Yeah... so while Kasich was able to say he cut taxes (by cutting government aid), cities like Cincy will be left to make up the difference by cutting services or raises taxes. = No real reduction in the tax burden. Just a shift.

But it's a shift that positions the Republican governors as the prudent ones and the Democratic mayors as the ones whose "spending is out of control".  Last night on TV they kept mentioning that the republican governor or Wisconsin had reduced the state's spending -- but not fully explaining that this is how he did it.  I tried to explain it to someone I was visiting, and they simply could not understand it.  I would love to see if the political parties have done scientific studies to see what percentage of the population literally cannot understand their techniques. 

 

 

Yeah... so while Kasich was able to say he cut taxes (by cutting government aid), cities like Cincy will be left to make up the difference by cutting services or raises taxes. = No real reduction in the tax burden. Just a shift.

 

I think his hope is that cities like Cincinnati will make up most of the difference by cutting services without affecting the tax burden much.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120606/NEWS/306060111&Ref=AR

Looks like the streetcar builders want to keep their trade secrets and not want to public know what it costs to bid on a streetcar.

^The part that interested me is that the RFP instructed the bidders that if they wanted confidential information redacted from any public records request, that they set aside pages and state why. Only one bidder followed those instructions.

 

Have they never bid on Public projects before?

  I would love to see if the political parties have done scientific studies to see what percentage of the population literally cannot understand their techniques. 

 

 

This is why lobbyists make such a nice living.

 

Politicians have been studying this for years, in fact, there are several books written about this dating back to the 19th century.  I'm not even touching political theory and how long philosophers have proposed that the educated control the ignorant via more ignorance.

The Fishwrap speaks!

 

 

Streetcar plan details missing

Enquirer editorial

 

Imagine you’ve just agreed to buy a car, but the dealership doesn’t want you to know how much the competitors’ cars cost or what kind of features the other cars have.

 

Worse, the dealer won’t even tell you how much your car costs, whether the seats are cloth or leather or what kind of gas mileage it gets.

 

You’d probably take your business elsewhere.

 

That’s a good analogy to what Cincinnati City Hall is asking the public to do. But instead of a $20,000 car, it’s a $20 million streetcar.

 

Cont

  I would love to see if the political parties have done scientific studies to see what percentage of the population literally cannot understand their techniques. 

 

 

This is why lobbyists make such a nice living.

 

Politicians have been studying this for years, in fact, there are several books written about this dating back to the 19th century.  I'm not even touching political theory and how long philosophers have proposed that the educated control the ignorant via more ignorance.

 

I kinda look at it as the educated jocks and Buffys hoodwinking the proles while the really smart people throw their hands up in disbelief.

Did the Enqurer make similar inquiries into the hybrid busses and articulated busses that Metro recently added?

Wow... they're acting as though the city is witholding that info! When, in fact, its the companies that are! wow.

Did the Enqurer make similar inquiries into the hybrid busses and articulated busses that Metro recently added?

 

Those did not cost nearly as much as this project - and I hope that SORTA went with a competitive bidding process on their new vehicles as well. Isn't it required? I would be interested in seeing these full, unrestricted documents, if not for informational purposes. But if it is a publicly funded project, then that information needs to be out there to ensure we got the best deal that we could on the vehicles.

 

Fishwrap, Enquirer, newspaper, et al., whatever you want to call it, it is a legitimate question and problem. The Lexington Herald-Leader, what most call a "liberal" newspaper, files suits and FOIA's all the time to gain access to nearly everything. You'd be surprised at what the government tries to hide, even if its completely harmless or mundane.

^I don't know what they cost relative to a streetcar (the vehicles, not the system).  That's kind of the point.  Maybe they covered that and I didn't notice, but I don't remember seeing a cost breakdown of those vehicles versus traditional busses and other alternatives in the Enquirer.  I would have found the topic interesting, if I had seen coverage of it.

 

I don't have a problem with the Enquirer requesting the information, but rather with how they're painting this picture.  It reads as if the city is trying to hide something nefarious, when that doesn't seem (on the surface at least) to be the case.

Cranley's opinion on the property tax increase: "let’s call this what it is – a streetcar tax"

 

 

The facts about Cincinnati taxes

John Cranley is a lawyer at Keating Muething & Klekamp and served on Cincinnati City Council from December 2000 to January 2009.

 

City Hall just released a budget that proposes property and income tax increases. It’s important that citizens know the facts.

 

For several years, I chaired City Council’s finance committee that oversaw the bipartisan passage of seven balanced budgets without raising taxes. I know this budget and have to tell you that the way these tax hikes are being justified is not transparent in a number of important ways.

 

Council Member Roxanne Qualls says the 25 percent property tax hike is “necessary” on the premise that such an increase is needed to borrow $27 million to pay for new police and fire houses, and to finish the riverfront park.

 

Cont

^ On the same page the Enquirer published a piece by the City Manager who said that the streetcar and the propery tax are not related because they affect different budgets.

Cranley almost succeeded in single-handedly killing the streetcar project while he was on council.  Obviously, he is mulling a return to elected office where he will work tirelessly to kill the streetcar. 

^ Yes, it sure looks like this treacherous politician is lining himself up to ride the wave once again.  Needless to say, I'm sure that most Cincinnati urban lovers were both saddened and aghast upon waking up and discovering such a prominent article on the front page of the Enquirer--but then again, fanning the flames and selling papers at any cost is the Enquirer's ingrained specialty.  And Cranley and Smitherman share so much in common.

I've heard Cranley will run for mayor against Roxanne. Seems like he will be running on an anti-streetcar platform.

I've heard Cranley will run for mayor against Roxanne. Seems like he will be running on an anti-streetcar platform.

 

Which will be a defacto referendum on the streetcar, yet again. These guys will never stop. We shouldn't either.

Sounds like he is also positioning himself to run as the candidate against tax increases. Which pans out to being yet another "kick the can down the road" candidate.

I even wonder if they'll remove the old one.  That would be a LOT of work just to take something out of the ground and fill it back up with dirt.  Pretty sure water mains are about 3 feet underground.

 

from this picture (from the CityKin blog), it looks like a Streetcar slab is only about 1 foot deep.  Pretty sure they would just go right over the abandoned main. 

 

 

 

That's a beautiful sight and even more so that it's happening in Ohio. Downtown St Paul looks similar with tracks being laid down all along 4th(?) since the Mpls side is for the most part all installed I think.

None that I've heard.

I even wonder if they'll remove the old one.  That would be a LOT of work just to take something out of the ground and fill it back up with dirt.  Pretty sure water mains are about 3 feet underground.

 

from this picture (from the CityKin blog), it looks like a Streetcar slab is only about 1 foot deep.  Pretty sure they would just go right over the abandoned main. 

 

 

 

That's a beautiful sight and even more so that it's happening in Ohio. Downtown St Paul looks similar with tracks being laid down all along 4th(?) since the Mpls side is for the most part all installed I think.

 

Unfortunately, that picture is from Portland or somewhere else not Cincinnati. Ground has broken in Cincy, but tracks haven't been laid yet.

What in the world is going on with duke?

Discussion on Cranley vs. Qualls moved to here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,26594.0.html

This morning 550 WCRC's Brian Thomas asserted that the Issue 9 and Issue 48 ballot language was written by...the streetcar manufacturers.  Then he quickly followed up that statement by saying he has "two college degrees and is a member of MENSA". 

^^ OMG--can you believe the audacity of that guy?

It was astonishing.  The thought that overseas train manufacturers are orchestrating anti-rail transit ballot campaigns in American cities is way beyond preposterous.

 

Hm, I think that deserves a Monocle post.

This morning 550 WCRC's Brian Thomas asserted that the Issue 9 and Issue 48 ballot language was written by...the streetcar manufacturers.  Then he quickly followed up that statement by saying he has "two college degrees and is a member of MENSA". 

 

I guess he feels that he's too smart to get busted for lying.

Brian Thomas is a boondoggle

I went back and looked but this particular passage was not podcasted.  It was during a 3-4 minute anti-streetcar rant after PG Sittenfeld's appearance but before Rand Paul's. 

 

Anyway, I've noticed that PG Sittenfeld has developed his own "politician laugh" which he uses every time someone disagrees with him or points out his wishy-washiness.  The most pronounced in the city is that of our friend Stephan Louis, who giggles like a mischievous 7 year-old every time he's disproven or caught in a contradiction.  By contrast, when a fact is laid out for Tom Luken, he snorts "I've heard no such thing!".  The way to corner these types is always simply to ask them a yes or no question, but media figures never seem to do it. 

 

 

 

The way to corner these types is always simply to ask them a yes or no question, but media figures never seem to do it. 

Why would they? It's kinda like big time wrestling - they make a steady profit by continuing the conversation (regardless of how moronic it is). If there is something that comes up that is definitive, it's all over, there's nothing else to exploit. That's no way to run a business.

Roxanne Qualls sent out an excellent email today (my notes are in red):

 

 

 

June 13, 2012

 

2013 budget deficit: $34.3 million

Last week, City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. submitted the 2013 Tentative Tax Budget to City Council, which showed the city is facing a $34.3 million budget deficit for next year. The administration also presented the economic forecast for 2013/2014, and the 2013/2014 biennial budget report, based on the economic forecast, that shows projected revenue and expenses, and outlines major budget issues for the city's operating, capital, and consolidated plan budgets. The manager is recommending a property tax increase to help reduce the deficit and preserve city services, and to fund several capital projects.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A few basics

 

The city's operating budget covers the day-to-day delivery of city services, and operating expenditures cover employee salaries and the cost of supplies used to deliver services. Police officer patrols and trash collection are examples of activities funded by the operating budget.

 

The capital budget is for the improvement, construction, or purchase of city assets that cost $10,000 or more and last at least five years — fire trucks or buildings, for example. Just as people save and borrow to finance the purchase of a home, the city uses a combination of cash and debt financing to invest in assets like the new Smale Riverfront Park or police and fire stations.

 

Read more about city budget basics here.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Tentative Tax Budget

State law requires that the city submit a council-approved operating budget to the county auditor by July 20 of each year. The tax budget includes estimated property tax revenue that the county will use to set the property tax millage for 2013.

 

The city charter provides for property tax for operating revenue, and also property tax for debt service for permanent improvements (general capital). The general capital rate must be set by council at a level to cover outstanding and planned general capital debt.

 

The millage level for operating revenue is capped at 6.1 mills by the city charter. Dohoney is proposing that City Council return the operating millage to 6.1, the rate that had been  collected from 1948 until 2000,

 

[in 1948, Cincinnati reduced its property tax from 10 mills to 6.1 mills and enacted a 1% earnings tax]

 

when council instituted a 'rollback' that adjusted the millage each year to produce $28.9 milllion in revenue. Last year, council voted to keep the millage at the 2011 level of 4.6 mills, resulting in a loss of  $5 million in estimated revenue. Since the rollback was instituted in 2000, the city has foregone $88 million in operating revenue.

In a recent Enquirer op-ed, Dohoney notes that the city has "cut more than 1,000 workers in the same time frame, combined services and reduced expenses in cost centers like energy, fuel and health care," and that employees’ salaries have been held flat or cut over the past several years.

 

Citing steadily declining general capital budget resources that are "woefully inadequate" to meet the city's infrastructure needs, Dohoney is also asking council to raise the debt service millage to 6.25; of that amount, 6.1 mills is the level required to cover outstanding debt and planned general capital debt for 2013, and the additional .15 mills would cover $27.9 million in one-time capital expenditures (see below).

 

The increase in operating millage would cost taxpayers $46 more per year for every $100,000 in property value, and the increase in debt service millage would add another $10. The additional revenue would reduce the projected 2013 deficit by $7.8 million to a level of $26.5 million.

 

The administration has contrasted the extra $56 per year with the estimated $133 in annual savings for residents and small businesses that the city has negotiated for the electricity buying group authorized by voters last fall, with additional savings expected when rates are negotiated for natural gas.

 

City Council must pass a Tentative Tax Budget resolution and submit it to the county auditor's office by July 15. Since council will recess in July, it must pass a resolution no later than its June 27 meeting. The County Budget Commission sets the millage for 2013 by October and City Council accepts it through a resolution.

 

Download the 2013 Tentative Tax Budget here.

Read the City Manager's op-ed piece about the property tax here.

 

The Budget and Finance Committee will hold a public hearing on the Tentative Tax Budget on June 18 at 9:30 a.m. in City Council Chambers, Room 300 City Hall.

 

 

 

Budget forecast and deficit drivers

 

The city's budget deficits are expected to continue through 2016, with projected annual expenditure growth (2.8 percent) outpacing revenue growth (2.4 percent), leaving the budget structurally unbalanced and threatening the city's bond rating as a result. Cuts by the state to the local government fund and estate tax account for $20 milllion of the $34.3 million budget deficit. Casino revenue projections have been revised downward ($20 to $14 million annually) because of money lost to the new 'racinos' approved by Governor Kasich.

 

Download the economic forecast here.

 

Ever-escalating health care costs are one of the most volatile cost drivers, and are projected to rise 10 percent next year and about 18 percent over the next three years. The city's contribution to the retirement system has also been increased to 20 percent. Read more about the retirement system here.

 

Download the 2013/2014 Biennial Budget Development presentation to the Budget and Finance Committee here.

 

 

Read the full budget development report — which outlines strategic considerations and the administration's recommendations to City Council to address them — here.

 

 

 

Priority-based budget

 

Even if council approves Dohoney's request to raise the property tax, the size of the deficit will force further cuts in services. For the first time, the city is using an innovative tool called priority-driven budgeting. Priority-driven budgeting offers a common-sense, strategic alternative to conventional budgeting. It creates a fundamental change in the way resources are allocated by using a collaborative, evidence-based approach to measure services against community priorities.

 

Working with the Center for Priority Based Budgeting, citizens have identified seven strategic priorities for the city. The new approach will allow council to look at the 400+ functions that have been identified, and score them in the context of the priorities identified by citizens. Council will be able to see which programs are not consistent with priorities, and identify functions that could be performed by other entities. It will allow council to be as strategic as possible with scarce funds — to use a scalpel instead of a hatchet.

 

Read more here.

 

 

 

Budget myths and facts

 

Myth: The city manager has proposed raising the income tax.

 

 

Fact: The administration has not requested an increase in the city income tax, which would also require voter approval.The budget development report does note that an 0.1 percent increase in the income tax would raise $15.7 million for the general fund. The report also notes other potential sources of revenue (admissions tax, solid waste fee) that council could consider.

 

 

Myth: The budget deficit is caused by 'pet projects' like the streetcar and the atrium.

 

 

Fact: The capital funds that have been committed to the streetcar and atrium cannot be used for operating services like trash pickup, police and fire, or health clinics.

 

In fact, the path toward structurally imbalanced budgets was set in 2000 with the property tax rollback, reducing revenues by $88 million; and in 2002 and 2006 when council voted to increase the police sworn complement by a collective increase of 135 officers.The cumulative impact from 2001-2011 of those two decisions on the general fund was $143.4 million.

 

Download the report here.

Review the 11-year trends here.

 

Myth: City Council is underfunding the pension system to balance the budget.

 

 

Fact: After passing groundbreaking reforms to the pension system last year, council approved increasing its annual contribution to 20 percent to help stabilize the system and has approved a four-year  step-up increases in the employer contribution that will raise the contribution to 24% in 2015. To eliminate the unfunded liability that mushroomed after losses in the 2008 economic crash would require an employer contribution of 46 percent, which would mean an additional $19.7 million impact on the general fund, and a $53.4 million impact on the All Funds Budget. The step-up approach will protect taxpayers as well as water and sewer ratepayers while setting the system on the path to stability.

 

 

Let Vice Mayor Qualls know what you think

 

The city manager has proposed using part of the property tax increase to fund capital projects, including:

•$15.2 million to replace Police District 3 on Warsaw Avenue in East Price Hill

•$1 million for Music Hall renovations (if approved this would be $1 million a year for ten years or $10 million)

 

•$4 million for Smale Riverside Park

•$1.2 million to renovate the Clifton

•Recreation Center

•$850,000 for emergency dispatch upgrades

•$550,000 for phase one of theCincinnati Reds Urban Academy at Roselawn Park

Take an online survey to rate your support for the projects.

To take the survey, go to:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MV3D7SX

 

 

 

 

>>The way to corner these types is always simply to ask them a yes or no question, but media figures never seem to do it.

 

>Why would they? It's kinda like big time wrestling - they make a steady profit by continuing the conversation (regardless of how moronic it is). If there is something that comes up that is definitive, it's all over, there's nothing else to exploit. That's no way to run a business.

 

 

haha, yep it would have been really boring if Mean Gene just asked Macho Man "Will you beat the Hulkster at SummerSlam? Yes or no?" and then they went right back to Sean Mooney in the control room. An entire generation of boys would have gone outside and gotten really good at sports instead.

Let's hope she sent that to the enquirer

 

There is so much misinformation coming from the city haters

It's a well-written email that comes close to a full explanation of the situation.  But think about school board meetings -- how many parents want "good schools" but don't even understand an operations versus capital budget, etc. (in fact I'm suspcious that the public schools don't teach children how public schools are financed and administered so that as adults they are easy to manipulate with base emotions).  People really want to believe that local government is wasting money left and right, and when they're disproven by facts, they further entrench themselves in their sentiments rather than admitting that they're wrong and working to convert others. 

 

 

Roxanne Qualls sent out an excellent email today:

 

Budget myths and facts

 

Myth: The budget deficit is caused by 'pet projects' like the streetcar and the atrium.

 

Fact: The capital funds that have been committed to the streetcar and atrium cannot be used for operating services like trash pickup, police and fire, or health clinics.

 

In fact, the path toward structurally imbalanced budgets was set in 2000 with the property tax rollback, reducing revenues by $88 million; and in 2002 and 2006 when council voted to increase the police sworn complement by a collective increase of 135 officers.The cumulative impact from 2001-2011 of those two decisions on the general fund was $143.4 million.

 

A couple of years ago a friend of mine and I were doing a scheduled Citizens on Patrol walk during the State of the City speech at the Duke Energy Convention Center.  We saw then Councilwoman Ghiz walking from her car on the street (only a half block away) to the convention center.  She made an off-hand comment to us to the affect that she would require either us or a police escort to her car after the event.  The event was to end a good hour or so before sundown and she was parked only <b>a couple hundred feet away on a well traffic'd area in the Central Business District.</b>  I find it amusing that a huge chunk of the deficit is due to her insistence to hire more police officers (due to her fraidy-cat, scared of her own shadow mentality), while she wrongly blames the streetcar project as bankrupting the city.

I wonder what percentage of troublemakers and thugs take the time to learn what their local city councilpersons look like.

Back around 1978 Ken Blackwell, when he was on city council, was sucker punched during a council meeting.  Some guy came in off the street, walked into council chambers, walked up to the desk and punched him.  This was apparently retaliation for him defecting from Ted Berry (I think -- I'm going by memory here) who had helped him get elected to council.  Later, Blackwell himself wrestled a bear in a publicity stunt. 

 

But that's the only example I can think of. 

Could someone move all this to the new, Qualls v Cranley thread?

Could someone move all this to the new, Qualls v Cranley thread?

 

I disagree. Cranley has called out the mayor, the manager and the council majority - essentially saying they've cooked the books to finance the streetcar. I think it's important that this group in particular know all the arguments to counter what he's saying. I mean, it's nice to talk about water mains being moved, fare policy, vehicle design, but right now this discussion is much more important in the scheme of things. I'd keep in going. I know for a fact that a lot of people now follow this site as an accurate source of information. Right now, for example, there are five lurkers following this exchange.

Could someone move all this to the new, Qualls v Cranley thread?

 

I disagree. Cranley has called out the mayor, the manager and the council majority - essentially saying they've cooked the books to finance the streetcar. I think it's important that this group in particular know all the arguments to counter what he's saying. I mean, it's nice to talk about water mains being moved, fare policy, vehicle design, but right now this discussion is much more important in the scheme of things. I'd keep in going. I know for a fact that a lot of people now follow this site as an accurate source of information. Right now, for example, there are five lurkers following this exchange.

 

HEAR HEAR! Fully agree.

 

BTW, Cranley is at it again, this time in the Business Courier:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2012/06/14/is-cincinnatis-property-tax-hike-a.html

 

Could someone move all this to the new, Qualls v Cranley thread?

I made a suggestion based specifically on this thread constantly going off track on the forum issues section.

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,27513.0.html

Roll back property tax, city loses 10% population. Rebuild riverfront, city gains 300 households and a waiting list for more.

 

Turn city into strip mall or prison, city dies. Spend money on making city a city, it grows.

 

Wonder what the streetcar will do?

 

Some day these principles will be taught in 4th grade social studies.

John Cranley's hypocrisy is galling. His Price Hill Incline Square development is being funded with a massive influx of City Taxpayer funds: $3.3 Million from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2, $1.8 Million from the Cincinnati Community Reinvestment Area LEED tax exception, as well as $1.7M City HOME loan among other sources. Also, Cranley's Price Hill Square development is directly benefiting from the $55 Million Waldvogel Viaduct Project, courtesy of Cincinnati Taxpayers. Mr. Cranley is as responsible for the proposed tax increase as other person or project in the City of Cincinnati.

Might be good to look at this in context. The City of Cincinnati's share of the property tax duplicate is 11%. So a 23% increase in the City property tax represents a 2.5% overall property tax increase. This is what we're talking about?

God I've missed Capells posts. Maybe I need to recreate the old fakecinenquirer(under a different name of course since mark miller stole the name from me)

God I've missed Capells posts. Maybe I need to recreate the old fakecinenquirer(under a different name of course since mark miller stole the name from me)

 

I've missed your posts too. Here's hoping you return to Twitter soon!

>Might be good to look at this in context. The City of Cincinnati's share of the property tax duplicate is 11%. So a 23% increase in the City property tax represents a 2.5% overall property tax increase. This is what we're talking about?

 

 

I couldn't find the website quickly, but it used to be the case on the County's site that they listed all the little property taxes for Union Terminal, parks, zoo etc. on the first page, and hid the school property taxes on the second page.  This made all these items look like they were the county's primary expenses.  Then you clicked through and saw that taxes for schools dwarf all of these.

 

Also, we learned much more about Hamilton County's finances in that report from Moody's than anywhere else -- not their site or certainly from the press.  Why did we not have an investigation into whether or not the County Commissioners purposefully acted (Drake sale, refusing to budge the property tax rollback, etc.) to have the county's bond rating downgraded to create an artificial crisis that plays into their do-nothing narrative?

 

 

 

 

"WE MUST STOP THE STREETCAR AND THE ATRIUM"

 

Can a streetcar ballot initiative be on the ballot after construction has actually started? 

 

Very interesting question.  What happens if the streetcar loses ballot initiative round #3? Normally halting a project retroactive is a huge can of worms.  What kinds of escape clauses are in the contracts and grant agreements already signed?  The vendors and private contractors for the project have presumably long since ramped up for construction and have taken on costs related to the project.  Would the city be liable for costs already incurred?  The Federal money in the project...if they have already started spending that...could be another Pandora's Box if the city has to back out now.  Houston is the only case I know of where a rail project was subject to a referendum after the project had already started construction.  The project won and was continued and ultimately completed.  It would be interesting to look back a few years and research what kinds of issues came up there with trying to halt a project retroactively.