CINCINNATI — Cincinnati voters approved the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway Tuesday. So what happens next?
The city said the sale is set to close in March, then City Council will be able to start allocating money from the sale for Fiscal Year 2026.
State law mandates the money be used on existing infrastructure projects.
During the campaign, some expressed concerns about how the money would be spent. Former Cincinnati Vice Mayor, Christopher Smitherman, is still concerned.
“Politicians do a lot to get things passed and then once they’re passed, they do the exact opposite of it," Smitherman said.
Some groups expressed specific concerns about whether the money would be spent in their neighborhood.
“The city manager put out a 10-year plan that very clearly lays out where the money could be spent and where the priorities for the administration are for the $400 million deficit on our capital funds side," said Cincinnati Mayor, Aftab Pureval.
This 10-year plan includes citywide projects and projects in specific neighborhoods, including recreation center projects in West Price Hill and Sedamsville, several health center projects in Lower Price Hill and a public services project in South Cumminsville.
“I don’t want to hear conversations about streetcars, I don’t want to hear conversations about the arena. Grandma and Grandpa need their streets fixed, they’re driving across potholes. That’s what they said they were going to do across our 52 neighborhoods and that’s what I expect them to do," Smitherman said.
For Pureval, potholes is a focus.
“For me, personally, I think the priority consistent with that plan is getting our paved road miles up to 100 miles as opposed to 20 miles," Pureval said.
City Council sets the budget each year, so it ultimately has the final say on what projects are funded by the railway sale.
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and two other councilmembers also introduced a motion before the electionthat focuses on equity when spending this money.
For Smitherman, he's worried this could be a trend.
“(I hope) that we don’t continue to see this pattern of selling off our assets," he said.
The Board of Trustees for the railway said the next step since the approval of the sale is to choose an investment advisor. The board's next meeting is Tuesday afternoon.
