Part 4: Fiscal Responsibility

Just like every other municipality in the United States, Cincinnati is facing a plethora of economic and financial issues. Cincinnati City Council for too long has been acting irresponsibly with our tax dollars, and as a result we are in situations like telling our retired city workers that we will have to renege on the retirement benefits that we have promised them. The time has come for a change on city council and to bring financial stability and responsibility back to city hall.

When I am elected to Cincinnati City Council I will fight for a five percent reduction in pay and in the office budget of the mayor’s office and each city councilperson. If it weren’t for some on city council during the last budget meetings, they would have passed a five percent budget reduction in the office budget for those on city council. Unfortunately we had a couple of council people that felt it was more important to make a political point and “ show who was in charge” rather than do what was best for the citizens of Cincinnati.

I will on city council, fight for those that through their hard work and dedication have earned the retirement that the City of Cincinnati has promised them. Cincinnati City Council must stand by these promises. It is not the fault of the retirees that Cincinnati City Council has mismanaged the city’s retirement program Changes must be made to the program but it should not be at the expense of those that are retired and were already promised their benefits.

How do we pay for this? The answer is through redevelopment. We can pay for this by making our city more business friendly and to make the city more attractive to live in. Taking these steps will increase Cincinnati’s tax base without increasing taxes or cutting vital services to our citizens. Investing in promoting business and population growth in Cincinnati through redevelopment of infrastructure is fiscally responsible.