Cincinnati Tax Matters

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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.

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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.

 

https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/cleveland/news/2025/12/23/judge-leslie-ann-celebrezze-pleads?cid=share_clip

 

Southern District of Ohio _ Former Clermont housing official pleads guilty to federal program theft _ United States Department of Justice

 

District of Minnesota _ Former President and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce Pleads Guilty to Fraud _ United States Department of Justice

 

NYCHA bribery crackdown ends with convictions of all 70 workers charged – Gothamist

 

Local Government Corruption_ 15 Case Studies _ Cato at Liberty Blog

 

Northern District of Ohio _ Former Cleveland City Council Member Charged with Bribery and Fraud _ United States Department of Justice

 

“He Claimed 5000 Meals a Day. Now He’s Guilty of Fraud” (Minneapolis) (9.20.25)

Minneapolis Food Fraud_

 

Feds ask Mississippi to repay $101 million in misspent welfare money – Mississippi Today

 

https://abc7.com/post/disgraced-former-la-city-councilman-jose-huizar-due-to-begin-prison-sentence/15401128/

 

SF corruption scandal_ Prison time handed to restaurateur for bribes

 

Former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao indicted on bribery charges _ Oakland _ The Guardian

 

District of Massachusetts _ Former Boston City Councilor Sentenced to Prison for Federal Public Corruption Charges _ United States Department of Justice

 

South Texas town’s bribery scandal lands official in prison

 

 

Contractual Documents and Invoices re: Cincinnati’s Public Safety Consultant Iris Roley

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VENDOR TRANSACTION HISTORY

VEND_TRAN_HIST__4_- Excell spreadsheet for Iris Roley listing 36 invoices and  payments totalling $382,194.97 for the period 4.7.22 through 12.30.24 

 

CONTRACTS

11.6.25 Iris-Roley-contract third amendment

 

Current:   Iris_Roley_PSC_101_35X051_Second_Amendment_-_FINAL   (May 1, 2024 through April 2027)

 

11.8.24 PSC_101_35X051_-_First_Amendement_-_Iris_Roley_-_FINAL (amends the contract to provide funding for the “Government Square Intiative.”)

 

5.4.23 Iris Roley contract for 2 year period May 2023 through April 2025  PSC_101_35X051_-_FINAL

 

2.15.22 Acting City Manager Memo re Iris Roley contract 2.15.22

 

2.7.22 Iris Roley Contract intial contract for the 9 month  period February 2022 – October 2022 PSC_101_25x075_-_FINAL

 

INVOICES

The city’s contracts with Iris Roley LLC required “detailed timekeeping” and “activity logs” submitted monthly.

The records provided in response to my records requests included  34 invoices covering parts of 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025  and the Gov’t Sq. Initiative for 2024 totalling $297,386

2022 Iris Roley LLC Invoices

2023 Iris Roley LLC Invoices

2024 Iris Roley LLC Invoices

2025 Iris Roley LLC Invoices

Govt Square Initiative Invoices for 2024

 

Class Action Lawsuit – 2020 Cincinnati Riots

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These documents include a copy of the original complaint filed against the city in the U.S. Distruct Court for Southern Ohio; the settlement agreement; and the proposed ordinance approving the $8.1 million payout for the settlement. The proposed ordinance will be voted upon at the city council meeting on December 10, 2025.

 

Cincinnati Riot Lawsuit_ Original Complaint

Cincinnati Riot Lawsuit Settlement Agreement

Cincinnati Riot Settlement_Ordinance

 

Assorted Financial Disclosure Reports for Cincinnati Officials

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As the examination of an official’s public disclosure reports seems relevant, they will be posted here. Information about how to obtain disclosure reports directly from the Ohio Commission on Ethics can be found at: https://ethics.ohio.gov/fds/index.html

Mayor Pureval

Pureval, Aftab 2022  Pureval, Aftab 2023  Pureval, Aftab 2024

Cincinnati Administrative Regulations – Watchdog Edition (November 2025)

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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 public records request fulfilled on November 20, 2025. Its purpose is to offer a clear, searchable reference that enhances transparency, supports public understanding, and assists anyone seeking insight into the City’s administrative framework. As additional regulations are released or amended, future editions may be prepared to reflect updates. This publication is provided as a public service by The Cincinnati Oversight Project.

Navigation Note:

This is the first public release of the complete Administrative Regulations of the City of Cincinnati. In a future update, we plan to add bookmarks and other internal navigation tools to make the document easier to move through. For now, this Watchdog Edition provides the full set of regulations, organized, indexed, and optimized for public access

Reports from Cincinnati’s Internal Auditor

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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 of interest, they will be posted here.

 

REDI Cincinnati Contract Compliance Audit (1)

 

Vehicle Purchase and Replacement Audit (1)

 

Lead Service Line Replacement Program Audit

 

The WIC Program Audit 

 

 

 

 

Open Records Laws and Regulations in Ohio and Cincinnati

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This folder will collect information about the laws, rules, and regulations for making requests for public records in Ohio and Cincinnati. The collection will begin with the Ohio Attorney General’s 2025 Manual on Ohio Sunshine Laws.

As I noted in a recent Facebook post, I will need to make a public records request for Cincinnati’s Administrative Regulation No. 32, “Public Records Request,” and will include the regulation in this folder, if/when I obtain a copy.

 

2025-Sunshine-Law-Manual_WEB

Cleveland study finds 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

Collaborative Agreement and Refresh

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The Collaborative Agreement was the result of the settlement of a federal complaint against the City of Cincinnati by the ACLU and the Cincinnati Black United Front. It was agreed to in April 2002 for a 5 year period. The complaint concerned allegations against the Cincinnati Police stemming from the 2001 riots in Cincinnati. The Collaborative Agreement has governed the relationship between the police and the community since then based on the city’s desire to maintain community policing.

Episode 27 includes a discussion of the Collaborative and the city’s “Collaborative Agreement Sustainability Initiatives Consultant.”  As documents related to Collaborative Agreement come to my attention, they will be posted here.

Collaborative-Agreement

Collaborative Agreement Timeline

Memo re Iris Roley contract 2.15.22

Contact Us – Police

Collaborative Agreement Sustainability Agreement Mananger selection 9.5.18

collaborative path forward memo 2.12.19

collaborative refresh memo and Saul Green contract June 2, 2017

collaborative refresh plan update 2019