Berding on Balanced Budget

Here's something Jeff Berding wants you to know:

Council Commits to Real Balanced Budget in 2008
New law ensures City doesn’t spend more than it brings in


Cincinnati City Council unanimously passed a law last week ensuring that the City will not spend more than it expects to bring in during 2008. The new law also establishes a policy for spending unexpected revenue at the end of each year, a situation that was highly contentious at the end of 2006. The new policy, authored by Councilman Jeff Berding, ensures that the City will first build up their reserves to a minimum standard before spending year-end unexpected revenues. Additionally, once the City reserves meet the new threshold, any additional spending by Council is restricted to one time non-recurring expenditures that will not increase future operating costs.

For the last several years the City’s expenditures have been outpacing revenues, and the City has been able to balance its budget only by drawing down on the savings garnered in years past. The prior year carryover at the end of 1999 was $26.3M. In contrast, the budgeted carryover from 2007 to 2008 is down to only $2M.

Berding said, “This Council will be the first in many years forced to live within its means, and it is imperative that we do so to avoid being penalized from bond agencies. In addition, this new law will force Council to be honest with the public about our finances, and cause Council members to focus our money on our core mission of making the City safe and clean, reducing blight and improving neighborhood services. We will also end our reliance on unpredictable and often volatile unbudgeted revenues as funding sources for programs that cannot be sustained long-term, a practice that is bad policy and unfair to those who count on the funding.”

“Prior Councils worked hard to build up our reserves, and we should make the same investment in the future for our kids' sake. This good government policy starts by enacting laws to ensure Council never again spends more than it takes in.”


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