“Unveiling the Shadows: Transparency, Accountability and AI in Government Finances”

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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 90 minute webinar and is now posted on the group’s YouTube channel. It is also embedded on this page.

My perspective on issues concerning government finances closely aligns with this group.

But if you do not want to sit through the entire 90 minutes, I recommend watching the first 30 minutes when it is available. The host walks through what you will find on their website but also how to use the extensive data set on their companion website, including how to easily make your own charts and graphs using their data.

The websites are:

https://www.truthinaccounting.org/

and

https://www.data-z.org/

 

The YouTube Channel is:

https://www.youtube.com/@truthinaccounting

The Universal Truth About Public Records

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WA public records guidelines may get revamp _ The Seattle Times

 

There is a universal truth: The people inside the government want the people outside the government to only know what they want them to know, unless greater disclosure is compelled, or is likely to be compelled, by a judge.

If you read Beryl Love’s July 1 ,2025 column, he reported that this past summer, in this year’s budget bill, the Ohio legislature made “text messages and emails between lawmakers and their staff exempt from public records request.” My sense is that the law is not that broad and, in any event, does not appear to apply to city councils. Could you imagine? It is bad enough as it is.

If you remember, the “Gang of Five” was uncovered as a result of a public records request for text messages of city council members by a citizen.

I try to keep up with news about Seattle’s government since I have family that live there. It is happening there as well. But people there are putting up a fight against further exempting public records from disclosure.  Good for them.

Thoughts about the Frost Brown Todd LLP contract with the city.

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How well a government agency or, in this case, a local government, handles a crisis tells you a lot about the quality of its management.

I took a look at the contract between the city and Frost Brown Todd LLP and concluded that the “investigation,” by the law firm will not be helpful and probably will make things worse. It is not going to be independent and is not going to be a true investigation.

I thought these folks were paid the big bucks so that we wouldn’t have to have these problems.

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17PAYdsFai/

Cleveland hires a nationally renowed Harvard economist who found no systemic bias in police searches.

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City Hires Independent Firm, Led by Nationally-Renowned Harvard Economist, Who Finds No Evidence of Systemic Racial Bias in Police Searches _ City of Cleveland Ohio

 

Cleveland’s mayor hired a “nationally renowned Harvard economist who found ‘no evidence of systemic bias in police searches’.”

Meanwhile, Cincinnati hired a civil rights activist who, possibly on city time, strolls around, interferes with the police, and encourages the public to file complaints against police officers in order to get those officers on her “list.”

My sense is that the Mayor Pureval’s consultant would not like to see such a study conducted here in Cincinnati and definitely would not like to see those results, especially if it meant that her services were no longer needed.

What else could explain why the city’s consultant failed to recommend such a study during the 3 years she has been under contract with the city?

You would think that if Cleveland’s mayor could figure it out, Cincinnati’s mayor could figure it out as well. But I guess not.

The full article can be found at:

https://www.clevelandohio.gov/news/city-hires-independent-firm-led-nationally-renowned-harvard-economist-who-finds-no-evidence

A copy is also be posted in my research library.

About Last Night’s Mayoral Debate

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If you missed it when it was originally posted on Facebook a few weeks ago, besides being totally disgusted with the mayor’s smug and condescending gaslighting during the debate, especially about public safety, I provided my breakdown of the mayor’s “Defund the Police” efforts.

After he was elected, the mayor barely lifted a finger to get the police force up to the 1059 sworn police officer compliment that is provided for in the budget. By keeping the staffing level suppressed, he was able to 1) keep police officers off the streets and 2) instead spend millions of dollars on other things besides the salaries of police officers. That is just one component of his defund the police efforts. There are others discussed in the commentary.

 

Here is the pdf of what I posted:          Comments re 10.9.25 mayoral debate

 

Iris Roley’s Current Contract with the city is valued at $570,000 until April 2027.

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Following controversial reports and videos of Iris Roley essentially interfering in interactions between CPD officers and members of the public, I sought information about the city’s relationship with Ms. Roley.

On August 6, 2025, I submitted a public records request concerning the city’s contracts with Ms. Roley and records associated with those contracts. It took some back and forth with the city but today (9.11.25) I received a “partial response.”

The response included primarily invoices and records of payment to Ms. Roley.  The partial response includes some contracts, invoices and payment records for 2022 to 2025. (You can never be confident that all responsive records have been disclosed).

It will take some time to examine the documents disclosed by the city so far. But if Ms. Roley plays her cards right, it looks like she will be on the payroll until April 2027.  According to Ms. Roley’s current contract, executed by the city manager on April 29, 2025, the city has agreed to pay her $570,000 for a three year extension of her 2024 contract through April 2027. (Instead of extending Ms. Roley’s contract one year at a time, the city extended it for a total of 3 years).

This includes $150,000 paid to Ms. Roley for 2 quarters, the Fall of 2024 and the Spring of 2025, for what they are calling the “Government Square Initiative.” The contract outlines that the $150,000 will cover the following operational costs for 2 quarters:

    • Community Care Monitors:                   $105,600
    • Critical Needs Support Fund:                $ 40,000
    • Admin and Training:                               $  4,400
    • Total:                                                           $ 150,000

The documents include canceled checks from Ms. Roley to four Community Care Monitors for $4400 each one quarter (18.75 hours per week for 12 weeks, at $58/hr. for 4 monitors). Hopefully, the city will provide timesheets and 1099s in the next disclosure.

Overtime, I will be examining and posting all the documents in a folder in my research library. But tonight, only Ms. Roley’s current contract is provided below.

Iris_Roley_PSC_101_35X051_Second_Amendment_-_FINAL

Lead Service Line Replacement Program Audit (August 2025)

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Lead Service Line Replacement Program Audit

 

It looks like the city’s Internal Audit Manager is on a hot streak. I wrote earlier this year about her last audit involving the Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI).  One of the findings in that audit was that REDI could not account for $14,000 in unsupported claims.

Now, in August, the auditor reported that a GCWW (Greater Cincinnati Water Works) employee “misappropriated’ the lead pipes that were scrapped in the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, “for personal gain.”

The only thing we know for sure is that the “in-house lead crew,” was “dismantled and disciplined.” The report does not indicate how many employees were involved, how long the scheme continued, how it was detected, an estimate of the “misappropriation,” whether the matter was referred to law enforcement, etc.

The members of the “in-house lead crew” refused to be interviewed!

Unfortunately, the Internal Audit Manager’s audits and reports are not hard-hitting.  They tend to lack a lot of important details about the story.  As a result, the reports, knowingly or unknowingly,  contribute to what seems to be the city manager’s interest in keeping a lid on problems. That is the exact opposite of what the city manager should be doing. She should be ferreting out the problems in the city’s operations, not downplaying them to the public. In this case as well as the REDI case, the audit reports are just scratching the surface.

 

Police District Restructuring Evaluation (for what it is worth) 8.18.25

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In November 2023, the city “restructured” our police districts. District 5 was eliminated. The Cincinnati Police Department had been operating out of  5 Districts for 150 years.  Mayor  Purveal and the current city council (currently up for reelection) decided that they did not want to invest $20 million in a new HQ for District 5, which had been in the works for 7 years, so they came up with a “restructuring plan” for the police. The effective date of District 5’s elimination was November 12, 2023.

On 8.14.25, I submitted a public records request for any evaluation of the restructuring.  On 8.18.25, I receved a response. Two powerpoint slide decks were provided as responsive documents. One was the 2024 “Year in Review,” for the police and the other was “Change in Response Times, Redistricting 90 Day Comparison.”

One unusual thing about the city’s responsive documents is that the “Comparison” slide deck is dated 8.18.25, which is after my public records request. So, it looks like they did do an analysis but never issued it publicly. What does that tell you?

The slide deck does its best to confuse the issue, but the fact is that a proper evaluation of the restructuring involves more than an analysis of response times. A lot more.

In episode 28 of “Citizen Watchdog with Todd Zinser,” I discuss how the elimination of District 5 is a prime example of how this mayor, this city council, and this city manager are disinvesting in public safety.

Cincinnati_Police_Department_-_Year_End_2024_Review (1)

Response_Time_Presentation_-_Wide_Screen (1)

Yahoo Mail – Follow up to public comments on 9.17.25 re District 5

Records Request Concerning the City’s November 2023 Restructuring of the Police Districts

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Originally proposed in May 2023, the City restructured the police districts in November 2023. There had been 5 police districts in Cincinnati for 150 years but this bunch in city hall decided that the city did not need 5 districts any longer. The restructuring was triggered by the decision not to build a new District 5 Headquarters. We are going to look into the “shenanigans” surrounding that decision. But today we are seeking records of any assessment carried out by the city concerning the restrructuring. What has been the impact of the restructuring on public safety? That is what we are trying to find out. City Hall  said the move was to make operations “more efficient.” So, let us see if that is the case. Where is the data?

Meanwhile, District 3, where the New Year’s shootings took place, doubled in size. It is hard to believe that response times have not increased for District 3 but hopefully, there is report that will answer the question.

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19XsqM5cAW/

 

CPD-Restructure–Press-Conference Presentation May 2023

 

Cincinnati officially closes District Five police headquarters _ WVXU

 

Yahoo Mail – Fw_ [External Email] Shootings in Price Hill pg 2

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/seconds-and-minutes-matter-data-shows-cpd-response-times-regress-after-closing-down-district-5?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Takeaways from the August 2025 Meeting of the West Price Hill Community Council

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Of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods, the westside neighborhoods, East Price Hill, West Price Hill, Lower Price Hill  and Westwood, make up roughly half of Cincinnati’s population.  During a well attended meeting on August 12, 2025, the frustrations of the neighborhood residents who attended the meeting, spilled out all over the place. I posted my observations on my FB page. The link is below.

The meeting was a solid 2 hours long and much more was discussed than I describe in my post. For example, the most amount of time was spent on the restructuring of the Hamilton County Probation Department. Probably the subject of a future Watchdog podcast. A member of city council and candidate for re-election attended and was probably shell shocked by the discussion. The meeting also heard from 3 new city council candidates who took  a few minutes to introduce themselves.

But my FB post focuses on 1) comments from a transpalnt from Orlando who described buyer’s remorse based on qulaity of life issues in West Price Hill and 2) an acknowledgment from the police that people come to Cincinnati from hundreds of miles away, primaily the Price Hill neighborhoods, for the social servcies that the city has concentrated and subsidized in Price Hill and its negative affect on our qiulaity of life.

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/172Fcei7JA/