[{"_1":2,"_95":-5,"_96":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,85],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6329029,"mediaKeyId","2316571-852092891401f26ae4f9451a1bc672c3","parentId",2316571,"title","Cincinnati City Council approves prior minutes without objection, moves through brief agenda; staff announces office closure and new hire","audioSeconds",93,"startMs",2249000,"endMs",2342000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2316571-852092891401f26ae4f9451a1bc672c3&start=2249&end=2342","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6329029/Ohio/Cincinnati-City-Council-approves-prior-minutes-without-objection-moves-through-brief-agenda-staff-announces-office-closure-and-new-hire","mediaUrl","author","City Council of Cincinnati OH","date","2025-02-12T00:00:00Z","article","At the start of the council meeting, the clerk called the roll and the council approved and filed the minutes from the previous meeting “without objection.” The clerk then moved to the agenda and noted items 1 through 8 as indicated; the chair described the meeting as “a very brief council meeting” and concluded the business portion of the agenda.

City Manager Long announced that city offices will be closed on Monday, February 17. Council member Nolan announced the hiring of a new staff member, Beck Fischer, who previously worked on political campaigns and served as a campaign manager for the vice mayor.

Council members also offered short statements condemning the recent neo‑Nazi demonstration in Lincoln Heights. Council member Albee said, “I think, I can probably speak on behalf of, us council when we say Nazis are bad,” and Mayor Aftab described planned steps to protect residents and to review ordinances and deployments in response to the incident.

President Pro Tem Parks was excused from the meeting, and the minutes and routine administrative business were approved or noted without formal roll‑call votes beyond attendance. The meeting moved on to the Citizens Forum and public comment.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Cincinnati OH, City Council Meeting (February 12, 2025)","oneSentenceSummary","Council approved minutes from the previous meeting without objection, noted agenda items 1–8 as indicated, and heard brief administrative announcements: the city office will be closed Monday, Feb. 17, and a new staff member, Beck Fischer, has joined a council office.","taxTitle","Cincinnati City Council, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio","taxId",72652,"location","Ohio","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6329035,"Residents criticize limits on public comment, allege property liens and discriminatory inspections; request masked open‑carry ban",700,35000,735000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2316571-852092891401f26ae4f9451a1bc672c3&start=35&end=735","/articles/6329035/Ohio/Residents-criticize-limits-on-public-comment-allege-property-liens-and-discriminatory-inspections-request-masked-opencarry-ban","Multiple residents used the Citizens Forum to register complaints about how public comment is handled at council meetings, to report personal property and enforcement grievances, and to request new local ordinances.

Linda Kamhi (identified in the transcript as a citizen speaker) said she had signed up to speak at a prior meeting but was not allowed under what she described as the mayor’s “new policy this year limiting public comment.” Kamhi also asserted that “in 2024, Aftab was absent for 7 of the 40 citizen forums, which is 17.5% of public comment,” and asked why voters should support a mayor who does not attend forums regularly.

A different speaker described a property dispute he said began after his mother’s hospice stay: he said a city lien tied to Medicaid was placed on his property and had grown to about $19,000. The speaker said he had paperwork showing the hospice agreed to pay for part of the stay and asked council to help remove what he called “illegal debt” from his property; council staff (Noah) was asked to follow up.

Sanford Poole, introduced by staff, accused the building department and law department of disproportionately citing and pressuring residents in Black neighborhoods, saying officials use fines and title demands to transfer property to developers. Poole framed the practice as racially targeted and urged council to stop what he described as exploitation of poor residents.

Eric Ruffin described an incident on a bridge where he said he was forced to draw his firearm after being targeted and told the council: “Anyone carrying an open firearm should be man enough to not have a mask. Anyone that wants to openly carry, you should not ... cover your face.” He asked council to consider an ordinance barring people who openly carry firearms from covering their faces. City staff responded at the forum that several ordinances are under consideration and asked Ruffin to share his information with staff member Chaka to aid drafting and follow up.

Speakers also raised concerns about vacant building registration fees, maintenance fines and potholes; one speaker asked council not to use the railway trust to fund the proposed program and urged the council to let the City on Track plan proceed without diversion of those funds.

The items raised in public comment generated no formal votes at the meeting; staff were asked repeatedly to collect follow‑up information for later council consideration.","Speakers at the Citizens Forum raised multiple grievances about the city's public‑comment procedures, alleged an illegal Medicaid lien on private property, criticized building‑department enforcement in Black neighborhoods, and requested an ordinance to ban masked open carry of firearms.",{"_33":86,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":87,"_41":88,"_43":89,"_45":90,"_47":91,"_49":50,"_51":92,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":93,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":94,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6329040,"Residents, faith and civic leaders urge Cincinnati City Council to condemn neo‑Nazi display in Lincoln Heights, call for protections",1587,944000,2531000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2316571-852092891401f26ae4f9451a1bc672c3&start=944&end=2531","/articles/6329040/Ohio/Residents-faith-and-civic-leaders-urge-Cincinnati-City-Council-to-condemn-neoNazi-display-in-Lincoln-Heights-call-for-protections","During the Cincinnati City Council Citizens Forum, residents and community leaders urged the council to formally condemn a recent neo‑Nazi demonstration in Lincoln Heights and to take steps to protect residents and pursue criminal accountability.

Speakers said the display of Nazi symbols and a banner reading, in their words, “America for the white man,” threatened public safety and echoed genocidal rhetoric. Werner Lang, chair of the Ohio Peace Council, called the event “a moral outrage” and asked the council to “unanimously pass a resolution condemning this brazen advocacy of genocide and call for their criminal” prosecution.

The push for an explicit council response came from several community members and faith leaders who framed the demonstration as part of a larger pattern of rising local hate incidents and as related to broader international concerns raised by other speakers. Dania Hantouche said raids in the West Bank continued during a so‑called ceasefire and described the pattern as “the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people,” while noting that U.S. approvals of military aid to Israel exceed billions of dollars.

Several speakers praised Council member Scotty Johnson for publicly condemning violence and for speaking with the Palestinian community. Lena Zareub thanked Johnson and asked why other elected officials had not offered similar statements.

Council leaders responded later in the meeting. Mayor Aftab said city officials and the city manager “have been, in meetings together, since the hate, brought on by the Nazis, to ensure that our response ... is, number 1, meant to protect our residents, and number 2, meant to combat that kind of racism and hate.” The mayor said the city would review ordinances and public‑safety deployments while respecting constitutional rights to demonstrate and free speech.

Speakers urged additional steps ranging from a formal council resolution to criminal investigation and prosecution of those who displayed racist symbols. Werner Lang also said perpetrators had not yet been identified or arrested.

The comments closed with repeated appeals for unity and concrete action; Mayor Aftab and the city manager said they had already begun meetings to plan next steps, including possible ordinance reviews and deployment strategies to protect neighborhoods.

The council did not take a vote on a resolution during the meeting; speakers asked the council to consider formal action at a future session.","Speakers at the Citizens Forum pressed Cincinnati City Council to denounce a neo‑Nazi demonstration in Lincoln Heights, to pursue criminal identification and prosecution of participants, and to take steps — including ordinance reviews and public‑safety deployments — to protect vulnerable communities.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Cincinnati City Council approves prior minutes without objection, moves through brief agenda; staff announces office closure and new hire

Residents criticize limits on public comment, allege property liens and discriminatory inspections; request masked open‑carry ban

Residents, faith and civic leaders urge Cincinnati City Council to condemn neo‑Nazi display in Lincoln Heights, call for protections