As Cincinnati officials consider deep budget cuts to avoid a $60 million deficit, one of the early proposals calls for possible layoffs in the Police and Fire departments.
The Charter Committee, Cincinnati's de facto third political party, will host a forum Nov. 17 to outline the problems facing the city. Featured speaker will be Lea Eriksen, Cincinnati's budget director, who will provide background information on municipal finances, and outline the city's revenues and expenses.—-
The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held noon-1:15 p.m. at Garfield Suites hotel, located on Vine Street downtown, across from the main library. Because seating is limited, anyone wishing to attend must RSVP to [email protected].
Billing itself as “the good government people,” Charter was formed in 1924 to help end the corrupt political machine created by "Boss" George Cox that ran City Hall. The group successfully pushed to create the city manager form of government, which was designed to depoliticize the daily administrative tasks of municipal government.
Some critics, however, say an unintended consequence of the city manager form of government in recent years is that it lessens the accountability of the mayor and City Council.
