Cincy on Track – Project Update (5.19.26)
Rail_Board_COT_May 2026 Final 5.19.26
On May 19, 2026, the city’s Department of Public Services briefed the Board of the Railway Trust on “Cincy on Track, which as you may know, is the city’s name of their plan for spending the railway money.
The presentation was titled “Cincy on Track: Project Update and Fund Deployment Report.
It includes 19 slides, mostly providing pictures and summaries of select projects, with financial information presented towards the end of the presentation along with information about how the city plams to fix its process problems. .
I have posted the entire presentation in my Research Library here.
I am not sure whether the Board or the city will post the presentation as well.
The video of the meeting on May 19th has not been posted yet, as of the close of business on May 20th.
If you’re not familiar you can watch videos of the Board meetings on the media page of the CSR Trust website at: https://thecsrt.org/public-info/#media
FY 2027 Cincinnati Budget Presentations as of 4.06.26
FY 27 Budget Update Presentation 3.16.26
FY 27 Presentation Budget Basics
FY 27 City Manager’s Strategic Priorities Overview 3.16.26
FY 27 Department of Transportation and Engineering’s 3.18.26
FY 27 Department of Finance Budget Presentation 3.18.26
FY 27 Department of Buildings and Inspections’ (B&I) 3.19.26
FY 27 Citizen Complaint Authority’s (CCA) Budget 3.18.26
FY27 Emergency Communications Center (ECC) 3.16.26
City of Cincinnati Competitive Grant Programs
City of Cincinnati CDBG Programs
FY 27 Cincinnati Police Deprtment 3.30.26
FY 27 Dept. of Human Services 3.30.26
FY 27 Enterprise Technology Solutions 3.30.26
FY 27 Health Department 3.30.26
FY 27 GCWW SMU Budget Presentation
FY 27 Law Department Budget Presentation
FY 27 Cincinnati Fire Department Budget Presentation
FY27 Capital Planning, Debt Capacity abd Debt Affordability
FY27 City Council Members’ Budget Priority Memos
The agenda for the meeting of the Budget, Finance and Governance Committee on April 6, 2026 contains a memo from each member of council concerning their FY 27 Budget priorities. The Committee Chairman, Councilmember Cramerding, did not submit a memo. The members’ priority memos are posted below.
I have a quick story about “earmarks.” When I was going through my confirmation process to serve as the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce, earmarks were a hot issue on Capitol Hill. Recall the “Bridge to Nowhere.” One of the hurdles along the way of my confirmation was an interview with very seasoned staff of the Senate Commerce Committee. The first question out of the box was, “What are your views on earmarks?” I responded, “I think there are good earmarks and some not so good earmarks.” They said, “Good Answer.” The rest of the interview was a breeze. That is still my answer.
However, Cincinnati’s process, seriously lacks transparaency around most, if not all, of the nearly $35 million in earmarks in the priority memos. Where do the numbers come from? How is the public supposed to tell a good earmark from a not-so-good earmark?
FY27 budget priorities Jeffreys
FY27 budget priorities Johnson
FY27 budget priorities Kearney
Cincinnati City Manager Annual Performance Review (3.9.26)
The city council’s evaluation of the city manager’s performance was added to the agenda 30 minutes before today’s (3.9.26) meeting of the Budget, Finance and Governance Committee.
The following related documents have been posted below.
- The city council’s process (1.20.26)
- The city manager’s 34-page power point presentation about her performance – essentially her self-assessment. ( 12.9.25)
- The city council’s 11-page review memo (Undated, presented at budget committee meeting on 3.9.26).
One thing noticeably missing. A key part of performance managment is communicating performance expectations at the outset of the performance period. For example, what performance metrics will be used to actually measure the city manager’s individual performance? If that happened here, I have not found where it was documented.
As it is, let’s just say, the city council members are not tough graders.
Presentation city manager performance
City Council performance evaluation of the city manager 3.9.26
State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (COVID $)
2024 Recovery Plan Performance Report
SLFR-2023-Recovery-Plan-Performance-Report
SLFRF_2021_Recovery_Plan_Performance_Report
SLFRF-2022-Recovery-Plan-Performance-Report
SLFRF-2025-Recovery-Plan-Performance-Report
Cincinnati_LFRF_8.19.2024 OHIO ARPA Tracker
Funding Priorities for Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund 3.24.21
Funding Priorities for Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund 4.8.21
Update Coronavirus Funds 4.30.21_compressed
Funding Priorities for Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Attachment reconciliation highlighted
P_E_Report_Quarter_3_2025__April_-_June_
P_E_Report-Quarter_1_2022__January-March_
P_E_Report-Quarter_1_2023__January-March_
P_E_Report-Quarter_1_2024__January-March_
P_E_Report-Quarter_1_2025__January-March_
P_E_Report-Quarter_2_2022__April-June_
P_E_Report-Quarter_2_2023__April_-June_
P_E_Report-Quarter_2_2024__April-June_
P_E_Report-Quarter_3_2022__July-September_
P_E_Report-Quarter_3_2023__July-September_
P_E_Report-Quarter_3_2024__July-September_
P_E_Report-Quarter_4_2022__October-December_
P_E_Report-Quarter_4_2023__October-December_
P_E_Report-Quarter_4_2024__October-December_
https://www.ohiopovertylawcenter.org/ohio-arpa-tracker
The sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway
Given current controversy about the city’s inability to use the railway trust proceeds in a timely way, questions are resurfacing about the sale of the CSR. So, I will be using this folder to post CSR-related documents. Beginning with an FAQ that the Board of Trustees published in February 2023.
CSR Board FAQs 2.6.23_compressed
Cincinnati Tax Matters
2132 T TTB city council 12.14.22
90-2022 TTB Ordinance 12.14.22
For over 20 years, the city kept its share of the property tax assessments “rolled back” from the 6.1 mills maximum established by the city charter.
In 2022, just before the increased property assessments took effect, the city council quickly and quietly eliminated the roll back and increased the operating millage rate to the maximum. There is some interesting history there that I will be reporting on soon in Episode 41 of” Citizen Watchdog with Todd Zinser.”
But to give you a sense of City Hall’s current philosophy when it comes to taxes, I am posting a page out of the city manager’s November 30, 2022, memo in which she recommended eliminating the roll back. The city council approved and the mayor signed the elimination of the rollback on December 14, 2022.
On page 3 of the memo, the city manager states:
“The current practice of setting the millage rate based on a fixed amount of revenue does not allow the city to experience revenue growth as the tax base grows.”
In other words, the city has been deprived of the experience of a property tax increase for way too long. As a result of that annoying rollback, the city is losing out on a whole lot of taxpayer money. So, let’s eliminate it. At least that is my interpratation of the memo.
The city manager’s memo and the ordinance signed by the mayor are posted above.
Local government fraud and corruption reports from across the U.S.
I am just beginning to populate this folder with fraud reports about other jurisdictions. The thinking is that those frauds occurring in other U.S. cities could also be happening in Cincinnati. So, let’s keep track of some of the fraud schemes out there that have been perpetrated on state and local governments and government subsidiaries to help increase fraud awareness.
As the well known quote goes, when asked why he robs banks, Willie Sutton is reported to have said, “Because that’s where the money is.”
That is now the situation we are in at all levels of government. “That is where the money is.”
The inital post in this folder is a June 2025 compilation by the Cato Institute of 15 local government corruption cases. The article includes a good chart listing the 15 cases. Other cases will be added periodically.
NYCHA bribery crackdown ends with convictions of all 70 workers charged – Gothamist
Local Government Corruption_ 15 Case Studies _ Cato at Liberty Blog
“He Claimed 5000 Meals a Day. Now He’s Guilty of Fraud” (Minneapolis) (9.20.25)
Feds ask Mississippi to repay $101 million in misspent welfare money – Mississippi Today
SF corruption scandal_ Prison time handed to restaurateur for bribes
Former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao indicted on bribery charges _ Oakland _ The Guardian
South Texas town’s bribery scandal lands official in prison