City Manager presented a recommended $4.5 million public-safety package to the Budget & Finance Committee and answered questions about how the funds would be spent; the committee debated competing amendments and ultimately approved the chair’s motion to move forward with a modified plan.

The manager told the committee the $4.5 million recommendation divides into four broad categories: outreach, curfew and youth services, police staffing/visibility and technology upgrades. Specific line items the manager named included a one-time $880,000 to expand 3CDC’s ambassador program in Over-the-Rhine and the Central Business District; an additional $100,000 to support 3CDC outreach workers and FUSIS camera integration; and roughly $200,000 to bring additional community partners into downtown youth outreach. The manager said curfew centers and related services were budgeted (a combined figure discussed in committee was $380,000 to cover a full 12-month contract for curfew centers). The manager recommended $500,000 for police visibility overtime (PVO) to cover targeted patrols and off-duty details; and “more than $2,000,000” for technology upgrades, including street lighting, fixed city cameras, expansion of the police drone program and integration of privately owned cameras into CPD’s real-time crime center via the FUSIS camera system.

Public comment and council questions focused on process, equity and effectiveness. Daniel Berndge, a public commenter, asked whether the city has done sufficient public consultation on the package and urged investments in prevention and community-based responses. Council members raised concerns that concentrating resources in the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine could displace crime to other neighborhoods; multiple members asked for assurances the package would be used citywide where appropriate.

Police Chief Fiji and the manager answered operational questions. Chief Fiji said overtime and off-duty details are used across the city as districts request funds; CPD recorded over 15,000 off-duty hours in August and nearly 8,000 additional hours of PVO and special deployments that same month. The chief said the PVO and off-duty hours draw officers from across all districts but had been concentrated in District 1 (the urban core) during summer operations. On staffing, the chief said the next recruit class runs seven months in the academy, plus about three months of field training before an officer is counted as fully operational.

Council debate produced two formal motions recorded in the committee minutes: a vice mayor’s motion (item 5) that would have redirected more funding to youth employment and community violence-interruption programs including Advanced Peace, and a chair’s motion (item 6) that retained many of the manager’s line items with adjustments and added specific funding for police visibility, technology and related initiatives. The vice mayor’s motion failed on a roll-call vote (Yes: Council member Johnson; Vice Mayor Kearney; Council member Parks. No: Council members Kramer Ding, Nolan, Jeffries, Albee, Owens, Walsh). The chair’s motion passed on a subsequent roll-call (Yes: Kramer Ding, Nolan, Jeffries, Albee, Owens, Walsh. No: Johnson, Kearney, Parks).

Other details discussed in committee:
- The manager said CPD had worked 15,000 hours of off-duty details in August and nearly 8,000 hours of PVO/special deployments that month, and asked for sustainable solutions to reduce that recurring overtime burden.
- The city may owe Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office about $156,000 for services on Court Street; the manager said that invoice was under review and could be paid from the PVO line if approved.
- Curfew centers have been set up but had not seen sole curfew violators brought in; the manager and chief said that outcome was desirable and the centers remain available.
- The manager said the city is updating parking-lot licensing requirements and considering a grading program for parking facilities to encourage lighting and safety improvements; that will be paired with police-led parking-lot safety evaluations.
- The manager and the chief described the FUSIS camera integration work as a way to link privately owned cameras into the city’s crime center; the chief said the program also funds modems or other equipment so compatible private cameras can be accessed in real time.

Votes at a glance (formal committee roll calls during the meeting):
- Item 5 (Vice Mayor Kearney’s motion: emphasized youth employment funding and community violence-interruption programs such as Advanced Peace): failed on roll call (Yes: Council member Johnson; Vice Mayor Kearney; Council member Parks. No: Kramer Ding; Nolan; Jeffries; Albee; Owens; Walsh).
- Item 6 (Chair’s motion: manager’s public-safety package with chair’s adjustments and additions): passed on roll call (Yes: Kramer Ding; Nolan; Jeffries; Albee; Owens; Walsh. No: Johnson; Kearney; Parks).

Procedural and status notes: the committee filed several items and put several ordinances "on for passage" during the meeting. The manager’s public-safety ordinance materials were placed on the agenda for further action; committee members asked for post-implementation accounting (spend reports by Dec. 31 and a mid-year review) so unused funds could be reallocated.

Why this matters: Council members framed public safety as both short-term operational needs (visibility, overtime, technology) and long-term prevention (youth employment, community outreach). The committee’s actions put immediate funds on the table while requesting follow-up data and timelines so council can evaluate impacts before deciding on further allocations.

Ending: The committee approved the chair’s motion to implement a modified version of the manager’s package and asked administration for detailed spending breakdowns and timelines for implementation and reporting.