Cincinnati Council voted 7-2 Wednesday to oppose a proposal to ask voters for a small income tax increase to fund affordable housing. Council Member Chris Seelbach proposed the charter amendment, which would have appeared on the November ballot if approved.
Development on an affordable housing project for LGBTQ+ seniors is expected to begin soon in Northside. Cincinnati Council voted unanimously Thursday to
City Council vote on spending American Rescue Plan funds on hold
City Council vote on spending American Rescue Plan funds on hold By Mike Schell | May 11, 2021 at 6:28 PM EDT - Updated May 11 at 6:28 PM
CINCINNATI (FOX19) - Cincinnati City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee was supposed to start the process of approving $35 million in federal funds, but that is now on hold.
It now appears City Council is not exactly sure yet what it can spend the American Rescue Plan money on.
“At the very end [of Tuesday’s meeting] we heard from the administration, their take on the final guidance from the Treasury Department on what we can spend this money on, and it really did cause us to pause and have a bit of a reality check,” said Interim Council Member Steve Goodin.
Nick Swartsell / WVXU
Despite some concerns about moving too quickly, Cincinnati City Council Wednesday unanimously approved plans to spend more than $134 million in federal stimulus. All the ordinances passed so far come from the spending plan proposed by the mayor and city manager.
Cincinnati is expecting about $311 million total from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The first payment is expected next week, with the remaining $146,795,000 coming this time next year.
Nearly $107 million approved for spending this week is set aside to fill deficits in the current and upcoming fiscal year budgets:
$18.7 million to fill the projected general fund deficit for FY 2021, which ends June 30