Third Public Hearing on 2009 Budget Shows the Public Frustrated and Upset at Proposed Cuts

The third and final public hearing on the 2009 proposed budget for Hamilton County was held last night at Cincinnati State and Technical College. The Conference Center was packed with concerned citizens, employees of the Sheriff's Department, and employees of Hamilton County Job and Family Services (JFS). Almost every speaker raised objections to the proposed cuts in the areas of public safety, public services, and to the Queensgate Jail which would lead to its closure.

Commissioner Todd Portune called the meeting to order at 6:35PM and opened with comments outlining the process of considering the budget and laying out the ground rules for those who wished to give public comment. This was followed by an hour and a half of speakers who shared their concerns and solutions to the proposed budget. Making their presence known in large numbers for the third straight meeting were members of the Sheriff's Department and their families. These individuals raised concerns over cuts in public safety and the proposed closure of the Queensgate jail facility.

Corporal Michael Steers was the first of the evening to comment. He told the Commissioners that closing Queensgate will embolden crime and result in an exodus of Hamilton County residents to the perceived "safer" neighboring counties of Warren and Butler. Steers went on to speak about those in the Sheriff's Office whose job is on the line and then promised the Commissioners: "If you fail to act, we all will work tirelessly to make sure you join all those on the unemployment line." This comment received a thirty second standing ovation from the crowd, the largest crowd outburst of the night.

Many other officers took the floor, echoing the concerns of Steers and raising the issue of just how safe citizens of Hamilton County will be if such cuts in public safety are implemented. Rebecca Schweitzer, a mother of 3 police officers, echoed this sentiment begging the Commissioners not to take away resident's "front door" of safety.

Also present at this final public hearing were employees of the Hamilton County JFS and citizens concerned with a cut in funding to a so-called social safety net. According to one employee from the agency, 178 employees of JFS have already been laid off and up to another 180 are expected to be laid off between now and 2010. Local author and community activist Dan LaBotz spoke about such concerns and urged the Commissioners to join with other counties throughout the State to request Federal dollars to fully fund services like those provided by JFS. LaBotz argued that since JFS is first in line to provide social welfare, they should be fully funded during times of economic hardship when the public will be relying on these services the most. "This is a moment in history to be in the streets and to get your unions active," LaBotz said, "Unions were created to fight for the workers." LaBotz even floated the idea of a sit-in by the employees of JFS (similar to the sit-in this last week by Chicago employees) in order to get the results that will benefit the public.

After the period of public comment concluded, each Commissioner gave their comments and hinted at some recommendations that they would be proposing to amend the proposed budget. Commissioner Pat DeWine read off a list of areas from which he believes money can be reallocated to lessen the blow to cuts in public safety. This list included reallocating money away from the Chamber of Commerce, development of new small business centers, and the elimination of the receptionist position in their own office. DeWine claims his recommendations will add up to $3.2 million in money that can be used toward lessening the blow to public safety. Regarding the closure of the Queensgate facility, DeWine stated that there are legal questions as to whether the County can even get out of the lease for the property, so it may be necessary to put off closing the facility so that the County is not paying for a building that is not in use.

Commissioner David Pepper echoed many of the ideas put forth by DeWine including not taking on any new business development funds at a time when public safety programs are under such a threat of being cut. Pepper responded to those who raised objections to the staff levels of the Commissioners and the overall sacrifice of the Commissioners by saying that they have taken a "hacksaw to the 6th Floor" and that they would continue to make cuts on their end to share the sacrifice. Pepper also suggested a ten day furlough for the Commissioners and even opening up the websites of the County to house web advertisements from local business to raise extra revenue. Pepper thanked members of unions who were present at the meeting and who spoke on behalf of their employees. "We have some members of AFSCME here," Pepper said referring to the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees who represent employees of the Hamilton County JFS. No one that spoke at this hearing however, identified themselves as either a member of AFSCME or as a leader of AFSCME speaking on behalf of employees at JFS. As has been reported previously, it appears that employees of JFS have tried to organize greater support on their own, but have yet to receive much help in organizing from AFSCME. I have contacted the Regional Director of AFSCME, Peter McLinden, to answer some questions about these issues, but he has not responded at the time of this article.

Commissioner Todd Portune closed the hearing with his own comments and directly addressed those concerned with the cuts to the JFS workforce and to the public services that JFS provides. Portune stated that all three Commissioners have been lobbying hard with both the State and Federal Government regarding the County's All-Funds budget, but that Gov. Strickland has announced another $700 million in cuts that will make it difficult for JFS to be funded. "For those who have asked us to do more in that area, we are doing what we can to stop the bleeding, but when our General Fund is down $30 million we can't replace the JFS funding with General Fund dollars," Portune stated, "There is a sense of inevitability to some of these cuts." Portune did speak of his meetings with Building and Trade Union leadership and announced that they have agreed to re-open contracts, forgo raises, and accept furloughs to lessen cuts. Portune is calling on all unions, including AFSCME, to follow suit. "My concern on layoffs is that the amount of layoffs would negatively affect the County's economic development." Portune stated. Portune also called for each agency to post a list of employees who have been laid off and who would have not been laid off but for the cuts in the proposed budget. Portune suggests that these lists could be used to re-call employees once the economy rebounds.

The Board of Commissioners expects to adopt a 2009 budget next week and will be posting their recommendations to the current proposed budget on the Hamilton County website sometime today. Unanimous passage is what the Commissioners are hoping for, but the budget will be passed by majority if necessary.

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Hamilton County Citizens Voice Opposition to Proposed Budget at Second Public Hearing

Concerned Hamilton County citizens packed into the Drake Center on Wednesday night for the County Commissioner's second public hearing to discuss the proposed 2009 Budget for Hamilton County. The seating options were quickly exhausted as the start of the hearing approached and by the time the President of the Board, Todd Portune, called the hearing to order at 6:39PM people were standing three-deep against the back wall and other were still struggling to get in.

Commissioner Portune opened the hearing by summarizing the goals of the Board in adopting a budget for 2009 and the goals of the public hearings. Portune stated that the Board's adopted goals are to balance the budget, reduce crime, and enhance the quality of life in Hamilton County. He acknowledged grave challenges during these times of economic hardship, and stressed that the recommended General Fund budget is $30 million less than in 2008. Portune stated that the Board is looking at creative ways to come up with money so that they will not have to cut as many pubic services, but he stated that they will not balance the budget by issuing tax increases or new taxes on citizens of the County.

The three main areas of debate that have proved to be hot button issues with the public are the decrease in Sheriff and Deputy patrols and their subsequent transference of cost to townships, the closure of the Queensgate Jail, and the severity in the number of layoffs of County employees and the effect this will have on the services that these agencies will be able to provide. These main areas of contention were evident by the presence of numerous uniformed members of the Sheriff's Office at the hearing and the overall number of people who waited to address the Board of Commissioners.
Administrator Patrick Thompson stated just prior to the public taking the floor, "This is not a feel good budget and many recommendations are unprecedented, but there is no precedent for these times."

The next two hours proved not to be a "feel good" time for the Commissioners as speaker after speaker stepped up to the microphone to voice their opposition to the cuts that are being proposed for 2009. Members of the Sheriff's Office and their families were a large percentage of those who spoke over the course of the two and a half hour meeting and while many acknowledged that these are trying economic times, the Officers opposed cutting money from patrols citing concerns about public safety. "Your actions have kept the bad guys out of jail and kept the good guys out of work," stated a Corporal from the Sheriff's Office. Another Deputy stated, "If you go through with those cuts, you will prove you are not tough on crime, but tough on crime fighters."

Also making a noticeable presence at the hearing were members of the Hamilton County Job and Family Services (JFS). Suhitha Wickrema, an employee of JFS, was first to speak and raised concerns about how cutting jobs at his agency would affect the of the services that they provide. "In August of 2008, there were 85,000 individuals receiving food stamps," Wickrema stated, "This is an increase of 6% from the same period in 2007." Wickrema argued that it is statistics like these that prove why the JFS budget should be increased as opposed to being cut. Later in the meeting, another JFS worker, who had just been laid off after 14 years and five months of service, took the floor. She told stories of other co-workers that have shared her own fate. She spoke of a recently laid off JFS employee who has two special needs children and will more than likely need to benefit from the services that JFS provides, the same services that she provided to others prior to her job loss. The speaker also told of the story of a JFS employee who had been employed for 29 years and two months and who was recently told to pack her belongings in a box and leave the building in a half hour. This woman was ten months away from retirement.

One of the most lively exchanges of the evening was when Kathy King stepped up to the microphone and asked the Board to correct her if she wrong on the points that she wanted to make. She asked how the Board justifies increasing their own expenditures while the County is being asked to cut back and she asked why Administrator Patrick Thompson apparently gets bonuses for laying people off. This elicited a response from Todd Portune, "No ma'am," responded Portune to the latter question. A few people shouted out from the crowd as King fired back, "How about for cutting costs?" Portune responded, "There are performance clauses in Mr. Thompson's contract..." at this point the crowd in the room began to shout at the Board, drowning out Portune's response. After Portune called for order and the crowd quieted down, he finished his response and insisted that the insinuation that Patrick Thompson benefits financially from cutting County jobs, is false.

As this second public hearing came to a close and as the final hearing approaches next Wednesday, it is clear that the public is largely unsatisfied and very frustrated with the 2009 Proposed Budget. The County Commissioners hold one final public hearing next Wednesday at which the goal will be to consider a recommended budget. The Board has until December 31 to pass the 2009 budget and Commissioner Portune stated that they plan on adopting a budget on either December 12 or December 22. It seems that with only a maximum of a few weeks that remain for public comment on the proposed budget, there is little time to find a solution that will generate the type of revenue that will allow the County to refrain from cutting the services that the public does not want cut. With such little time left, it will be important to hear from those who have yet to make their voice heard on these issues. There is one final public hearing remaining. The information regarding this final hearing is below:

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
3520 Central Parkway
Cincinnati, Ohio 45223-2690

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