Work began yesterday on an audit of Cincinnati’s $132.8 million streetcar project, but streetcar supporters are upset the audit will only look at the costs and not the potential return on investment. The city hired KPMG, an auditing firm, to review the streetcar’s completion, cancellation and operating costs by Dec. 19, the day the federal government says it will pull up to $44.9 million in grants funding roughly one-third of the project. Losing the federal funding would most likely act as a death blow for the project, since most local officials — even some streetcar supporters — say they’re unwilling to allocate a similar amount of funding through local sources. Mayor John Cranley and City Council asked for the audit before they decide whether to continue or permanently cancel the project.
Meanwhile, streetcar supporters yesterday kicked off a petition-gathering campaign to get a city charter amendment on the ballot that would task the city with continuing the streetcar project. But given the federal government’s Dec. 19 deadline, it’s unclear whether the ballot measure, which could go to voters as late as May, stands much of a chance. Streetcar supporters say they’ll lobby the federal government to keep the funding on hold until voters make the final decision on the project.
A City Council committee yesterday voted to rescind council’s support for a supportive housing complex in Avondale that would aid chronically homeless, disabled and low-income Cincinnatians. But because National Church Residence already obtained state tax credits for the project in June, it might be able to continue even without council support. The committee’s decision comes in the middle of of a months-long controversy that has placed neighborhood activists and homeless advocates at odds. The full body of City Council could make the final decision on its support for the project as early as today’s 2 p.m. meeting.
City Council could also move today to repeal a “responsible bidder” ordinance that has locked the city and county in conflict over the jointly owned and operated Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD). The conflict comes at a bad time for MSD, which is under a federal mandate to revamp the city’s sewer system. Councilman Chris Seelbach argues the ordinance, which he spearheaded, improves local job training opportunities, but opponents claim it places too much of a burden on businesses and could open the city to lawsuits. CityBeat covered the issue in greater detail here.
Some City Council members are concerned Interim City Manager Scott Stiles’ compensation package could act as a “golden parachute.”
State Sen. Eric Kearney of Cincinnati yesterday resigned as running mate for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald. Kearney’s decision came after media outlets reported that he, his wife and his business had up to $826,000 in unpaid taxes. The controversy grew so thick that Democrats decided Kearney was too much of a distraction in the campaign against Republican Gov. John Kasich.
An Ohio House Republican pitched a proposal that would slightly increase the state’s oil and gas severance tax, but the industry isn’t united in support of the measure. When it was first discussed, the House plan was supposed to act as a downscaled but more palatable version of Gov. Kasich’s proposal, which received wide opposition from the oil and gas industry.
Speaking against a bill that would tighten sentences for nonviolent felony offenders, Ohio’s prison chief said the state is on its way to break an inmate record of 51,273 in July. The state in the past few years attempted to pass sentencing reform to reduce the inmate population and bring down prison costs, but the measures only registered short-term gains. The rising prison population is one reason some advocates call for the legalization and decriminalization of drugs, as CityBeat covered in further detail here.
More than one-third of Ohio third-graders could be held back after they failed the state reading test this fall. But the third-graders will get two more chances in the spring and summer to retake the test. Under a new state law dubbed the “Third Grade Reading Guarantee,” Ohio third-graders who fail the reading test must be held back starting this school year.
Only 5,672 Ohioans signed up for new health plans through the Obamacare marketplace in November. Still, total enrollment in federal marketplaces was four times higher than it was in October as the troubled Obamacare website (HealthCare.gov) improved. Reports indicate the website also vastly improved right before the White House’s self-imposed December deadline to get the website working better.
William Mallory Sr., prominent local politician and ex-Mayor Mark Mallory’s father, died yesterday morning.
A home kit allows anyone to find antibiotics in leaves, twigs, insects and fungi.
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