Entries by Todd Zinser
Public Comments Follow up Email 12.1.25
Public comments follow up email 12.1.25 I offered public comments at yesterday’s meeting (12.1.25) of the City Council’s Budget & Finance Committee. As far as I know, public comments are not included in the minutes of city council meetings. So, I sent a follow up email to the committee last night to document […]
Common Fraud Schemes on Transporation Construction Projects
Whether it is the $1.6 billion Cincinnati Southern Railroad Trust and the “Cincy on Track Plan;” the $1.3 billion Brent Spence Bridge Project; the $400 million (and counting) Western Hills Viaduct Project; you can be assured that construction and procurement fraud will be with us in Cincinnati for years to come. The fraudsters who are […]
Inside the City’s Lead Pipe Scandal – Episode 39
Join us on Citizen Watchdog with Todd Zinser as we unravel the complexities of the city’s lead service line replacement program, which has been running for several years. This episode uncovers startling revelations from a recent audit that found significant mishandling of the scrap lead pipes, intended for recycling, that mysteriously went missing over […]
Cincinnati Administrative Regulations – Watchdog Edition (November 2025)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13_pHCFlOsW6mGV1AhlguYjJSGx2AtQv5/view?usp=sharing The Administrative Regulations of the City of Cincinnati establish the internal operating policies, procedures, and standards that guide municipal governance. Despite their significance, these regulations have not been broadly accessible to the public in a unified format. This Watchdog Edition consolidates all Administrative Regulations provided by the City in response to a […]
GCWW Lead Pipe (Management) Investigative Report (9/15/25)
Lead_Investigation_Report_9.15.2025 I received the GCWW’s lead pipe investigative report today along with many other documents. I have not yet reviewed all the documents but I did review the report. The link above will take you to the report. As soon as I review the other documents, they will also be posted here. […]
Fraud Indicators in the WIC Program – Episode 38
Could Cincinnati transform its city services by handing over the reins of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program to Hamilton County? Tune in as Todd Zinser dissects the historical and financial intricacies of Cincinnati’s administration of this vital nutrition initiative. With a substantial $3.5 million budget in play, Todd grapples with the perplexing […]
Reports from Cincinnati’s Internal Auditor
There have been a couple of good reports that the city’s Internal Audit Manager has issued. One of the early podcasts is about the city’s internal audit function for the city where I talk about the overall operation from what I could see, including a discussion of the reports. When I come across audit reports […]
“Unveiling the Shadows: Transparency, Accountability and AI in Government Finances”
I sat in on a webinar on November 13th sponsored by “Truth in Accounting,” which is a group that keeps track of the financial condition of the Federal, state and local governments, including Cincinnati. The subject of the webinar was, “Unveiling the Shadows: Transparency, Accountability and AI in Government Finance.” It was a […]
Holding Leaders Accountable in Cincinnati – Episode 37
What if your neighborhood was quietly being reshaped by unregulated group homes, or if the seniors in your community were living in appalling conditions? In our latest episode, we pull back the curtain on a host of pressing issues facing our city, starting with the growing concern over group homes in East and West Price […]