their lives on that bright sunny morning 10 years ago.

Today we remember and pray for all those who were left behind- mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, partners and spouse, friends and loved ones.

Let us pause for a moment and in each of our faith traditions pray for those who have died and those who lost loved ones on that day.

Much has been written about the transformation of the United States and the global community in the last ten years- two wars, trillions of dollars spent, threat alerts, the Patriot Act.

Every day we learn of another man or woman killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan or Iraq or another region of the globe fighting individuals dedicated to the violent transformation of society.

Today, we also remember those men and women and their families and friends who have sacrificed so much for the cause of freedom in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.

But, prayers and remembrance alone are insufficient to truly honor the memories of those who lost their lives.

Throughout history some men and women have chosen to bring about their vision of a new society through violence, murder, terror, and torture.

Some have done that as heads of state, some as revolutionaries outside the bounds of society.

Both believe that their vision justifies the objectification and subjection of human beings by any means necessary.

Both use philosophy or religion or science to justify the debasement of human beings and the destruction of civil society.

Both use the trappings of faith or ideology to justify the most barbaric, savage, and uncivilized acts.

Both reduce human beings to utilitarian objects in grand schemes of world domination.

So while we pray and remember today we rededicate ourselves to the values and principles of democracy.

We reaffirm the rights of all people to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

And we recommit ourselves to defend these values and rights.

By doing so, we not only remember the dead, we honor their memory and promise them that their deaths are not in vain.

Values and Priorities-the Budget Discussions Begin

2011-08-09T22:02:00.009-04:00

The City Manager has asked City Council to approve the layoffs of 44 police officers and a departmental reorganization to cut another $5.1 million from this year’s budget. I’ve scheduled four public hearings this month in our neighborhoods so that residents can tell council what their priorities are as we grapple with the City Manager's proposed mid-year correction and as we anticipate a projected $33 million deficit for 2012.

City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. presented his mid-year budget adjustment plan to cut $5.1 million through police layoffs and departmental reorganization to council’s Budget and Finance Committee on August 1. Council will meet in a special session on August 30 to vote on the recommendations. Dohoney's plan would:

Eliminate 50 full-time positions. Forty-four police officers would be laid off; if the city does not secure a federal grant, another 50 officers could be laid off next year.·
Disband the Office of Environmental Quality, moving the department director to Public Services;· Move the Department of Community Development to the Department of Planning and Buildings;
Eliminate the White Goods Collection program for the rest of this year.

Without new sources of revenue, it will be impossible for council to balance the budget without cutting priority services that are needed to keep our neighborhoods safe, clean and healthy for every Cincinnati family. Council needs to hear from residents who value and use the city’s health clinics, school nurse program, pools, and other threatened services. While we may have a very lean budget in 2012, it should not be mean and it should, at a minimum, guarantee all our neighborhoods receive services that combat blight.

It is important that everyone understand the budget basics. The 2011 General Fund (GF) Budget is $355 million. 69% of the GF budget goes to Fire and Police. 84% of the GF budget is for personnel. 90% of all personnel is unionized.

From 2000 through 2011 the combined Fire and Police GF budgets increased by 35.6%. During this same period, non-safety department GF budgets decreased by 28.6%.

Staffing in Police and Fire during this period remained stable, while staffing in non-Public Safety departments fell by 44% in the General Fund.

Deep cuts in non-safety departments and slight increases in revenues helped offset the General Fund budget increases for Police and Fire.

But, the rapid rise in employee health care cost- a 203.2% increase, and the 55.6% in pension contributed to the rise of chronic deficits in spite of constant cutting of non-safety General Fund departments and programs.

This year actions by the state have compounded the City's deficit problem. The state cut the Local Government Fund revenues to the City by $4.4 million in 2011 and by $9.2 million in 2012. The legislature also eliminated the Estate Tax resulting in a $13 million revenue loss beginning in 2013.

So even if we manage to balance our budget through continuing to cut, the State's actions put us further in the proverbial budget hole.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

Streetcar vs Eastern Corridor? Not really...

2010-07-31T20:32:00.004-04:00

What follows is the explanation for why the city does not support the Tiger 2 application of the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District for the Eastern Corridor.

The City’s position on the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District’s (TID) unilateral Oasis Line application to the federal TIGER II program was expressed by Councilman Berding at the TID meeting on Monday, July 26. While the City of Cincinnati remains a committed and engaged partner in the Eastern Corridor project, the City does not support the TIGER II application at this time due to a variety of factors. These include the following:

1. The proposed project competes with the City’s clearly articulated priority, the Cincinnati Streetcar Project. Although Commissioner Portune has stated otherwise, any additional projects are competition for the limited grant resources of the program. ($600 Million is available nationwide, approximately $200 million of which is dedicated to administration, planning and rural projects.)

2. The proposed project is linked with a TID-proposed 3C Inter City Rail station in Fairfax, which is contrary to the City’s stated preference for a statin location ultimately at Union Terminal, and in the near term, in Bond Hill. City Council has clearly stated this in earlier Resolutions.

3. The project application commits the partners to a local match. While the city understands the Ohio Department of Transportation indicates a match source doesn’t have to be identified now, a match will have to identified if the application is successful, and allocating resources, now or in the near future, to this match is not a priority for the City.

4. The project application is premature. The design effort for the Oasis Line commuter rail is currently underway, as evidenced by HDR’s presentation at the Hamilton County TID meeting. TIGER II requires additional environmental work and an intensive Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) for the grant application (this work is not currently in HDR’s contract). There is grant construction obligation date of 2012 (the project must be bid and awarded), and, in all likelihood, right-of-way must be acquired according to federal process for the project. The Oasis project has not advanced sufficiently to meet these metrics. An application for construction will not be competitive and only serves to “muddy the water” as to our priorities.

The Eastern Corridor is a significant project for the City, Hamilton County and the region; however, the city has clearly and routinely articulated its transportation priorities. As we all know, resources for governments remain scarce and we all must prioritize our political and financial resources. As such, advancement of the Oasis Line beyond the current scope of work is not a priority for the City.

?Habla usted espanol? Parlez vous francais?

2010-03-04T06:35:00.004-05:00

Yesterday there was quite a dust up regarding a motion I put forward to have multi-lingual signs on Fountain Square and around downtown, and to have emergency signage in English and Spanish. Apparently, there are people who feel very strongly that if one is in the US one should speak English.

Well, we have many visitors in Cincinnati who are from out-of-country, and are here on business or for vacation. I believe we need to put out the "Welcome to Cincinnati" sign and make our guests feel welcome and impress them with Cincinnati hospitality. This is increasingly important as more and more of our companies conduct their business around the globe. It also is important because we want to compete for international conventions and events. In fact, Cincinnati will host two major conventions in the next two years that will bring thousands of visitors to Cincinnati-many of whom may not speak English.

In 2011, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) will bring its convention to Cincinnati. 15,000 people will attend. It is one of the largest conventions Cincinnati will ever have hosted. It is likely that some of the attendees or their friends or family members with them will not speak English

In 2012, the city will host the World Choir Games. 20,000 competitors from 90 countries will participate. The eyes of the world will be on us, and we need to show that we welcome international attention and are capable of making participants and their friends and families welcome.

Hopefully, these two major events are just the beginning.

As for emergency signage, it would make us all safer if signage for things such a "sheltering in place", "watch for emergency vehicles", even "do not enter" were either in international symbols or in English and Spanish.

People Say the Darndest Things

2009-10-24T07:59:00.010-04:00

Thursday evening (October 22) the NAACP held its Candidates' Forum. Prior to the candidates speaking the FOP and CODE Presidents spoke. The FOP represents police officers and CODE represents middle managers in the city. Among the many things they said, each talked about how the accountant hired by the two unions to challenge the City Manager's deficit projections had found all sorts of money and that the projected $51.5 million deficit for 2010 could be closed with the monies identified by their accountant. I assume they will continue to say this as council proceeds to close the deficit before the end of the year.

So, I thought you might like to read what the city's Budget Director had to say in response to the CODE/FOP accountant's assertions. Also, remember that the court totally dismissed the two unions efforts to obtain a restraining order against the city based on their assertions about "found" money and their allegations that the City Manager was not being accurate in his assertion that we had a deficit.

The following is a response from Lea Erikson, the city's Budget Director, on October 23, 2009 to an inquiry from my office.

Here is my preliminary analysis on the accountant’s affidavits:

Burke & Schindler used flawed logic when developing a projection for items for which annualized appeared to be less than the 2009 budget amount.

The City’s expenditures generally do not get expended throughout the year in a straight-line fashion (i.e. you can’t say that expenditures should be 50% of budget 50% of the way through the year). There are many reasons for this including:

Many municipal operations have seasonal peaks and valleys with their expenses such as winter operations which is heavy early and late in the year or Aquatics which is heavy in the summer only.
Personnel expenses are incurred 26 times through bi-weekly payroll, not 1/12^th each month.
Personnel expenses are not level from start to finish since there are contractual pay raises such as Fire’s 3% COLA which started in June and AFSCME’s 3% COLA which started in August.
Contracts with outside entities are entered into throughout the year and so there is no way to generalize those expense.
Supplies and other purchases do not happen in a straight-line fashion throughout the year.
Other expenses may not occur until later in the year.

Since the City’s expenditures do not get expended throughout the year in a straight-line fashion, the Burke & Schindler’s annualization technique was flawed.
Since Burke & Schindler only compiled results of items which appeared to be under expending, they completely ignored items that may appear to be overspending. When using their same methodology of annualization with ALL line-items in the budget, the result shown that the City is projected to overspend its departmental General Fund Budget by $10,223,000. Obviously, since the methodology is flawed, the Office of Budget & Evaluation is not concerned that we are on track to overspend our budget by that amount. A proper budget monitoring activity looks at spending on all line-items and makes professional assumptions based on knowledge of operations when projecting spending for the remainder of the year.
In the case of the statement: “total projected unspent amount within the Police Department is at least $1,000,000”, when you use actual Police Department budget report totals (versus only a few line-items) and use the same logic and the same annualization, the department now has a deficit of $4,866,695 rather than savings of a $1,000,000.
While there is a budgeted amount with every line-item, departments have the ability to expense items less than or greater than the individual line-item budget. City Council approves the budget at the Agency level (not the program level) and at the higher level expense categories of Personnel, Other Expenses, Properties and Debt Service. City Council does not appropriate to the line-item detail. Therefore, in order to be flexible to meet departmental needs, departments can over spend on certain line-items as long as they under spend on other items to remain in balance within the appropriated budget amount. When there is a case where there is projected overspending in total within an Agency, since accounts must be balanced, the Administration with the approval of City Council adjusts the agency budgets in the Final Adjustment Ordinance that is presented in November of each year.
In the case of the identified $998,000 in items with no expenditures to date, the same caveats above apply. Really a comparison could be made to the number of line-items and amounts that have already overspent their entire annual budget as of August 20, 2009. There are 1,310 expense line-items within departments that show a collective overspending of $32,586,890 as of August 20, 2009. Since there are other items which are under spent by this amount and more, this is not an issue of great concern to the Office of Budget & Evaluation.

Municipal budgeting and fund accounting are not simple and straightforward, and therefore, true projections of over or under spending require detailed analysis that looks at budgets within the context of departmental operations and financial procedures.

As to the numbers in the memorandum, the City also does not receive revenues in a straight line manner, so if you look at page 3 of the Net Revenue detail report attached to the memorandum, the better comparison is the current year to date ($208,915,846.23) versus the prior year to date ($218,915,846.23) which shows to date, we brought in $10,790,376.50 less revenue than last year at this time. When you factor in the fact that we were counting on growth in revenue this year compared to last year, it shows how Finance can say that we are $14.1 million behind forecast year to date in the July monthly finance report (available on council on-line). Based on Finance’s professional assumptions about how this carries out the rest of the year, that explains the projected $28 million revenue deficit by the end of the year.

In their memorandum, the unappropriated surplus calculation of $12,656,282.07 is not an actual YTD amount since two of the components that go into that calculation are projected expenditures and projected revenues. In this case, those amounts assume that we spend every penny appropriated in the budget in the General Fund and that we receive every penny “forecasted” in the general fund. Since the forecast has not been officially reduced to reflect the projected $28 million deficit, the $12.6 million is not true money. You can see the calculation of the $12.6 million and see what the revenue would have to be received to truly get $12.6 million by the end of the year. For comparison I showed what we projected in the original budget (see the General Fund appropriation ordinance last page) and the May Finance Report (available on council on-line). The reason for the big increase between May and June is that we cut the projected operating expenditure line by the June mid year General fund budget reduction approved by Council (revised plan A). When Finance officially lowers the revenue estimate through the amended certificate of resources the unappropriated surplus will be a negative number (discussed on page 2 of the July monthly report).

In their memorandum, the reference to page 172 of the Net Revenue Detail report of $885,960,242.33 this year compared to $844,171,567.95 last year is completely erroneous. They cited the TOTAL revenue amount which is really the total of all 172 pages of net revenue detail (keep in mind that the General Fund only represents the first three pages) and called it revenue from “investments”, when in fact it is the total revenue collected from all sources including General Fund, Enterprise funds, other funds, capital funds, grant funds, etc. My only guess why they thought it was revenue from investments was that the first revenue item listed on that page was titled Rents and Investments (notice the fund number is 980 which is our capital fund.)

This is just my preliminary analysis and this doesn’t represent the Administration’s official opinion on this. Since this is a court case, we have to be careful how information is presented, but I just felt that I had to give you comments per your request.

Thanks,

Lea Eriksen
Budget Director
City Manager's Office, Office of Budget & Evaluation
Suite 142, City Hall
801 Plum Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
P 513-352-1578
F 513-564-1717
E lea.eriksen@cincinnati-oh.gov
www.cincinnati-oh.gov

Saving Energy-Saving Tax Dollars

2009-10-22T08:43:00.002-04:00

Read the report from the Office of Environmental Quality on the energy saving measures beings installed in 39 city buildings. These are the measures referred to by a local restaurateur as, "$5 million for City Hall windows." Just goes to show that what is good for the environment can also be good for the wallet.

The Rest of the Story-What some people conveniently forget to say.

2009-09-28T08:10:00.014-04:00

This past Sunday, a number of items appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer that warrant a response because of the misleading nature of the statements. It is unfortunate that the techniques, values, and ethics of national attack politics have now arrived in Cincinnati.

One of the items was an ad that attacked Council members Harris, Thomas, Cole, Crowley, and me on a variety of subjects. A well-known restaurateur sponsored and signed the ad. It is unfortunate that neither he nor his staff took the time to check their facts.

The recession has severely impacted the City of Cincinnati. The Mayor and Council closed a $28 million General Fund deficit this year and will have to close a $40 million General Fund deficit for 2010. It is important to note that the deficit is in the General Fund because the cause is reduced income tax and other revenues into the General Fund. Simply saying City Council approved this or that expenditure, even if true, may not be relevant because the source of funding could be the Capital Budget or Enterprise Funds or state or federal grants.

As for the issues used to attack Council members Harris, Thomas, Cole, Crowley and myself in the ad, I will take each one and provide... "The rest of the story..."

1. "...decided it was more important to spend $5 million to replace windows at City Hall, than to keep the people safe..." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5
Response: The city executed Energy Services Performance contracts with Ameresco and Honeywell on June 29, 2009. The contracts allow for the installation of nearly $5.6 million worth of energy efficiency upgrades to City Hall, the Convention Center, Centennial 2, various police and fire stations, and other buildings maintained by City Facility Management. A total of 40 buildings are affected. These lighting, heating and air conditioning, building automation, and building envelope upgrades will reduce the City's energy use by 3,290,539 kWh, generate 45, 817 kWh of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3,413 metric tons each year. The majority of the work will be self-funded with guaranteed energy savings (a minimum of $450,000 annually) and energy rebates...$351,675 of Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant funds (aka stimulus funds) will be used for gap financing to make the first-round projects work. $239,380.77 is from the General Fund, but is not from tax receipts. It is money repaid to the city by Duke Energy for overcharging the city. FYI Memo from the City Manager to Mayor and Members of Council 6-30-09.

2. "...Over-the Rhine was the most violent neighborhood..." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5
Response: Violent crime in Over-the-Rhine for Jan-May 2009 was 36% lower than the same period in 2005. The study that resulted in O-T-R being called the most violent neighborhood in the US used data that was outdated and did not use as its basis the entire 110 square blocks of Over-the-Rhine. It only used a ten block area in the northwest sector of Over-the-Rhine and in the West End. The study's methodology is highly questionable and intellectually suspect. Repeating its flawed conclusions does a tremendous disservice to the residents and businesses there and to the organizations and individuals who have invested over $84 million in the community. Visit UrbanCincy.com

3. "...to lay off 138 police officers unless every officer accepted a pay cut." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5
Response: One element needed to close the $28 million deficit in the city's 2009 General Fund was city employees agreeing to take cost savings days. When originally proposed by the City Manager, every employee paid out of the General Fund would take 6 cost savings days. The unions had to agree to this for those employees in the city's bargaining units. The City Manager and Chief Streicher were instructed to make sure that any police cost savings days would not impact street strength. In a memo dated, August 5, 2009 they specifically stated the layoffs would not impact street strength. Ultimately, the 138 police officers were not laid off because the union agreed to accept a salary reduction of $1,151.69 per officer, which averages out to approximately 4.6 cost savings days per officer. FYI Memo from the City Manager to the Mayor and Members of Council, 8-5-09

3. "...these same council members voted against taking pay cuts themselves." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5
Response: Cincinnati City Council members have not increased their salaries since 2006 even though by law, the members are entitled to the increase. Due to inflation over this same period of time, council salaries have remained static, but the purchasing power has declined. In 2006 council did not take a 3% increase. In 2007 council did not take a 3% increase. In 2008 council did not take a 7.7% increase. And, in 2009 council did not take a 7.7% increase. As for council members taking cost savings days, individual members of council are writing checks to the city for the equivalent of between five and six cost savings days.

"So instead of providing funding for public safety, he (sic Thomas) and his colleagues chose to:
4. ... hire a tree trimmer..." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5

Response This position is for a Tree Maintenance Worker paid a salary of $37,026. The Park Department needed this position to insure the safety of residents and employees. The responsibilities include pruning and removing hazardous trees along park roadways, around picnic areas, and playsets. The person will use an aerial lift truck or rope and saddle. It is paid out of the General Fund. Source: Report from the City Manager to Mayor and Members of Council, "Second Quarter 2009 General Fund Hire Authorizations," 9-2-09

5. ...and a climate control coordinator..." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5

Response: All general fund funding for the Climate Protection Coordinator was eliminated as part of the mid-year budget correction. The position is now part-time and is funded entirely through an Energy Efficiency Conservation Block grant (aka stimulus dollars) from the federal government.

6....and to spend $3 million on recycling containers..." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5
Response: Council has not voted to spend $3 million on recycling containers. In May 2008, council asked the administration to review the recycling program and recommend how we could increase the rate of recycling, share to a greater extent in any revenue from sale of recyclables, and increase the amount of money the city saved by avoiding landfill tipping fees. The original motion was extensive, and also directed that workers received a living wage for sorting recyclables.

The Office of Environmental Quality worked diligently and developed a plan that achieved the objectives of council.It would increase the amount recycled by 300% and create 20 new jobs at sorting facilities and 36 new jobs at recycling manufacturing facilities. It also would decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

The city currently spends $2.3 million for its recycling program.

So...where did the $3 million figure come from?

Well, to improve participation rates the administration recommended a program that includes a Recycle Bank and the use of 64 gallon wheeled carts. The program also moved the city into the modern age of RFID's (Radio frequency identification devices, known to most people as barcodes) to allow for tracking of participants so they could receive rewards for recycling.

The cost of purchasing and providing 64 gallon wheeled carts to all households in four family or smaller units and all single family homes is $3.5 million. The administration proposed to finance the purchase with a lease that covered the cost of the $3.5 million and would have required annual payments of approximately $462,000 a year (Option1). The savings projections previously referenced include the cost of the lease. Source: Report from the City Manager to the Mayor and Members of Council, "Recycling Program Enhancements/Cost Savings," 8-3-2009

7. ...and $1.5 million on sidewalks..." Enquirer ad, 9-27-09 p C5

Response: This reference is a true mystery. I can only assume the sponsor of the ad was referencing an ordinance to pay for sidewalk repairs. The amount was under $700,000. The amount is recouped through sidewalk assessments to property owners whose property abuts the sidewalk.

It is unfortunate when a respected member of the community is mislead into making public statements that are factually untrue. It is understandable, however, because public finance and the city's budget are complicated -more complicated than the books of most restaurants. In the future, one can only hope that he will take a little more time to do his due diligence.

Deficits, Lay offs and Recessions

2009-09-11T07:40:00.002-04:00

Beginning in June of this year, the global economic crisis hit home in
the City of Cincinnati. The Administration informed City Council that
due to lower than expected tax revenue, we were faced with a 2009
deficit of $20 million. Recognizing the devastating effect such a
deficit could have on the citizens of Cincinnati, Councilmembers Cole,
Qualls, Thomas, Harris, and Vice-Mayor Crowley, presented a plan that
made substantive cuts while protecting critical City services. Had we
not passed this plan, 902 City Employees would have received layoff
notices, including 302 police officers and 230 firefighters.

It is important to note that no one wanted to layoff any City
employee, especially in the area of Public Safety. But it is also
important to note that since 2000, Cincinnati Police and Fire staff
levels have risen approximately 6%, while General Fund staffing levels
for all other departments have been cut by 29.9%. Over the same time
period, public safety department budgets rose 37.1% (33.8% for Police
and 43.3% for Fire), while non-safety General Fund department budgets
fell 10% overall. Public Services fell 18.9%; Economic Development
-25.1%; Finance -29.9%; and Community Development -6.7%.

On July 17, when faced with a deficit that grew to $28 million, the
City Manager announced layoffs would be necessary in 2009. He did,
however, emphasize that layoffs could be avoided this year if the
unions agreed to cost-savings days and to forgo cost of living
increases for 2009 that were awarded by an arbitrator. To close the
gap, General Fund departments made reductions in their budgets ranging
from 2.7% to 11.2%, with eleven departments –taking cuts of 5% or
more.

Mayor Mallory, supported by Councilmembers Cole, Crowley, Harris,
Thomas, and Qualls undertook negotiations with the city’s labor unions
and the Administration to find substantive cuts and reasonable
concessions from the unions.

These negotiations were successful and were reflected in the plan passed by a majority of City Council on September 4.

While we are all grateful for solving this recent crisis, we know that next year will be worse. Cincinnati does not exist in a bubble. This is a global recession, not a local one. Other cities are facing very similar budget problems.

• Philadelphia - Laid off 3,000 workers, reducing garbage collection
to once every other week.
• Atlanta - Four rounds of layoffs, increase in property taxes, and
mandatory furloughs for all city workers (including police, fire, and
others).
• Miami - Deep pay cuts (ranging from 6% to 15%) and pension benefit
reductions or the elimination of 191 sworn police officers, 305
general union employees, 5 firefighters, and 110 nonunion workers.

The plan that the council majority passed on September 4th is responsible, possible, and
reflective of the times. We did not demand layoffs and we did not make
the quality of life unbearable for our citizens. We asked the unions to meet us halfway. And we are glad the CODE and the FOP agreed. It is unfortunate that AFSCME did not do so.

The Rest of the Story-What the Enquirer did not tell You About Recycling

2009-08-05T06:21:00.007-04:00

Reading yesterday's Enquirer would lead many people to believe that in the midst of a severe crisis that threatens to put people out of work, the majority of council would add $3.5 million in new spending for recycling carts.The article gives the impression that this new $3.5 million would actually come out of this year's or next year's budget. Read on if you are interested in

The Rest of the Story...

In May 2008, council asked the administration to review the recycling program and recommend how we could increase the rate of recycling, share to a greater extent in any revenue from sale of recyclables, and increase the amount of money the city saved by avoiding landfill tipping fees. The original motion was extensive, and also directed that workers received a living wage for sorting recyclables.

The Office of Environmental Quality has worked diligently and developed a plan that achieves the objectives of council. In addition, the plan, if it were approved and implemented this year, would actually save $20,000 in 2009 and $240,000 in 2010. It would increase the amount recycled by 300% and create 20 new jobs at sorting facilities and 36 new jobs at recycling manufacturing facilities. It also would decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

The city currently spends $2.3 million for its recycling program.

So...where did the $3.5 million figure come from?

Well, to improve participation rates the administration recommended a program that includes a Recycle Bank and the use of 64 gallon wheeled carts. The program also moved the city into the modern age of RFID's (Radio frequency identification devices, known to most people as barcodes) to allow for tracking of participants so they could receive rewards for recycling.

The cost of purchasing and providing 64 gallon wheeled carts to all households in four family or smaller units and all single family homes is $3.5 million. The administration proposed to finance the purchase with a lease that covered the cost of the $3.5 million and would have required annual payments of approximately $462,000 a year (Option1). The savings projections previously referenced include the cost of the lease.

I invite you to read the Recycling Enhancement report and the lease proposal. Once you do, you'll know the rest of the story. Go to roxannequalls.com to download the reports.

Walking Denver's 16th Street Transit Mall

2009-06-13T07:53:00.003-04:00

It is a wonderful 16 block walk that took me from my hotel past LODO. There are no cars, but unlike the failed "No CAR" pedestrian malls of the 1960's, it is bustling with people. Hybrid buses run up and down the mall constantly. It is intersected by streetcar routes. People are walking, sitting, eating, looking, hanging!

Check out the pictures!

CNU-Peter Calthorpe: Think Globally-Act Regionally

2009-06-13T07:08:00.004-04:00

Peter Calthorpe is one of original founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. His firm has done major regional plans, as well as urban revitalization projects throughout the United States.

"Now more than ever numbers matter. There is a need to quantify the benefits of urbanism. "

He holds true to the idea that urbanism is the answer to all the problems that confront us as a result of environmental change, not just a few.

But he is very aware that the benefits of urbanism must be proven with "numbers." But, the numbers only work at a regional level. The numbers do not work at a neighborhood level.

That’s why regional scale plans are at the heart of realizing the true benefits of urbanism. Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO’s) must do regional plans that integrate targeted reductions of vehicle miles traveled (VMT’s) and not just plan for more roads and more traffic.

California MPO’s must do this now. They have the authority to do it. If do not succeed, they do not get highway dollars.

“How we spend transportation dollars is the great form-giver of our regions and neighborhoods.”

Total energy consumption per household, including household and travel, is much less in urban neighborhoods than in suburban.

“It’s all about transportation, and transportation is about urban design.”

The Center for Neighborhood Technology compares Co2 emissions per household versus CO2 per sq mile. If you measure the emissions based on square miles- the result is sprawl. If measured by household, then compact urban form the most efficient.

“The residential market melt down was not just about market failure, it also is a result of building the wrong stuff.”

"AC Nelson wrote an article about future demand for housing. We have so overbuilt large lot single family in the suburbs, we do not need to build another. HBA may come back and do it again, but this is not the market!"

Scott Bernstein in Creating Livable Communities argues that the economies of households are based on transportation costs, and those costs are much higher for people and families in the suburbs. That is why transportation planning and land use planning go hand-in-hand. Focusing solely on vehicle miles traveled and green house gas emissions reductions will not get regions to target levels.

Calthorpe talked about how California’s new Climate Change Law avoids land use issues and focuses on VMT and GHG. "California cannot get to targets with Prius’s and bio fuels."

Every California community now must produce a sustainable community plan. Citizens just voted in high speed rail. The environmentalists have gained up against high-speed rail. They are worried that it will turn the central valley into a cheap bedroom community and will catalyze sprawl. They are right. Without regional planning, high-speed rail can become a catalyst for sprawl.

Jobs and housing balance within a region is very important. Want 5 mile commute sheds; otherwise get major commuting within the region and as metro regions merge between regions. The consequence is increasing separation of workers from employment centers with lower income workers having longer commutes.

CNU-Carol Coletta and Smart Cities

2009-06-13T06:31:00.011-04:00

Carole Coletta is the Executive Director of CEO for Cities. CEO’s for Cities does some of the most interesting research on the status of cities, their natural advantages, and strategic approaches to growth and development. Check out her speeches and radio show, Smart City. She makes a compelling case for cities every time and every place she appears.

She focused on the natural advantages of cities created by density and mixed-use - producing walkable, urbane environments. In this era of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, she talked about the new urban, green advantage.

"For first time in history urban-ness is its own reward."

Density and mixed use create walkable environments that result in the natural advantages of cities.

Variety
Convenience
Discovery-exposure to more opportunities
Opportunity-Access to jobs, education and smart people

Putting more people in cars and obsessing about traffic flow is bad for the environment, but destroys the natural advantage of the city.

Is traffic flow essential to smart cities? New York City finally realized the answer is "no" and has begun a radical effort to recapture its streets for people. (Read the NYTimes articles about Times Square and car free streets.)

Walking is the critical component of a smart city!

"Our problem is that we keep screwing it up. We keep undermining the city’s natural advantage by making choices that undermine and, at times, destroy density and mixed use thereby destroying walkability."

Yet, we know that all the talented young people every city is seeking to attract place a premium on walkability and a diverse, engaging urban environment. Most prefer to live in core cities and most prefer to live in close proximity to the downtown.

CEO’s for Cities found if each of the top 50 metros could achieve:

An increase of in talented young people living in their city;
A decrease of 1 mile per day (mpd) in vehicle miles traveled (vmt); and,
A 1% decrease in poverty.

That would translate into a $166 billion annual dividend.

She then focused on the green dividend. As fuel prices go up, the value of green dividend increases. She based her estimates on $ .50 per mile as total cost to drive at today’s prices. That is worth $29 billion annually in the top 50 metros for every 1 mpd of vmt reduction. Just keep multiplying out the dividend for every further 1 mpd reduction of vmt.

Metropolitan areas that drive less spend less on transportation. Compact urban form allows people to drive less and spend less of their income on transportation. That means they have more disposable income to spend on housing, entertainment, education or just save.

Walk Score data: Relationship between a property and its walk score and its impact on value. The higher the walk score is; the higher the value of the home.

"Once you see the data that establishes this relationship, it makes no sense for any car dependent development to get approval."

CNU-What We're Talking About is a Vision for High Speed Rail in America

2009-06-12T09:03:00.007-04:00

This session was devoted to discussing the exciting initiative of President Obama to include high-speed rail in the stimulus and in the federal transportation reauthorization bill. Chris Leinberger, President of LOCUS Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors, and Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, were the most interesting speakers.

The session began by watching President Obama announce his high-speed rail initiative. Watch it yourself.

Howard Learner, Executive Director of Environmental Law and Policy Center, then spoke:
$8 b for high-speed in stimulus
$1.3 for Amtrak in stimulus
$5 b for next 5 years
The Obama administration is opening up the transportation reauthorization bill to include significant investment in high-speed rail.

Midwest High-Speed Rail Network
Planned for last ten years
Downtown-to-downtown: pulling jobs and people into center cities
Powerful counteraction to sprawl
Very good for pollution reduction

But to work:

Have to modernize train stations
Can and should be community centers.
Can and should be commercial centers.
Cannot be just nice places to transfer
The stations should be magnets to change land use patterns.
They must become destinations in and of themselves.

The trains must be not just fast, but nice, comfortable, and convenient.
Current trains equivalent to a third world country.
Amtrak has been starved for funds.
The trains must be time competitive and less hassle than alternatives.
The experience must be one that people say to themselves they like.

The equation to get people on trains is pricing, convenience, speed, nice and pleasant with stations that are centers and destinations.

The Midwest Rail Network will link midsized cities, not just the major cities. High speed rail “hard wires” mid sized cities into the region.

Next up was Chris Leinberger -The economics and functionality of high-speed rail.

Premise-high speed rail is the most important infrastructure investment in this century. If do not make it now, the US is destined to be the new Russia.

Four points:
1. Differentiate high-speed rail from air system. We are a metropolitan nation that we’ve linked with air. At $100 per barrel of oil, airlines do not work under 500 miles. Two long distance systems are needed: air travel for 500-3000 miles; high-speed rail for distances of 50-500 miles.

2. Must avoid airport problems-the LULU’s. Most of the growth in a region goes to the “favored quarter.” Airports for most part are in the non-favored quarter of a region because the affluent and rich do not want airports over their head. In spite of massive public investment in airports, they have resulted in very little economic development around them-a few warehouses, but little else. Airports are places where airlines park their planes and you park your car. Must learn from mistakes of airports and not make the same ones with rail stations.

3. Number one reason is to move bodies; a close second is to catalyze place development. A key issue of which is connectivity. May have to build new stations and we must avoid the isolation of the stations away from the city centers. Berlin’s Bahnhoffe is an example of a new train station no one -can walk to. You can see it, but can’t get to it. A station must be integrated into the urban fabric. As we become more a more knowledge-based economy with knowledge-based workers, the residual industrial era symbolized by trains is very valued. Like most rivers to which cities turned their backs to in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but then "discovered, trains and train tracks are an actual amenity. If you go to Lodo in Denver, the most expensive condos in Denver are up against the tracks where 40 coal trains per day each 2 ½ miles long run. Being in proximity to residual industrial fabric an attraction. There will be more than one station in a region.

4. Placemaking-need to designate between 100-300 acres around the stations as walkable urban places. Need a special overlay to create the density to allow them. Management of these places created is critical. Must be 24/7 year after year. There should be something equivalent to a Business Improvement District (BID) to manage them. The asset must be managed. The BID team should be involved in the design of the stations.

CNU-Comprehensive Plan-Installment 3

2009-06-12T06:49:00.009-04:00

Nashville has spent the last ten years fundamentally changing its approach to planning from one based on conventional zoning for uses to one that codes for character. Last year, city staff and community and civic leaders went to Nashville to see what that city is doing and what are the results. It is nothing short of amazing. To see some of the work and the projects go to the Nashville Planning Department's web site.

Jennifer Carlat-Nashville Planning Department
Building Support for Form-Based Comprehensive Plans

Nashville's Community Planning Staff includes a transportation planner and a design studio. The department goes outside for market research and analysis. The staff in Nashville's Planning Department numbers around 18. Their work is among the best in the field.

Premise:
"Any attempt to develop with an emphasis on character and form will always be compromised if the community does not plan for character and form."

Nashville is phasing out land use plans and replacing them with community character plans. The challenge is that the staff must train the community, elected officials, planning commissioners and staff itself to know and recognize character and form. It is a major cultural change!

It has taken ten years of education to produce this major change in Nashville's approach.

Four Basic Tenets

Education and Cultural Change
Basics of Community Planning-What makes the Complete Community?

Employment and services proximate to housing
Housing choices
Transportation choices
Recreation Choices

Tool: Nashville Neighborhood Guidebook (Scroll down on the web page to find it.) It is a powerful educational tool that helps people develop a sense of form and character.

Form and Character Matter
There has been an evolution of zoning tools.

Nashville uses an Urban Design Overlay (UDO) to regulate form not use. It can be publicly or privately initiated. It can be for greenfield or in-fill development. It is flexible.
An example of a successful UDO is West End Park. It had RM-20 zoning. They did a UDO. Since the UDO's adoption 21 new buildings have gone up. The UDO showed the area could have higher density as long as there was clear guidance on form and character. The East Nashville Community Plan is another example.

Form and Character Can Vary
Use of the transect methodology as a tool to help understand and categorize the environment encourages diversity of development, not homogeniety. They developed the Nashville/Davidson County Transect. For neighborhoods the transect category determined during the planning process. Existing zoning is a one size fits all approach that ignores form and character. Form based- codes are replacing it.

Community Character Manual-policies will be applied to all plans as updates occur.

Regionalism and Sustainability
Integrating transportation and land use
For neighborhoods with major transportation corridors, the key question to answer is: Are you a drive through or a destination? the built form changes depending on the answer.

CNU-Comprehensive Planning-Installment 2

2009-06-11T14:24:00.011-04:00

I especially like this next part of the session. Gianni is absolutely committed to the idea that active and informed participation by citizens produces better results during the planning process. It requires, however, that they be provided with the tools to do so and that agency planners be willing to engage with citizens for the entire process from idea generation to final deliberation. It also requires citizens to engage for the entire process.

WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS-People, Pixels and Plans
Gianni Longo

There are two challenges to determining what the public wants. How do you provide the tools so that the public can make informed decisions? And, what are the tools?

The People
Longo starts with the premise that the informed participation by the people of a community is essential to develop Comprehensive Plans that are actually implemented. He very much follows in the philosophical footsteps of Jane Jacobs, the author of the Death and Life of the Great American City and who was Robert Moses' nemesis as he imposed his Uber-Planner approach on New York City.

The Pixels:
People must be able to visualize the reality they want. Ideas must be translated into visual representations that accurately reflect what would be the new reality if people are to understand implications and consequences.

In any project there are many pieces and perceptions that must be integrated. In the past, designers and planners used physical models and snaked cameras through them to understand the feel and sense of scale of a project. These folks understood that neither aerial views of physical models or one-dimensional representations give a true read on the feel of the actual built product.

Now, we can use computers so people can see context and the effects of change. The tools are seductive, but they do help us understand and illustrate proposals, and then make decisions. But, they still require a process framework that helps us understand what public wants based on informed decisions that can be put into a plan.

There should be three stages to the process

Generative-people give voice to their ideas, hopes, and values
Analytical -what does that look like and does it work
Deliberative - The public explicitly says yes this is the vision and we give you permission to develop the plan. Plans that do not have the community's permission, don't get implemented.

Tools

Generating ideas-Can use google applications to put ideas on real maps. The Environmental Simulation Center is advancing the use of google in public processes. These tools allow the dialogue to link ideas and suggestions with places to produce the desired outcome-understanding what the public values and wants. This understanding is the foundation of any successful process.
Analytical-Visualization comes into play in this stage. How do the ideas translate? You can use simulation to add buildings, change streets, anticipate the effects of time Understanding the consequences of ideas can now occur in relationship to actual physical appearance of community.
Deliberative-The simplest tool is key pad technology. In Columbus, OH 1700 people thought about 14 different elements for their plan.Don't get to the deliberative stage without doing the generative and analytical stages. This is a sequence. Attendees at the keypad stage have to have participated all along. The result in Columbus was a $1.6 billion bond initiative that passed with 65% of the vote. It was to implement the vision of their Comprehensive Plan.

Another significant outcome of the use of technology is that it shortens the feedback loop-minutes pass, not months. The result is continuity.

The web should never be used as the sole way to get input. It lacks a paper trail of participation. The process should not be one in which people are anonymous and come in and out of it at will, because people must be continuously be involved.

Technology does not substitute for establishing legitimacy. You do that by truly listening.

Three Outcomes that Reflect Democratic Principles

Values-Represents what people want
Vision-Articulation and integration of vision with technical analysis
Endorsement-Deliberation

Real public participation empowers the planning process

The integration of public involvement and technology

Puts information at public's fingertips
Anticipates the future
Enables informed decisions
Gives permission to act.

CNU -Comprehensive Planning-Installment 1

2009-06-11T11:09:00.023-04:00

It's amazing the people you meet just waiting in line to register! Dee Meeriam a Community Planner with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. She's here because the CDC recognizes that how we have recently built our neighborhoods as unwalkable, auto-oriented places directly impacts health. It's virtually impossible to combat the childhood obesity epidemic if children cannot walk anywhere, but have to be driven everywhere. CDC is working to support walkable, mixed use communities. Read more at the CDC-Healthy Communities.

New Urbanism and the Comprehensive Plan
Thursday, June 11, 2009 Session One

Gianni Longo is moderating this session. He is a remarkable planner who has a deep and expansive understanding of participatory planning processes and techniques. Check him and his firm out at ACP.

Gianni introduced the session. A long-time thought leader among New Urbanists, he pointed out the the convergence of New Urbanism and Comprehensive Planning is inevitable. The Charter of the New Urbanism's 27 principles lay our the elements of place making and their relationship to character and form.

We always have to be careful when discussing comprehensive plans-can mean different things to different people. In this session we are not talking about the "Great Plans," not talking about enabling legislation that oftentimes doom the transformative power of visionary plans, not talking about the often conflicting state enabling legislation.

We are talking about the convergence of New Urbanism, Smart Growth , and Sustainable Development. These three movements bring together the Three P's-People, Place, and Prosperity; a new variation on the Three E's- Economy, Equity, and Environment.

The convergence has resulted in three innovations in comprehensive planning.

It has evolved from an exercise in land use designation to one that develops and reinforces form and character.
It utilizes a rigorous approach to analyzing and designing place.
It deliberately integrates land use and transportation.

Moving from Land Use to Form and Character-Land use is not the same as character and form! The colors can look the same on the map, but the product is very different (e.g., strip malls vs neighborhood centers) The challenge is that a colorful map does not preserve or produce a sense of place. A comp plan must identify places that need to be enhanced and retrofitted and result in policies that produce the results people want and are place specific.It is now becoming the norm that comprehensive plan mapping identifies the character of a community and is not about colorful land use maps that cordon off areas for uses. The new mapping links policy to outcomes. The comprehensive plan identifies growth opportunity areas-primed for redevelopment effort. This approach will fail if the community's zoning code does not allow it! Two examples of this approach are the Lancaster County Plan and Independence by Charter Homes and DPZ.
Rigorous approach to analyzing and designing place-New Urbanist approach is based on neighborhoods, corridors, and the transect. It establishes relationships between a place and its reality and allows change.
Integrate land use and transportation-It is an essential linkage because what makes a great city is the relationship between its transportation "bones" and the built environment. The transportation infrastructure creates and links, and creates the public spaces that are framed by private, public and civic buildings and spaces. The only space in which we can create great places and great communities is the public realm!

Second speaker in the session.

Abby Thorne-Lyman Strategic Economics

Forces that Shape the Plans

"Understanding the Demographic and Economic Forces that Shape Land Use and Development"

Abby introduced her presentation with an overview.

What are the demographic and economic forces? The future does not look like the past. Historic trend information is increasingly irrelevant because of the massive shifts that are occurring
How do you evaluate the local economy?
Bring transportation into the story with an economic perspective.
Lessons learned from comprehensive planning.

1. The Demographic and Economic Forces at Work-The purview of the Comprehensive Plan is narrow. It deals with the built environment, but ultimately it is about job, proximity to work and residence, and access. Major shifts are occurring that change the future.

Only 1/3 of households have kids under 18
Only 24% of households are traditional nuclear families
By 2023 majority of children will be children of color
By 2042, majority of population people of color (An example of the impact of projecting the future as the past is it ignores the spending power of residents in urban centers.)
Households are aging. By 2050 19 million people will be over the age of 85. They will demand a type of new housing that does not now exist and will demand transit

2. Understanding and supporting the local economy-Comprehensive Plans usually fail to understand employment areas and the pressures to convert them to other uses (e.g., from industrial and manufacturing to residential, institutional etc.). The comprehensive plan must
understand all unique employment areas and understand the dynamics of each. Are they growing, shrinking? Location matters to industrial users as much as to retail.
Strategic Economics categorizes industries into three types.

Driving industries (push regional economy)
Household Serving industries (retail, personal services)
Business Serving industries

Must look at trends for each over time.

3. Transportation with an economic impact
Transit rich environment cuts household. The Housing and Transportation Affordability Index that is based on US Census Data can calculate this index for every community. Transit rich environments result in significant household savings and result in a significant increase in disposable income. Quality transit has destinations and origins that reflect community and character. In cities that are aggressively expanding transit, such as Denver, they are defining both character and form prior to the investment.

4. Lessons learned

Comprehensive planning varies depending on development opportunities. Know the opportunities for change
Local economies are not local-make sure workers/residents can connect to work-always consider the regional context. The Longitudinal Employment Household (LEHD)data gives every community the ability to understand this relationship.
Good land use policy should support economic development.
Plan for economic and demographic diversity

Ankle Bracelets and Federal grants

2009-05-15T11:23:00.015-04:00

There has been a lot of coverage about a proposal for the city to give a portion of a Byrne Justice grant to Hamilton County for it to purchase Electronic Monitoring Units (ankle bracelets) for non-violent offenders. I voted no to this proposal. I did so for three reasons.

1. This specific Byrne Justice grant is a formula grant application to the Department of Justice. It is based on Part 1 crime statistics. Fifteen jurisdictions in Hamilton County were eligible for the following amounts:

Hamilton County $195,435
City of Cincinnati $2, 418, 209
Golf Manor $ 12,637
Lockland $ 13,508
Mt. Healthy $ 10,022
North College Hill $ 34,860
Norwood $ 67,324
Reading $ 23,531
St. Bernard $ 11,112
Sharonville $ 22,441
Loveland $ 34,642
Springdale $ 24,838
Forest Park $ 32,246
Delhi Twnshp $ 19, 391
Springfield Twnshp $ 72,553

TOTAL $2,992,749

As you can see, the city was eligible for over $2.4 million of this grant. There is a provision in the process called the Disparate Jurisdiction Provision that requires all the eligible recipients to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the allocation of funds when the county is eligible for only a small percentage of the grant. If the county does not agree to the provisions, then there is no grant. Mayor Mallory and Commissioner Pepper worked out an agreement that all other jurisdictions would get their formula allocations and the city and the county would split the balance. The city would receive $1,436,822; the county $1,176,822. This agreement was reached even though the city was eligible for $2.4 million. In essence, the city gave the county almost $1 million.

The proposal by two members of council to take almost $500,000 of what remained for the city and give it to Hamilton County ignored the $1 million already given to the county by the city.

2. Statements on the part of some officials that are quoted by the press implying that since a crime occurred in or an individual arrested lives in Cincinnati and, therefore, the city should pay for the cost of incarceration ignore both current practice and the law.

If an individual is arrested for violating a Cincinnati Municipal ordinance, the cost of that individuals incarceration is paid for by the city. If an individual is arrested for violating the laws of the state of Ohio, then Hamilton County pays the cost of incarceration because the county is the agent of the state. The citizens of Cincinnati pay taxes to the State of Ohio to cover the costs.

3. EMU's do not insure safety. Assuming the device functions properly, a person with one simply cuts it off if he or she wishes to escape oversight.

This type of issue can generate a lot of smoke, but very little light. Crime is a very serious issue. Hamilton County does need a new jail. This type of proposal does little to solve the problem and confuses the issue.

Brent Spence Bridge

2009-05-06T07:22:00.011-04:00

Tonight is the first of two Open Houses hosted by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KyTC) for the Brent Spence Bridge segment of the I-75 rebuild. The segment is from the Dixie Highway interchange in Kentucky to the Western Hills Viaduct in Ohio.

Tonight's Open House is at the Gardens of Park Hills, Vista Room, 1622 Dixie Highway, Park Hills, Kentucky from 4-8 pm. Tomorrow's is at Lincoln Recreation Center, 1027 Linn Street from 4-8 pm. Displays and staff from each agency will be at both to explain the proposed alternative bridge locations and the connections to Covington and Cincinnati.

This is an opportunity for anyone interested in the proposed alignment of the new bridge to learn about the alternatives, ask questions, and submit comments. It's all part of a very extensive process that ultimately will produce a new bridge and the reconstruction of I-75 through Cincinnati.

The City of Cincinnati has taken a very active role in influencing the recommended alternatives. We have adamantly opposed any new bridge through Queensgate because of the severe impact on businesses, future land development and major utilities. Fortunately, we were heard and ODOT and KyTC have recommended the elimination of the Queensgate alternatives for the bridge.

BUT, it is not a done deal. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) must accept the recommendations. The comments from residents and businesses will form an important part of the public record.

To make sure residents and businesses in Cincinnati have an opportunity to comment, Cincinnati City Council's Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, May 12 from 5:30-8 pm at the Quality Inn at 8th and Linn in Queensgate.

Businesses, residents and other community stakeholders along the corridor should come and comment on:

W what criteria the City should use in evaluating the alternatives and on the proposed alternatives themselves.

The report is available at: http://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/studydocs/ConceptualAlternativesStudy.html.

If you are interested in more background go to: I-75/Brent Spence Rebuild.

So, attend one of the Open Houses and learn more. Then attend the public hearing on May 12 from 5:30-8 pm at the Quality Inn in Queensgate to provide formal testimony to the City Council's Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The city will include your comments in our formal response to the proposed alternatives.

Human Services and Priority Setting

2009-05-05T07:44:00.006-04:00

The Health, Education and Environment Committee of Cincinnati City Council will hold a special meeting this Thursday, May 7, at noon to hear from residents and from human services organizations and clients about the city's Human Services funding priorities. It's an important meeting because City Council will use these priorities to shape Human Service funding decisions for 2010 and possibly beyond.

Some agencies were surprised this past March by the city's dramatic change in its approach to funding Human Services. The intent of the changes were to be more strategic and focused with limited dollars available from the city for Human Services. This effort is similar to what most major funders in the Cincinnati community have done as everyone focuses on measurable outcomes for clients and the community. Unfortunately, the implementation of the city's changed review and award processes resulted in 50 of 76 programs being cut with one day's notice.

Cincinnati's Human Services funding levels are very small in comparison to the major community funders. Once Human Services funding was set at 1.5% of the city's operating budget. Today, it is less than 1% of the operating budget. We will spend a little over $3 million in 2009 on Human Services.

Priority setting is just the first step for City Council. Then the members must establish goals and criteria and do so using a very tight time line so that we can announce grant awards by October 1, 2009 for 2010. Our last effort was marred by how it was implemented. This time around it is very important as we proceed that we ask for and accept help from the United Way and other community funders to insure that we implement any changes equitably, transparently and reasonably.

Homelessness

2009-04-27T07:42:00.002-04:00

The Cincinnati Continuum of Care Homeless to Homes Plan is a major step towards solving homelessness in the Cincinnati community. The Continuum is a nationally recognized local organization that was directed by City Council to develop a comprehensive framework for ensuring that single homeless men and women have access to safe, appropriate shelter facilities that provide them with the services necessary to move from homelessness to homes. Council directed that the Continuum start with a blank slate and develop a system that could become a national model for cities.

I want to thank and congratulate the more than 70 individuals representing a broad cross section of our community who worked so hard to put the plan together. It has my full support as we move forward to prioritize its recommendations.

Read the entire report by clicking on this link.