CINCINNATI — Aftab Pureval released Thursday his first city budget as mayor.
The 2023 recommended fiscal year budget is a total of $1.5 billion. It does not include any major cuts or layoffs and does not defund the police.
“Our budget is a reflection of our values and our priorities," Pureval said. "Thanks to clear and transparent cooperation between this Council, my office, and the City Administration, we have a community-informed budget that helps drive Cincinnati towards a bright future."
The budget includes funding for two recruit classes each for police and fire. Both departments have struggled with staffing shortages as attrition outpaces new hiring.
It also includes an increase in funding for human services.
The city will use money from the American Rescue Plan to keep the budget balanced — $14 million in ARP money will go towards deferred maintenance. However, that money will not cover a majority of the projects that need to be done.
“If we used all of the federal funds we had on deferred maintenance, it wouldn’t be enough,” Pureval said. “The hole that we’re in on deferred maintenance is extraordinary. What we have tried to do is put a balance towards strategic investment to grow our economy and grow our city while also having a high priority for capital infrastructure investments.”
The budget allocates $2 million to help relocate the Cincinnati Police Department shooting range.
Another $7 million will be used to create “ready to build” sites as a way to attract high-tech manufacturing companies to the Tri-State, capitalizing on Intel’s move to Ohio.
The full budget can be viewed here.
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