CINCINNATI — From health and safety to the roads everyone drives on, Hamilton County leaders gave residents their first look at the proposed 2023 budget at Thursday's commissioner meeting.
"This budget is financially solid, structurally balanced," said County Administrator Jeff Aluotto, who presented the budget. "It invests in technology and powers some of our most critical functions."
The budget is divided into two categories: All-Funds and General Fund. The All-Funds Budget is $1.2 billion, while the General Fund Budget is around $352.2 million.
The general fund represents the primary operating fund of the county and must be balanced every year. It supports mandated services such as managing 911 and emergency communications, elections and more. It does not support things like development at The Banks, stadium operations or social services such as Hamilton County JFS.
The 2023 budget addresses some of the top priorities of the Board of County Commissioners, including public safety, equity and inclusion and community revitalization. Approximately 40% of the general fund will go toward public safety.
Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey told commissioners in September her office is desperate for more money to be able to keep the community and the facilities safe.
"Major expenditure drivers, criminal justice and public safety is in fact 73% of our general fund," Aluotto said.
McGuffey didn’t get as much as she was hoping for, which was $106 million. Instead, the budget allocates $95.4 million to the operations of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. It does, however, fund a new dash camera program that McGuffey requested.
"We need those dash cams. You may say, 'Well you have body cameras so why do you need dash cams?' You need dash cams because body cams don’t capture everything," McGuffey said. "It’s going to have a lot of extra information for the public. Again, it goes to accountability and transparency."
$15.4 million will go toward addressing security issues at the justice facility. This includes money to address the lock systems and exterior windows.
The budget also supports the opening of 90 additional beds in the Hamilton County Justice Center, which will allow the county to offer treatment to inmates with mental health or substance abuse issues. It includes a general wage increase of 3.5% along with an additional 1% to be allocated on a one-time basis based on performance.
There will be a series of public hearings before commissioners vote on the final budget in December.
You can look at the entire 2023 budget proposal breakdown here.
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