An Apology At City Hall?

Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell would like to hear someone say they're sorry. Well, sort of.

Chairman of council's arts committee and generally regarded as one of the biggest supporters of the arts in Cincinnati for decades, he's feeling a little stung by the weeks of debate over his plan to give $3.8 million to arts groups for capital projects.

He said he asked Chris Bortz, a fellow Charterite, for an apology, but said Wednesday he really was looking for more of an explanation from Bortz or any of the rest of the four (Jeff Berding, Leslie Ghiz, and Laketa Cole) who favored their own plan to spend $4 million. That plan did not include anything for smaller arts groups nor for parades and special events.

If you haven't been following the issue, Tarbell's plan originally gave $800,000 each to Music Hall, the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati History Museum and the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. It also proposed to create a new fund of $600,000 for smaller arts groups to share. That money also would pay for some parades and festivals.

Part of that plan passed Wednesday after a dizzying back-and-forth battle over whether it should have been voted on or not. Tarbell pushed; Mallory said no. Tarbell pushed again; Mallory said it was holding, again. Finally, after aides for Tarbell, Cranley and Crowley buzzed around council chambers consulting with Solicitor Rita McNeil, the vice mayor pulled out Article 54 of some such city rulebook, which allowed him to - and no one could remember this happening in years - appeal the mayor's decision to hold the item. With his vote and four others (from Chris Monzel, John Cranley, David Crowley and Cecil Thomas), the appeal passed. Then the plan passed too.

But back to the apology-type thing. Tarbell says what he really wanted - and still would be interested in hearing - is an explanation of the Bortz/Berding/Ghiz/Cole strategy.

"I'm looking for some kind of sign from them that they knew what they were doing and that they had a reason for it," the vice mayor said after the contentious meeting.

He said he pushed so hard for the vote Wednesday because he knew he had the five votes he needed to give $800,000 each to all but the freedom center and to create the $600,000 fund. Those two issues will be voted on separately. He went ahead for three of his five pieces, he said, because he was afraid minds would change again and then the arts groups would be without any of it.

Cole, who was out of town and missed the meeting, was surprised and disappointed when reached tonight. Last she heard, she said, there was a new deal that everyone planned to agree on.