Tuesday, June 3 2014
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City Budget Meets Challengers Looking for Fiscal Responsibility
Despite Mayor John Cranley trying to fast-track the passage of his city budget, some City Council members are crying foul that it’s the first budget since 2001 to not be structurally sound. The dissenting Council members’ main complaints center around Cranley using one-time revenue sources to balance the budgets that may not be available in the future. In addition to the revenue controversy, the budget cuts $1.6 million to “enterprise technology solutions” that could lead toward software security breaches and compromise health records, income tax returns, traffic lights and other public services.
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Cincinnati WaterWorks Requests Another Rate Increase
According to Business Courier, Cincinnati WaterWorks is ready to raise rates, yet again. This time, they're looking for 7.5% or roughly $17 per household, per year. According to officials, this increase is a result of average usage being down slightly and would allow the organization to maintain a balanced budget and triple-A bond rating. Council reaction was mixed, with some members questioning the annual move to raise rates, year after year. According to Councilman Winburn, rates for the organization have steadily increased 38% for the last 8 years.
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New EPA Guidelines Put Pressure on Ohio to Clean Up its Act
President Barack Obama unveiled new EPA guidelines Monday and put Ohio’s coal-fired power plants under the gun to clean up their acts. The proposal would mandate a 28 percent reduction in carbon emissions per megawatt hour of electricity by 2030, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. Despite being a nationwide proposal, Ohio is particularly hard-hit by these regulations because nearly 70 percent of the state’s energy comes from coal-fired plants.
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Cincinnati Council Considers Domestic Partner Registry
Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach introduced a measure to establish a domestic partnership registry that would help pave the way for same-sex couples to possibly qualify for equal employee benefits. The measure unanimously passed council’s Human Services Committee and is slated to be voted on by full council Wednesday. Couples looking to qualify for the program would need to show strong financial interdependency.
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Campbell County is a Great Place to Flip a House
Reporting on data compiled from RealityTrac, WVXU notes that Campbell County, KY is 4th in the nation for flipping single-family residences. Just behind other ranked counties in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Campbell County met a number of criteria such as: at least 100 single-family residences flipped in the last year; an average return of 30% or more; unemployment rates below the national average, etc.
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