November 3, 20231 yr 16 hours ago, DEPACincy said: Dennard isn't in jail anymore. She is out and runs a non-profit that helps people coming out of prison find employment. Understood. I was not sure if she was still in jail or had been released yet. Ultimately, what I was trying to say was that much of the opposition is relying on the sins of recent past members and how it has ruined the public trust. The railroad sale has unfortunately come up at a time where it needs to confront these issues.
November 3, 20231 yr Between Cincinnati politician's recent corruption, and Norfolk Southern's near destruction of East Palestine Ohio, I'd say public trust of both sides of this sale are near all time lows.
November 3, 20231 yr Does Cincinnati Southern Railway sale price include the value of fiber optics rights? In the lease for the Cincinnati Southern Railway between its trustees and Norfolk Southern, section 3a stands out because it entitles the city to a major cut of any revenue from laying fiber optic cables along the 337-mile line. “In the event any license, sublease or other agreement is entered into for installation of a fiber optics communication system on the leased property, lessee agrees to pay lessor 75% of the revenue attributable to such license, sublease or agreement,” the lease says. The fiber optics lines also cannot interfere with the railroad's operations. The provision goes on to say the city and Norfolk Southern have to figure out how much the city would get if the fiber optics system extended beyond the railway. It would involve a formula based on how many miles the railway comprises of and its value to the overall system. Because the railway goes through mostly rural Kentucky and Tennessee, any fiber optic network would have to branch out from the railway itself. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/11/03/cincinnati-southern-railway-price-fiber-optics.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 6, 20231 yr Analysis: Cincinnati stands to gain at least $700 million more from rail sale than a continued lease If future economic performance echoes the past quarter century, the city could get $740 million to $1.5 billion more for its declining infrastructure over the next 25 years by selling the Cincinnati Southern Railway instead of continuing to lease it, according to a Business Courier analysis of historic investment return data. But Cincinnati also may forgo the future value of the railway as it appreciates in value, potentially by billions of dollars. Voters will have to weigh both as they go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7 to decide whether the city will sell or keep the railway. The sale’s overall financial model calls for the proceeds of the $1.64 billion sale to be held in an invested trust by the Cincinnati Southern Railway board. The board would send the city most of the annual returns, use part of it to pay investment managers and also reinvest a portion back into the trust, ensuring it grows. The goal is to earn 5.5% annually, net of fees. In the first year, the city would receive $56 million, with $32 million going back in the trust. The Courier sought to examine how the trust fund would have performed and what value it would have delivered to the city if it had been established a quarter century ago using real-world investment returns. Those past 25 years include the early internet's boom, the dot.com bust, the Great Recession, the pandemic recession and years of robust market growth in between those tumultuous economic times. To calculate the returns, the Courier looked at the investment proceeds of the Cincinnati Retirement System, the aggregated returns of more than 200 pension systems across the United States compiled by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and the aggregated returns of more than 800 university endowment funds compiled by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Way more below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/11/06/cincinnati-southern-railway-analysis-sale-lease.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 6, 20231 yr I assume that the City had not conditioned the sale with the provision that NS provide some property from its Gest Street Yard to the City accommodate potential future reconstruction of Union Terminal platforms to permit passenger rail staging from one or more dedicated station tracks for expanded Cardinal operations and/or 3C&D Corridor Service.
November 7, 20231 yr My polling place had two guys in t-shirts passing out pro-22 literature. My guess is that they were paid, since neither seemed to be taking their job seriously.
November 7, 20231 yr 17 hours ago, GHOST TRACKS said: I assume that the City had not conditioned the sale with the provision that NS provide some property from its Gest Street Yard to the City accommodate potential future reconstruction of Union Terminal platforms to permit passenger rail staging from one or more dedicated station tracks for expanded Cardinal operations and/or 3C&D Corridor Service. I’m not sure of the layout / situation at Union Terminal — but this would’ve been a good selling point. Hell, stating what could be done with those funds in any specific matter probably would’ve helped their case. ”We’re going to take care of basics and work on a big project like _______ “ - Making plans for passenger rail - Capping FWW - More Shot Spotter - Making the Metro transit centers more functional - Pedestrian safety improvements - Expanding the streetcar (or at the very least, actually utilizing the signal optimization technology that’s already in place) - Affordable housing - Etc, etc, etc, insert example here Instead it was all vague “infrastructure” and the Enquirer shilling about “guard rails” with a wink and a nod about how you can definitely trust these politicians. Then it became vague threats about contaminated water (hilariously tone deaf given Norfolk Southern’s recent actions) and fire stations not being maintained. There was never any talk of: “hey, specifically, here’s what we’re gonna do with this money and it’s something big that helps the citizens.” While “infrastructure” and filling potholes is nice, politicians like Cranley proved those can often just be hollow buzz words. Ultimately, the “YES” side had an uphill battle and a complicated issue. Instead of undertaking a smart campaign to educate citizens on the specifics, we got more of John Cranley playing basketball ala that parks levy years ago. Edited November 7, 20231 yr by Gordon Bombay
November 7, 20231 yr 24 minutes ago, Gordon Bombay said: Ultimately, the “YES” side had an uphill battle and a complicated issue. Instead of undertaking a smart campaign to educate citizens on the specifics, we got more of John Cranley playing basketball ala that parks levy years ago. Totally agree. I also think it was a big mistake to have Aftab to essentially be the face of sale campaign. Yes the city is predominantly D but there are still many R's out there that vote and they don't like the guy. He is much more partisan than Cranley who was fairly popular with Rs (although less-so with progressives). I am no advertising expert but I think it would have been better if they had made TV commercials with actors pretending to be Rs and Ds and then coming together and agreeing on the issue because the infrastructure benefits everyone. By having a D mayor involved in a lot of the advertising it made it into a more partisan issue in my view when it should not have been. Personally, I really wanted to repudiate the powers that be for their sloppy campaign and I was firmly in the "No" camp for this reason up until I went to vote today and decided to go to "Yes" at the last minute. It is a good deal at the end of the day that makes too much sense and I worry that it won't come back to ballot again if it doesn't pass this time so I had to vote Yes for that reason. We will see if it gets enough votes but I still think it comes up just short and they have no one to blame but themselves for a dreadfully run campaign.
November 7, 20231 yr I honestly think that if the city said we're selling the railroad (at a more reasonable price b/c 1.6 billion is too low) and using the money to build light rail, it would pass easily.
November 7, 20231 yr 4 hours ago, Gordon Bombay said: I’m not sure of the layout / situation at Union Terminal — but this would’ve been a good selling point. Hell, stating what could be done with those funds in any specific matter probably would’ve helped their case. ”We’re going to take care of basics and work on a big project like _______ “ - Making plans for passenger rail - Capping FWW - More Shot Spotter - Making the Metro transit centers more functional - Pedestrian safety improvements - Expanding the streetcar (or at the very least, actually utilizing the signal optimization technology that’s already in place) - Affordable housing - Etc, etc, etc, insert example here Instead it was all vague “infrastructure” and the Enquirer shilling about “guard rails” with a wink and a nod about how you can definitely trust these politicians. Then it became vague threats about contaminated water (hilariously tone deaf given Norfolk Southern’s recent actions) and fire stations not being maintained. There was never any talk of: “hey, specifically, here’s what we’re gonna do with this money and it’s something big that helps the citizens.” While “infrastructure” and filling potholes is nice, politicians like Cranley proved those can often just be hollow buzz words. Ultimately, the “YES” side had an uphill battle and a complicated issue. Instead of undertaking a smart campaign to educate citizens on the specifics, we got more of John Cranley playing basketball ala that parks levy years ago. I agree completely, first the commercials that show an old fire station in Madisonville isn't going to entice people because it seems like something we should be able to do anyway. I agree that big exciting projects like FWW caps or something would've helped vs the vague infrastructure. The second problem is that the commercials saying "the state has set guardrails" honestly makes me MORE nervous. You mean the same state that just had the Householder corruption case is putting guardrails on the city that just had it's own corruption case? Public trust of government feels like it's at an all time low, especially here in Ohio, and they needed to really sell what WE are going to get out of the sale instead of what the government or some Board is going to get out of the sale.
November 8, 20231 yr What city voters said as they decided whether to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway City voters cast their ballots Tuesday, Nov. 7, with two major economic issues at stake – whether to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway for $1.6 billion and an initial vote on whether to increase the income tax and inject major dollars into affordable housing. The railway debate became highly contentious, with Mayor Aftab Pureval pushing for the $1.6 billion sale to boost Cincinnati’s infrastructure, including repairing health clinics, parks, streets and sidewalks. Opponents tried to cast doubt on whether it would be used for those priorities and not big-ticket projects and whether the city got a fair price. That message clearly resonated with some voters. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/11/07/what-cincinnati-voters-said-election-2023.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 8, 20231 yr I'm surprised the sale passed, but assuming no political chicanery it is objectively exciting to think the city now has millions of dollars to spend on projects that need it, especially as city funds are dwindling due to less and less payroll tax in cities all around the country due to WFH. I guess now we move onto the obvious next question of what is the list of projects in line to receive the funding? I want FWW caps!
November 8, 20231 yr I voted against it. I don't trust the entities in charge to be good stewards of the funds, and I'm worried about about the depletion of the fund during bad times. Hopefully I am wrong, and we get decades of very positive returns with high reinvestment into the fund to support future generations. I would love to be wrong.
November 8, 20231 yr Well said, @ucgradyand @ryanlammi. I’m very surprised it passed, but hope it works out as a positive.
November 8, 20231 yr I am a little worried there's going to be a hit piece in a couple years showing that it was worth way more than $1.6 billion.
November 8, 20231 yr I couldn't vote but my main concern was that NS was getting the line for pennies on the dollar and that the city wasn't getting a good price for it. I hope they use the money wisely.
November 8, 20231 yr 13 minutes ago, Dev said: I am a little worried there's going to be a hit piece in a couple years showing that it was worth way more than $1.6 billion. It very well might be worth more than 1.6 billion or pretty close that price.The city cashed out on a century plus long asset that no other city in the United States had.They better get a nice return on investment and continue to build upon this 1.6 billion cash out or heads will roll.
November 8, 20231 yr I too am surprised. I think it is a good deal. I just really hope the funds don't go poof like they did for the blue ash airport sale, the anthem site, etc. It does appear that there are firm guardrails in place that cannot be changed at the local level. The only way this doesn't work out is if we are a victim of bad timing and get a huge draw down in risk assets right around the time the money is put to work.
November 8, 20231 yr I would have voted no because of the numerous unknowns, but I trust that it won't be depleted. It seems like there's some pretty strict rules around that. How it is spent will be more ambiguous, here's to hoping it's truly spent on needed projects.
November 9, 20231 yr 11 hours ago, ucnum1 said: It very well might be worth more than 1.6 billion or pretty close that price.The city cashed out on a century plus long asset that no other city in the United States had.They better get a nice return on investment and continue to build upon this 1.6 billion cash out or heads will roll. The Democrats are now firmly in control of the city. City council seats and maybe even the mayor's seat are already turning into paid patronage jobs. I haven't seen anyone determine what, if anything, will keep the railroad trustee seats from also becoming patronage jobs. The Enquirer was totally and completely snookered by this issue. Nobody working there these days would have survived more than a semester at my college newspaper. I'm not exaggerating.
November 9, 20231 yr 9 hours ago, Lazarus said: The Democrats are now firmly in control of the city. City council seats and maybe even the mayor's seat are already turning into paid patronage jobs. I haven't seen anyone determine what, if anything, will keep the railroad trustee seats from also becoming patronage jobs. In one sense this has been going on for decades already. They are not necessarily paid patronage jobs but look at how certain leadership and positions of influence are filled and who takes them. To your point, the perfect example is Dwight Tillery's Health Collaborative. It may not be a city department, but it is an agency that receives a lot of city funding and certainly has been called into question as to how it spends its funds.
November 9, 20231 yr 10 hours ago, Lazarus said: The Democrats are now firmly in control of the city. City council seats and maybe even the mayor's seat are already turning into paid patronage jobs. I haven't seen anyone determine what, if anything, will keep the railroad trustee seats from also becoming patronage jobs. The Enquirer was totally and completely snookered by this issue. Nobody working there these days would have survived more than a semester at my college newspaper. I'm not exaggerating. Lol this is even more ridiculous because there are several people working there who actually worked at your college newspaper.
November 9, 20231 yr On 11/7/2023 at 12:31 PM, tabasco said: Totally agree. I also think it was a big mistake to have Aftab to essentially be the face of sale campaign. Yes the city is predominantly D but there are still many R's out there that vote and they don't like the guy. He is much more partisan than Cranley who was fairly popular with Rs (although less-so with progressives). I am no advertising expert but I think it would have been better if they had made TV commercials with actors pretending to be Rs and Ds and then coming together and agreeing on the issue because the infrastructure benefits everyone. By having a D mayor involved in a lot of the advertising it made it into a more partisan issue in my view when it should not have been. Personally, I really wanted to repudiate the powers that be for their sloppy campaign and I was firmly in the "No" camp for this reason up until I went to vote today and decided to go to "Yes" at the last minute. It is a good deal at the end of the day that makes too much sense and I worry that it won't come back to ballot again if it doesn't pass this time so I had to vote Yes for that reason. We will see if it gets enough votes but I still think it comes up just short and they have no one to blame but themselves for a dreadfully run campaign. I think this overlooks the fact that there are very few Rs left in the city. It makes no sense to build an ad campaign around appealing to 10% of the electorate. Also, I'd reject that Rs necessarily hate Aftab. He's popular with several Rs I've talked to. I hear progressives complain about him more.
November 9, 20231 yr 1 hour ago, DEPACincy said: I think this overlooks the fact that there are very few Rs left in the city. It makes no sense to build an ad campaign around appealing to 10% of the electorate. Also, I'd reject that Rs necessarily hate Aftab. He's popular with several Rs I've talked to. I hear progressives complain about him more. True, I think I overestimated the number of R's remaining given that this passed and Keating did not get a seat. The opposite of what I predicted.
November 9, 20231 yr The rail bylaws are pretty tight. It is an unpaid position and only 3 of 5 seats can be the same political affiliation. I wish we would adopt these rules for city council! https://cincinnatisouthernrailway.org/about/board-of-trustees.php Quote The Ferguson Act required a board of five trustees to govern the Cincinnati Southern Railway. Trustees are appointed by the Mayor of Cincinnati and are approved by Cincinnati City Council. The CSR bylaws mandate that political affiliations of the Board must be disclosed and that no more than three members of the same political party are permitted to serve on the Board. Trustees serve five year terms and there are no term limits. While trustees originally received compensation, today’s trustees are not paid for their service. Edited November 9, 20231 yr by tabasco
November 15, 20231 yr Search for trustee to manage $1.6B in Cincinnati railway sale proceeds delayed after city misstep An error in the Cincinnati city manager's office prompted the Cincinnati Southern Railway board of trustees to delay the selection of an investment manager – or managers – for the trust that will manage the $1.6 billion in sale proceeds. The board on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in its first public meeting since the successful sale referendum to Norfolk Southern Nov. 7, passed a series of impromptu motions to clean up a newly unearthed situation where the city's office improperly extended the procurement window for the investment manager role without a board member’s prior consent. "I just want to underscore, this is a board process, a board procurement, and I hope that's respected,” Charlie Luken, former mayor and a Cincinnati Southern Railway board member, said. “I don't feel that way right now. It doesn't feel like it's been a board process right now." The board is using the city’s procurement system to solicit requests for proposals (RFPs) because it has no means to do so itself, according to board member Amy Murray. The RFP window opened Aug. 22 with an initial due date of Sept. 29. The window was properly extended twice, with a new deadline of Oct. 13. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/11/14/cincinnati-southern-railway-city-manager-error.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 21, 20231 yr Surface Transportation Board approves Cincinnati Southern Railway sale The $1.6 billion sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern has already received the final government approval it needs in order to go through. The federal Surface Transportation Board, which regulates the freight railroad industry, approved the sale of the 338-mile railway. Its decision went into effect on Oct. 20. Federal approval was one of three government steps needed for the sale of the railway, which is owned by the Cincinnati Southern Railway board in trust on behalf of the citizens of Cincinnati, to go through. The other steps were state legislative approval of changes to Ohio law to allow for the sale proceeds to be used for city infrastructure and approval by voters. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/11/21/southern-railway-sale-surface-transportation-board.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 21, 20231 yr Welp. The voters spoke, the city sold the railroad for a pittance, and we'll see how it will be spent. You could have sold it for double, easily.
November 28, 20231 yr Cincinnati Southern Railway sale will create temporary funding gap for city budget Because of the timing of the $1.6 billion sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway and resulting termination of Norfolk Southern’s lease payments, Cincinnati’s capital budget will face some temporary funding gaps that the administration expects to be filled. With the sale expected to close in March 2024, the lease will be terminated, leaving the city with a $7 million gap in its fiscal year 2024 budget, which began on July 31. But the administration expects that at least some of that gap will be covered by the transaction closing fees, which are to be paid to the Cincinnati Southern Railway trustees. The same thing will happen in fiscal year 2025 because the $1.6 billion will not have been invested long enough to produce returns, according to a memo from City Manager Sheryl Long. Again, the administration hopes the trustees will deliver the transaction fees to the city. Those payments could be as high as $30 million, higher than the $26.3 million lease payment due under the current lease. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/11/27/cincinnati-southern-railway-sale-city-budget-gap.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 3, 20231 yr I still dont understand why the city didn't negotiate a payment be made for the "missing year" of income. It's insane.
January 9, 20241 yr List of potential advisers for Cincinnati's $1.6 billion railway fund narrowed; two local firms advance The Cincinnati Southern Railway board has narrowed the list of potential investment advisers for the $1.6 billion trust from the sale of the asset to Norfolk Southern. The trustees narrowed the list from 17 to five, with members conducting interviews later this week and next. The sale, which voters approved in November 2023, closes in March. The trustees will oversee the money, with one firm advising them and others potentially involved in managing the money. The money can be used for existing infrastructure improvements, the growth of the fund principal and operations of the trust. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/01/09/potential-advisers-cincinnati-railway-fund.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 9, 20241 yr Normally I would say that if all else is equal that the local firms should win out, but with the recent corruption issues in the city and the general cloudiness of this fund, I would feel more comfortable if this fund wasn't managed by one of the two Cincinnati based firms. Maybe lets let an out of towner who isn't too close to things control the money.
January 22, 20241 yr Looks like they went with UBS: Cincinnati Southern Railway board awards UBS investment contract for $1.6 billion trust https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/01/22/cincinnati-southern-railway-investment-contract.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_6&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s UBS: The international banking giant, which was founded in 1862, has a 236-employee Cincinnati team and investment group dedicated to foundations. UBS manages $5.7 trillion globally, $17 billion in public funds and its U.S. institutional group has $91 billion under management.
February 28, 20241 yr Cincinnati council members want more guardrails on railway trust fund cash Cincinnati City Council members want to establish a minimum amount the city spends on its capital assets and more information on the city’s deferred maintenance needs, guardrails they want to place around disbursements from the $1.6 billion Cincinnati Southern Railway trust that will be created when the railroad sale closes. Council could consider a motion Wednesday, Feb. 28, requiring the city administration to identify a “targeted hard floor” for the city’s capital budget with the goal of increasing it annually with inflation. The idea is to make sure the railway trust proceeds contribute to an increase in that budget. Before the November 2023 election, critics of the CSR sale to Norfolk Southern predicted the city would engage in a bait-and-switch with the money, which under state law can only be used for existing capital expenses. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/02/27/cincinnati-council-southern-railway-guardrails.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 19, 20241 yr All done NS, city close sale of Cincinnati Southern Railway https://www.progressiverailroading.com/norfolk_southern/news/NS-city-close-sale-of-Cincinnati-Southern-Railway--71494 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 7, 2024Aug 7 A group of what seem like very lovely people are trying to get their hands into the honey pot: Quote A former state lawmaker running for Hamilton County auditor has proposed a ballot measure that would take $600 million from the $1.6 billion Cincinnati Southern Railway trust fund and use it to wipe out part of the tax bills for city property owners. But even if the proposal makes it to the ballot and passes, it may not be legal because state law governs how the trust fund money can be spent. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Republican former Ohio House member from Mount Lookout, turned in proposed charter amendment language Tuesday, Aug. 6, to Cincinnati City Council. He wants the measure on the November ballot, but he and other supporters will need to gather 8,786 valid signatures in the next month. Adam Koehler, a Republican candidate for Hamilton County commissioner; longtime Price Hill activist Pete Witte; Sarah Wolf, a Northside resident who leads a group of homeowners angered by the rise in property tax bills; and Amber Kassem, a staunch opponent of the city’s recent Connected Communities zoning changes, also are on the petition committee. On Tuesday, Koehler posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “Since the pimps duped you into selling our railroad, we are going to get your money back from them. At least give you the option to vote on it.” Koehler is running against Commissioner Denise Driehaus, a Democrat. The railroad sale create this supposedly untouchable trust fund, and now every few years, we're going to have former COAST members pushing a ballot initiative to touch that money.
August 7, 2024Aug 7 Weird. A career politician coming to leech some public money. Again. Wasn’t the guy Tom Brinkman supports (who also tried to steal an election) supposed to “drain the swamp” of these kinds of actors?
August 9, 2024Aug 9 Cincinnati clears potential charter amendment to spend part of railway trust on property tax cuts The city of Cincinnati has given initial approval to a potential charter amendment that would take $600 million of the $1.6 billion Cincinnati Southern Railway trust and use it to cut local property taxes. Under new rules approved in 2023, people who want to pursue a ballot initiative to change the charter must submit ballot language before they collect signatures. On Thursday, Aug. 8, City Solicitor Emily Smart Woerner sent a letter to former state Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout, saying his petition meets the city’s requirements. It’s the same procedure with state-level constitutional amendments. Brinkman, who is a Republican candidate for Hamilton County auditor, and his committee, including Adam Koehler, a Republican candidate for Hamilton County commissioner; longtime Price Hill activist Pete Witte; Sarah Wolf, a Northside resident who leads a group of homeowners angered by the rise in property tax bills; and Amber Kassem, a staunch opponent of the city’s recent Connected Communities zoning changes, must now collect 8,786 valid and verified signatures and submit them by the Sept. 5 City Council meeting in order to make the November ballot. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/08/09/potential-charter-amendment-railway-property-tax.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 5, 2024Sep 5 Charter amendment using Cincinnati railway funds on tax cuts won't be on the ballot A proposed amendment to Cincinnati's charter that would take $600 million of the $1.6 billion Cincinnati Southern Railway trust and use it to cut local property taxes will not be on the ballot on Nov. 5. Tom Brinkman, a former state lawmaker, said he would not turn in enough valid signatures to make the ballot by the Sept. 5 deadline. But he can use the signatures the campaign has collected for a future effort for a different election. Brinkman, who is a Republican candidate for Hamilton County auditor, and his committee, including Adam Koehler, a Republican candidate for Hamilton County commissioner; longtime Price Hill activist Pete Witte; Sarah Wolf, a Northside resident who leads a group of homeowners angered by the rise in property tax bills; and Amber Kassem, a staunch opponent of the city’s recent Connected Communities zoning changes, had to collect 8,786 valid and verified signatures. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/09/05/charter-amendment-railway-property-tax-no-ballot.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 6, 2024Sep 6 Great map. Looks to be circa 1900. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 16, 2024Dec 16 Mayor Aftab Pureval picks former councilwoman for railway trust board, plus a new planning commissioner Mayor Aftab Pureval has nominated Liz Keating, the former Cincinnati councilwoman, to be on the board that oversees the proceeds of the $1.6 billion sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway. He also picked Realtor Darrick Dansby, who was considered for the recent Reggie Harris City Council vacancy, to be on the Cincinnati Planning Commission. Keating, a Republican, will serve a five-year term and replace Amy Murray, another former councilwoman. By law, the five-member board only can have three members from one political party. Keating's day job is as vice president for government affairs for the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/12/16/keating-former-council-railway-trust-fund-planning.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 5Feb 5 Cincinnati City Council members want to carve chunk of railway trust for some of city’s poorest areas Cincinnati City Council could consider a motion soon to divert 10% of the annual payments from the Cincinnati Southern Railway trust to be spent exclusively in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Under the motion by Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and council members Scotty Johnson and Victoria Parks, 10% of the annual proceeds would be set aside for the “Rising 15” neighborhoods. The “Rising 15” neighborhoods are Villages at Roll Hill, Millvale, English Woods, Lower Price Hill, Queensgate, Winton Hills, South Fairmount, West End, East Westwood, Avondale, Roselawn, Mount Airy, East Price Hill, South Cumminsville and North Fairmount. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/02/05/council-use-railway-trust-neighborhoods-west-end.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 5Feb 5 1 hour ago, ColDayMan said: Cincinnati City Council members want to carve chunk of railway trust for some of city’s poorest areas Cincinnati City Council could consider a motion soon to divert 10% of the annual payments from the Cincinnati Southern Railway trust to be spent exclusively in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Under the motion by Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and council members Scotty Johnson and Victoria Parks, 10% of the annual proceeds would be set aside for the “Rising 15” neighborhoods. The “Rising 15” neighborhoods are Villages at Roll Hill, Millvale, English Woods, Lower Price Hill, Queensgate, Winton Hills, South Fairmount, West End, East Westwood, Avondale, Roselawn, Mount Airy, East Price Hill, South Cumminsville and North Fairmount. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/02/05/council-use-railway-trust-neighborhoods-west-end.html What a joke of a council because they knew those funds were not supposed to be used for anything else. The village idiot who is at the top and his minions will have it all spent in several years. No matter what they say, they will get those funds.
February 5Feb 5 I guarantee that if this passes, Vance's brother is going to call it "DEI" in the mayoral campaign.
February 26Feb 26 Cincinnati Southern Railway trust may get hit with significant tax bill The Cincinnati Southern Railway trust may face a major capital gains tax bill from the commonwealth of Kentucky on the $1.6 billion it received from Norfolk Southern after voters approved the sale of the formerly city owned railroad in 2023. The trust will have to file a tax return with the state in April that could trigger a 4% capital gains tax, although the board that manages the trust does not yet know what its potential exposure could be in terms of a dollar amount. Because the railway stretched through part of Ohio, Kentucky and part of Tennessee, the Kentucky tax could only apply to the portion located in the commonwealth. Before the sale, the Cincinnati Southern Railway board did not believe it would face any tax exposure from the sale because revenue solely benefits the city of Cincinnati, a government entity. But that interpretation may have been in error. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/02/25/southern-railway-trust-fund-kentucky-tax-bill-owed.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 1Apr 1 Cincinnati sold its railroad to Norfolk Southern in 2024. How much of a boost will it get? Cincinnati should see infrastructure spending rise by more than 50% in next year’s budget compared with this year because of the investment earnings from the Cincinnati Southern Railway trust. Council and city budget officials started diving into the numbers at a March 24 hearing. The coming fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, will be the first year the city receives investment earnings from the trust created with the $1.6 billion railroad sale to Norfolk Southern. Council members said they wanted the public to know how much the city gets from the trust, what will be fixed out of an extensive list of deferred maintenance projects as a result, how much more the city got than it otherwise would have if the railway had not been sold and the bare minimum that the city should be spending on infrastructure from now on. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/04/01/city-railroad-sale-norfolk-first-dollars-repairs.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 24May 24 Railway trust gravy train arrives as city plans infrastructure boost; mayor says no new taxes – this yearThe city of Cincinnati plans to spend $80 million on existing infrastructure in next year’s budget, a $30 million increase from this year as the first payment from the Cincinnati Southern Railway trust funds arrives in city coffers.Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long unveiled their fiscal year 2026 budget on Friday, May 23. FY26 starts on July 1.The $56 million from the railway trust is $27 million more than what the city received this year when Norfolk Southern owned the line. Voters agreed to sell the railroad in 2023 and create a $1.6 billion trust from the proceeds. The investment returns from the trust, not the principal, are to be used to repair city infrastructure that existed in 2023.More below:https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/05/23/cincinnati-city-budget-railway-trust.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 24May 24 16 hours ago, ColDayMan said:The $56 million from the railway trust is $27 million more than what the city received this year when Norfolk Southern owned the line. Voters agreed to sell the railroad in 2023 and create a $1.6 billion trust from the proceeds. The investment returns from the trust, not the principal, are to be used to repair city infrastructure that existed in 2023.What they meant to write is that it is $27 million more than what the city received when Norfolk-Southern leased the line (and Cincinnati owned it). But this does not mention that the lease was up for renewal and the city could have negotiated a higher guaranteed annual payment, whereas the current arrangement dooms the city to no income at all during market downturns.
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