Black on spending the $19M surplus: Bank it, help police

Cincinnati ran a $19 million surplus, money the city manager wants to spend to help police and bolster the city's "rainy day" fund.

There have been hints for weeks that the city would see a large surplus from the fiscal year 2015 budget which ended June 30. On Tuesday City Manager Harry Black announced the amount: $19 million – topping last year's $18 million.

City Manager Harry Black is recommending the city save $12 million for a "rainy day" and put $5.2 million into the police department, Among the smaller spending recommendations: $50,000 for the drug Narcan, which revives people from heroin overdoses; $125,000 to convert Main Street north of 12th Street into a two-way street

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Cincinnati City Council will ultimately decided how to spend the money.

"The City is fortunate to be in the position of having greater than anticipated revenue," Black wrote in a memo to City Council. "It is incumbent upon us to utilize these resources prudently. Overall, these recommendations continue our work to improve the City’s long-term financial position while providing opportunities to fund critically important immediate needs."

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Councilman Christopher Smitherman, chairman of Council's Law and Public Safety Committee, called the recommendations "a commitment to law enforcement."

"I think it’s lining up with the values of voters," Smitherman said. "They see the increase in shootings and they are asking their public policy makers to respond and prioritize it. And we are."

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Budget Director Chris Bigham explained the city expected to have a $3.1 million carryover. The additional surplus comes from $11.8 million in extra revenue; $2.3 million in savings and $1.8 million that was set aside for purchases, but not spent.

The surplus comes as the city is asking citizens to pass a permanent Parks Levy, which would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $35 a year. The property tax would be written into the city’s charter and would raise $5.5 million a year.

In the memo, Black suggested:

• $12 million for the city's reserve fund.  
• $2 million for body cameras. The city missed out on a grant to help pay for the cameras, but Council unanimously agrees the city needs them.
• $2 million for technology so officers can write reports from their cruisers. Now, in many cases officers are forced to return to districts to write reports, taking them away from policing. Council has already approved the purchase and the department is researching the best systems. 
• $500,000 for police overtime. This money for hot-spot policing comes as the city is experiencing a 26 percent spike in shootings.
• $200,000 for a witness protection program. Too many times witnesses don't want to talk. This will help, police said.
• $150,000 for a police data scientist and computer equipment.
• $150,000 for more Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence outreach workers.
• $50,000 to re-start mounted patrol. The unit was disbanded several years ago, but ahead of the MLB All-Star game the public clamored to bring the popular unit back and promises were made that city would.
• $175,000 for the office of re-entry. This money would help the CIRV program which needs resources to help ex-offenders.
• $150,000 for Narcan. Fire union officials have told Council they need this drug to deal with the high number of overdoses they are seeing.
• 625,000 for neighborhoods, including a jobs program for young people, money to help homeless families, a housing study in Walnut Hills and an energy efficiency program.

So where did the money come from?

Fiscal Year 2015 revenues of $370.1 million were above revenue estimates of $358.3 million by $11.8 million – or a 3.3 percent increase.

The good news:

• City income tax came in at $3.9 million or 1.5 percent more than estimated.
• Ohio might have eliminated the estate tax in 2012, but some estates are still closing out. That brought in $1.7 million.
• Admission taxes were $822,000 above estimates due to increased revenue from concerts, sporting events and plays.
• License and permit fees were up $2.5 million mostly due to large-scale building expansions in uptown Cincinnati.
• Fire revenues ended the year up $460,000 due to EMS billings and collections. (The city has a new EMS billing director.)
• The local government fund was up $622,000. Last year it was down by roughly the same amount.

The bad news

• Fines, forfeitures and penalties ended the year $1.1 million below projections -- or 16 percent off estimates. City officials hoped to increase parking revenue by $2 million, but only managed to bring in $900,000.

What's coming in 2016

• The police radios will be obsolete by 2018.
• The fire department is counting on a grant to fund the 2016 40-member recruit class. If the city doesn't get the grant the city will need to find $3.3 million to pay for it or delay it.
• In 2012, the Hamilton County Auditor's Office erroneously paid the city by $6.3 million. An agreement has been reached to repay the money, plus 2 percent interest, beginning in July 2016. The money will be paid over four years.